Pictures December 18, 2010

Boy working fabric loom in San Miguel.

Zones 7 and 11 in Encarnacion

Hammocks and fabric for sale in San Miguel along the ruta (road)

Merry Christmas from Presidente y Hermana Callan !

December 18, 2010

December18 ,2010

Dear Family and Friends,

This week we finished up our specialized trainings with the missionaries in zones 7 and 11 in Encarnacion. We drove to Encarnacion on Monday and made a fun stop on the way. San Miguel is a little city known for its woven fabrics , hammocks, wool items and crocheted items. We decided to stop and look around and had a nice visit with a woman and her granddaughter and nephew who worked with her. They had a loom set up where they weave the cloth for the hammocks. A thirteen year old boy was running the loom with foot pedals similar to stair stepper exercise machine. The whole loom was made of 2x4 boards and was quite interesting to see. We bought a few hammocks and had fun seeing up close the things we drive by every time we go to Encarnacion.

We had a nice conference in Encarnacion and were able to spend time teaching and then listening to the testimonies of our remaining missionaries. What a nice Christmas gift we received to hear each testimony of every missionary in our mission in the last couple weeks! It was such a nice way to focus on the Savior as we celebrate His birth .We know it is difficult to be away from family during the holidays but we also know that Christmas during the mission can be more Christ centered and a time for all of us to learn to celebrate with a better focus on the important things. The zones have each been asked to have a Christmas activity on the preparation day before Christmas. It is to include a spiritual part, a fun part and some kind of service. We are excited to hear reports of the activities after they have had them. Christmas falls on Saturday and here that is the main day for baptisms. The area presidency has asked us to try to have a Navidad Blanco or White Christmas(white baptism clothes) so we hear of many baptismal services planned for Christmas Day! What better way could there be than for missionaries to spend their Christmas here in the mission helping people come into the kingdom!

We drove right back to Asuncion after the conference on Tuesday and got home just before dark. We try to never drive on the roads outside the city after dark. We have been blessed with safety and protection we know. This time as we were returning we drove through a small town. As we passed a side road a pickup truck suddenly pulled out and proceeded to come straight for us heading right at Mark’s side of the car. Mark swerved off the road and we prepared for the crash. We opened our eyes and to our amazement somehow the truck did not hit us. We still don’t know exactly how it didn’t hit us! We looked back and the truck was in a different place than we thought it should have been. We know the Lord protected us that day.

We finished the week back in Asuncion with Mark having various meetings and interviews .I worked on some projects with the office elders to upgrade the mission apartments. Almost every apartment has now received their new beds and we are beginning the delivery of microwaves for the apartments. Elders Dance and Smith went out delivering various items and I went with Elder Steren and Sellers to look at the microwaves and some fabric we are buying for table coverings for all the study desks and kitchen tables. We will be spending some time cutting the fabric into the right lengths for the 300 tables we will need. It will make their study areas a bit nicer we believe, along with the Preach My Gospel poster they received during our conferences.

This week we want to wish you all a very Merry Christmas! We are so grateful for the opportunity we have to be here serving a mission. As we think of celebrating the birth of our Savior we think of the blessings we receive because of his life and his mission. We are grateful for the protection we feel as missionaries. We are grateful for the guidance of the Holy Ghost as we seek to help our missionaries. We are grateful for each missionary who has been sent here by our Heavenly Father. We are grateful for the things we are learning from them through our experiences with them here in the mission. We are grateful for our family and for the promises we have of living with them forever if we are faithful and keep our covenants. We are grateful for the prayers of family and friends and parents of missionaries that sustain us. We are grateful for the way we are helped physically to be able to do what the Lord needs us to do. We are grateful for our testimonies of Jesus Christ and Heavenly Father. We know they live! We know the gospel and the priesthood were restored to this earth through Joseph Smith. We know that President Monson is our living prophet today. We know the Book of Mormon is another testament of Christ and that we know him better when we read and study it and the other scriptures. We know we need to do all we can to share this wonderful message with everyone! We are happy and grateful for this glorious time of year ! We hope you all have a wonderful Christmas season and know that we love you all!

