Sept 12, 2010

Dear Friends and Family, September 12, 2010

We are enjoying spring like weather here and the flowers are beginning to bloom. I still can’t get over how beautiful the tall La Pacho trees are with their bright pink flowers. The orchids in our yard are blooming and we have many lemons and peaches starting to grow also.

We were able to meet the new area medical advisor this week. He is beginning his 18 months as the advisor for the 14 missions in our area. He is from Canada and had his general surgical practice in Cardston, Canada. He has already been an area medical advisor in Mexico so he has great experience. It is always nice to know we have wonderful medical help only a phone call away. The health of the missionaries is so important so that they can do all the Lord needs them to do. As the weather is beginning to warm up we are encouraging our missionaries to increase their water intake as the temperature climbs. It really is amazing how many ways insufficient intake of water can effect the missionaries and the way they feel. The filter bottle that each missionary has plays an important role in keeping the missionaries healthy(when they use it!). The area doctor said they should be drinking 3-4 liters of water every day during hot weather. It really does make a difference when they follow the counsel. Just like everything in Heavenly Father’s plan when we are obedient we don’t have to suffer quite so much and things go better for us.

This week we said goodbye to a wonderful missionary Elder Marin. He has worked hard and had much success. We will miss him. It seems we are constantly saying hello and good bye to our missionaries as they come and go in the mission. The time here really does seem to speed along.

Our office elders have been working overtime lately so we decided to take them to breakfast on their preparation day. We went to a hotel downtown in Asuncion where they have a nice buffet of very American foods like omelets and waffles. They loved it and ate plenty. We went to the top floor of the restaurant after and got a good view of the city. It gave us a whole new perspective of the city of Asuncion.

The mission office has been undergoing some remodeling lately so we can accommodate the new missionaries when they come and returning elders as they return home. We have an area where we can sleep 12 or so missionaries now so during the next change we will see how it works. It will save hotel costs so we hope it works out for us. The elders in the office have been arranging to have beds purchased and have overseen the changing of a wall to make for more sleeping space. Again these young men learn some great life skills while they are in the office. They also are carrying out our plan to replace all of the beds in the mission. They were long overdue to have better beds so it will be nice when that project is completed. Getting 190 beds out to all the apartments is quite a task but they are doing well so far.

Mark has been busy with normal things and also trying to get ready for more video conferencing that the area presidency is requesting. He’s been working on getting the computers with the correct programs so that he can conference from home or the office. They had a video conference this week with a Elder Foster ,a member of the area presidency, using the facilities at the church offices by the temple. They also are trying to get connected with all of the district leaders in the same way. It will be nice if they can get all the bugs worked out.

We went to a nice sacrament meeting today in Republicano. There were some wonderful messages shared. This afternoon Mark is speaking at a youth fireside in Nemby to encourage the youth to prepare for missionary service. We are happy to be here doing the things the Lord needs us to do. We are grateful for the wonderful missionary force that is here working hard. We hear good things about them each week through letters to the president or our interaction with them. We also know there are struggles for some. This week as I was thinking about the mission experience and how we can help our missionaries do what they need to one word came to my mind. We all need to remember that to be good missionaries we all need to sacrifice. We sacrifice time with our families, we sacrifice comforts, we do hard things even when we think we can’t, we give our all during this time we have as missionaries. As we do this we learn things about ourselves that we need to know. We see the hand of the Lord helping us do the things He needs us to do. We see people’s lives being changed because they have the opportunity to learn about our Savior. There are too many blessings to even name. All we have to do is think about all that the Savior has done for us and we will realize that no matter what we sacrifice we will never get ahead of all the Lord does for us in this experience. We are so grateful for the opportunity we have to learn and grow at this time. Our lives are so enriched by this wonderful experience we are having. We love our Savior and our Heavenly Father and their great plan of happiness. We hope you all have a great week! Love, Mark and Sandy