Love, Mark and Sandy

Pictures December 11, 2010

Zones 8,9,10 in Ciudad del Este

Youth fireside in Ciudad del Este.

Christmas decorations in Ciudad del Este.

People making their pilgrimage to Caacupe.

Hermana Plessl and Edwards on their last day in the mission.

Nativity in front of temple.

Zone 1,3,6 in Asuncion.

Hermana Plessl and Edwards at the airports.

Zones 2,4,5 in Asuncion

December 11, 2010

December 11,2010

Dear Friends and Family,

On Monday, after business in the office and getting the car checked out because of a warning light we drove to Ciudad del Este to begin our specialized trainings /Christmas meetings with the zones. Monday night we spoke with Robert the waiter we had given the Book of Mormon to a while ago. He is meeting with the zone leaders, along with his wife and three sons. We gave him a DVD about the birth of the Savior and wished him a Feliz Navidad. He said he had a gift for Mark also, so the next night at dinner he gave him a white “ao po’i “shirt. It is the traditional fabric that is hand stitched with designs on it. “Ao po’i “ is guarani (the other national language)for fine cloth. Any way it was so nice of him. He is such a nice man and we hope he and his family will receive the message of the missionaries well.

Tuesday we met with all the missionaries in the 3 zones in and around Ciudad del Este. We spent the morning in training and then we had lunch. We focused on planning and using our time well and how important our personal and companionship study time is. As part of those messages each missionary received a calendar with photos of everyone in the mission as a reminder of planning and using their time well. They each received a poster of the cover of Preach My Gospel for the wall above each study desk in the apartments as a reminder to be effective in their study. They also receive a small spiral book of key scriptures that will be helpful for them to memorize along with a few sweets .We also spent part of the time letting the zone leaders share with the mission the goals they had set for 2011 during the zone leader council held a week ago. Speaking of our zone leader council meetings, our desire is to help the mission leadership experience a true council setting. We want them to be prepared for similar council settings after their missions in other Church callings. During last week’s zone leader council, Mark and I let the zone leaders wrestle for a couple of hours with the important process of receiving revelation concerning the 2011 goals of the mission. They knelt in prayer multiple times to seek the Will of the Lord. It is so important for them to learn this divine pattern. They then presented the goals to President Callan and shared their testimonies that they came from the Lord. All sustained the goals by the uplifted hand. During subsequent specialized training meetings this week, the zones leaders presented the goals to the missionaries and described the revelatory process they experienced in setting them. President Callan then asked for a sustaining vote and the goals were unanimously sustained. The Spirit was very strong and it was wonderful to see our humble and confident zone leaders bear strong testimony that the Lord would be with the mission as we dedicate ourselves to reaching our goals during the coming year. These goals will make us stretch but they are believable and achievable. After lunch in each specialized training meeting, we had a testimony meeting and sang Christmas hymns. We repeated this same pattern in two meetings in Asuncion on Thursday and Friday. It was so nice to hear the beautiful music the missionaries made as they sang. It was even nicer to hear their testimonies. Every missionary in each meeting shared their testimony. It was such a powerful experience to hear 170 testimonies during those three days. We will have one more meeting next week in Encarnacion and hear from the rest of the missionaries. I am so impressed with the young men and women who are working hard and learning important lessons here in the mission. It is not easy for most missionaries at some point in their missions. How sweet it was to hear them testify of the things they are learning and how they are being prepared for their futures. Their testimonies of the Savior and Heavenly Father are growing and we received a real gift for Christmas to be able to hear each one of them share their testimonies.

Wednesday morning we were on the road to head back to Asuncion at 3:30 am. We needed to get back to be with two sister missionaries who were leaving Thursday. It also was a national holiday. It was the time when everyone walks to Caacupe to give thanks to Mary for what she’s done for them. The streets were pack in the town and for miles either way people were streaming into town as they made their pilgrimage to the cathedral there. We heard there are 200,000 people there during the height of the activities. It took us 45 minutes to drive through the little town that usually takes 5 minutes. It was such a visual reminder of all the people here who need our message!

We spent the day with Hermanas Plessl and Edwards going to lunch and the temple and having a testimony meeting. These sisters were the first missionaries that we have had for their whole missions and they were two wonderful missionaries. Even between lunch and the temple there was a little time so they went around our neighborhood to finish up their 10 contacts for the day! They stayed here in the mission home and went with us to the specialized training held on Thursday. We said good bye to them at the airport that afternoon amid tears. We will miss them here in the mission!

It has been a good week. It always is when we can see more of the missionaries when we gather for meetings. We love our missionaries and want to see them progress in their lives and share the gospel message with others. We know with the Lord’s help they can do both of those things! Have a good week! Love, Mark and Sandy

Pictures December 5, 2010

Lunch at zone leaders council.

Zone leaders and assistants.

These elders provided a beautiful musical number at leadership

training meeting.

All of the zone leaders, district leaders, trainers and assistants.

We did lots of practices this week!

The Servin Family with Elders Guenther and Rivero.

The Servin Family.

Nemby ward supporting baptism of Servin family.

Luz and her children after baptism in Herrera.

Primary in Paraguari

December 5, 2010

Dear Family and Friends, December 5,2010

I really can’t believe the week is over ! Where does the time go? Monday began with normal staff meeting to plan the week and make sure all the details were set for the meetings planned for the week. Tuesday morning at 8am we met with the Area Medical Advisor and his wife and the Area Mental Health advisor. They were here to check out the facilities we use for medical needs. They also checked on a few missionaries from both our mission and the North mission. After that meeting we went to a district meeting in Nemby with district leader Elder Skinner . We enjoyed our morning there. It really helps us see the needs of the missionaries when we can be with them in those weekly district meetings.

Wednesday was our monthly zone leaders’ council here at the mission home. We have 11 zones now so we had 22 zone leaders plus the assistants here. We had a good morning of teaching and sharing and then a lunch of my Mom’s recipe of chicken dressing casserole. The elders thought it tasted like a thanksgiving dinner and that was my hope! After lunch Mark had the elders work on setting some goals for 2011. We left them alone to work it out between themselves and they told us it was a great learning process for them. They were anxious to share their goals with the district leaders and trainers on Thursday when we held our leadership training meeting. That was another full day and by the end we were feeling so wonderful at spending two days with some very wonderful leaders and missionaries. I was especially happy as I watched the zone leaders sharing and teaching the district leaders and trainers the things they had learned on Wednesday. I loved it when they bore testimony of the things they had learned and invited others to strengthen their own testimonies so together they could help the rest of the missionaries in the mission. There is great joy in watching these young men and women growing into the wonderful people we see them becoming. I always think of the good things they will be able to do throughout the world after their missions.

Friday we attended a sweet baptism in Nemby. The Servin family was so happy as the parents and two of the three children were baptized. The ward came out and supported them so well. They had cake and other refreshments and the members were so good to reach out to the new family as a part of their ward. There were probably 60 people there that evening. Saturday we also went to a baptism of a woman here in our ward in Herrera. She is hopeful her children and boyfriend will soon be baptized also.

Today we attended church in Ita after going to Paraguari for an interview. I visited the primary which had 5 children in it. They adapt the program to fit the numbers here but they are trying and doing their best. We are excited to hear the First Presidency Christmas devotional tonight. We leave in the morning to head to Ciudad del Este for specialized training with the zones there. It’s been a busy week but a good one! We are finding more time to spend with our missionaries in smaller groups and it has been nice as we see what is happening in their different areas. Hope you all have a good week.

Love, Mark and Sandy

Pictures November 28, 2010

Pictures finally.. Sorry I was running late this week with putting them up!

Returned missionary from Texas, sharing her love of the great state!

The returned missionaries share things from their missions.

Elder and Hermana Lucas are missionaries working with the

Perpetual Education Fund and helping with heath needs.

President pretending to be the cook (He actually mashed the poatoes

and carved the turkey!

The real cooks! Lidu and Hermana Callan.

Elders Parke,Centurion,Dance, Steren, Smith, Stearman and Sellers

with Andy Galeano in the back.

Andy,Christy and Lidu Galeano with Sandy and President.

Sandy and President with Office elders and assistants.

President and Elders Dance,Smith, Steren ,Stearman,Centurion, Parke

and Sellers! After all the hard work they do in the office they

deserve a nice meal once in a while!

I will never see enough of the beautiful sunrises and
sunsets here in Paraguay. This is looking out out window in the hotel
in Ciudad del Este towards Brazil.

November 28, 2010

November 28, 2010

Dear Friends and Family,

Last Sunday we had a nice evening as we went to a missionary fireside at the Centro Stake. There were future missionaries and returned missionaries there to learn how to prepare for missions and share testimonies of their missionary experiences. After the meeting the returned missionaries had displays set up from their missions . One sister served in San Antonio , Texas and learned English beautifully. Mark spoke also along with the stake president. The area presidency is really encouraging the people here to prepare for and serve missions. It will really strengthen the church here when the number of missionaries from Paraguay increases.

Tuesday we went to a district meeting in San Antonio here in Asuncion . Elder Taylor is working hard to lead his district! That night we got a nice phone call from our son Robert saying he had gotten a new job that he was really excited about. The Lord is blessing his family! Laura also changed jobs and found a better situation for her. They are both happy about their new jobs.

Wednesday we went to sign our legal documents so we can stay in the country for another year. We also went to the international police as part of the process to be fingerprinted. We asked to meet with the main boss there so we could thank him for helping us with all the missionaries’ legal papers. We were visiting with him at the end of our conversation and we gave him a music CD of some hymns and also a DVD about the Savior and some chocolates. We asked him to let us know if there was anything we could do to help the process and he said “ What I really need is a computer!” That wasn’t exactly what we expected him to say. Here he is the head of the Interpol begging for a computer from us! Things run differently here !

Thursday we had a nice Thanksgiving dinner with our office staff , the assistants and our helper Lidu and some of her family, her daughter Christy and son Andy. Lidu and I cooked all day Wednesday and made a nice traditional meal. I learned a few things since my attempt here last year so the meal tasted just like it would have at home!

As we were preparing the meal Thursday morning Lidu made President a big glass of fresh squeezed lemonade made from our lemon tree here at the house. That’s not something we will ever have at home on Thanksgiving but it was perfect! We were glad our children in Utah were all able to gather together that day also!

That afternoon we went to a plastic surgeon to have a little spot taken off President’s hand. The surgeon was trained in Germany and came highly recommended so we felt okay about it. I did have a few doubts when we went the first time and he was ready to do the little procedure until he realized he didn’t have any sutures, so we had to reschedule it. He seems to be healing fine and it hasn’t held him back.

Friday morning we drove 5 hours to Ciudad del Este for a couple of meetings and then spent the night and returned to Asuncion the next day. While in Ciudad del Este we visited with our waiter, Robert who we gave the Book of Mormon to last time we were there. Elders Roberts and Facer have been meeting with him. He was excited to tell us his children are excited to read the Book of Mormon and Bible. We had a good visit about the importance of studying the scriptures together as a family and bore testimony of the way it helped our family. We’ll see what happens with him and his family!

We brought Elder Avila, an area seventy , back with us from Ciudad del Este. He had some meetings there and some more with Mark here in Asuncion this weekend. He is a wonderful man and we enjoyed the time in the car visiting with him.

Sunday we were invited to speak to the ward in Nemby. The whole meeting was focused on missionary work with new members speaking and bearing testimonies. It was a nice meeting. Elder Guenther and Rivero are serving in that ward . Wherever Elder Guenther goes he gets the work moving well!

I have been thinking of my gratitude for the Book of Mormon this week. What a wonderful gift is ours to have that book to read and study. I finished reading it this week and as I was reading about Mormon and Moroni and Ether it really hit me how much we owe all the early prophets and leaders who did really hard things in their lives so we could have that book in our lives. Each one of those men had times in their lives when they felt very alone but they still held true to their convictions and covenants so the work could come about the way the Lord needed it to. I am grateful for the opportunity we have to come to know the Savior more by reading and studying that book.It’s time to start over in First Nephi! We hope you all have a wonderful week and try to stay focused on the important things during this holiday season! We love and miss you all! Mark and Sandy

Pictures November 20, 2010

Elder Palma and Elder Robayo at airport.

Elders Henrie, Butler,Love,Presidente y Hermana,Singson,King and

Chatterley at airport.

All the new missionaries and their trainers.

Elder Smith pretending to be Presidente.

Presidente bringing Elder Smith back to reality!

Our new administrador Elder Sellers being trained by Elder Dance.

The leaving missionaries. Elders Packard, Clyde, Lizondro, Warner,

Bonilla, Escarate and Guitarra, a great group of missionaries!!

Elders Packard, Clyde, Lizondero,Warner, Bonilla, Escarate and Guitarra.

November 20, 2010

Dear Family and Friends, November 20, 2010

This week was change week so we received 8 new missionaries. Early Tuesday afternoon we received Elder Palma from Mexico and Elder Robayo from Sweden. A couple hours later Elder Butler from Layton ,Utah, Elder Chatterley from Reno, Nevada, Elder Henrie from Panguitch , Utah, Elder King from Logan, Utah, Elder Love from Mesa, Arizona and Elder Singson from American Fork, Utah all arrived. We spent the day in orientations for the newly arrived elders, they all interviewed with President and then we had a dinner at the office. We had our testimony meeting there also this time. Because they arrived later that most groups we arranged things a little differently this time. We were so impressed with the language abilities with the north Americans in this group. I think as a whole they were better prepared with their language and were able to express beautiful testimonies in Spanish. They must have had some great teachers at the MTC!

Wednesday the new missionaries went to sign their legal papers and then we had our meeting with the trainers. The new missionaries joined us and they were introduced to their companions. By 10:30 am they were all off to their new areas to get to work! The rest of the day was spent with the leaving missionaries going to lunch and the temple, followed by a testimony meeting at the mission home. Elders Clyde, Lizondro, Guitarra,Warner, Packard,Bonilla, and Escarate have all served well and bore sweet testimonies. We love them and will miss them! Thursday we went to the airport 3 times to say goodbye to them all.

Friday we met a new missionary couple that are here serving with the Perpetual Education Program . The Lucas’ also will be helping a bit with medical needs. She is an RN and he was an EMT so they are here to answer questions when we have them along with the area medical advisor.

This week we are thinking about our many blessings as we think about Thanksgiving. We are so grateful for the gospel of Jesus Christ. We are grateful for the restoration of the true church. We are grateful for the Book of Mormon and other scriptures. We are grateful for the sealing powers of the priesthood that bind us as families and friends to Heavenly Father and the Savior. We are grateful for the atonement of Jesus Christ and the opportunity it gives us to repent and improve each day. We are grateful for our wonderful family and the good things that are happening in their lives. We are grateful for our 187 wonderful missionaries who are here serving and learning to love the people of Paraguay and sharing the wonderful gospel message with them. We are grateful for the things we are learning as we watch them work and grow in their testimonies of the Savior. Life is good! We hope you all have a great Thanksgiving!!! Love, Mark and Sandy

Pictures November 14, 2010

Elder Centurion and our newest assistant Elder Parke.

Sister Foster and Sister Callan and all the hermanas in the

mission. They had so much fun being together!

The office elders were lined up and saluting as we left the office

after zone conference. Elders Smith, Steren, Dance and Stearman are an

impressive group of young men.

The Elders leaving after the zone conference in Ciudad del Este.

Ruins at Trinidad on the drive between Ciudad del Este and Encarnacion.

President Callan and Elder Foster at the ruins in Trinidad.

Baptismal font in the ruins.

Elder and Sister Foster and the Callans before the ceremony at Encarnacion.

Elder Foster and the first lady of Paraguay, Mercedes Lugo de Maidana.

Paraguayan harpists at the ceremony.

Chatting with the first lady.

President and Elder Foster with part of the 750 wheel chairs that

the church donated to the people of Paraguay.(They already received

750 earlier this year.)

Cemetary between Encarnacion and Asuncion. Almost like

little houses for the deceased.