Dear Family and Friends,
This
feels strange as we write our last letter from Paraguay! We thought
three years would be a long time but it doesn’t feel like it has been so
long now. Our week was filled with our last change week as we received 6
new missionaries from the U.S .and said goodbye to 18 more. We will
receive three more new missionaries from the Argentina MTC this week
also. It was our last time to go to lunch with those missionaries
leaving the mission. It was the last time we will attend the temple in
Asuncion. What a blessing we have had to be able
to attend the temple each six weeks with our leaving missionaries.
Having a temple here is a great blessing for the missionaries and for
the people of Paraguay.
We
had our last testimony meeting with our sweet missionaries at the end
of their missions. Seeing the growth of our missionaries has been a
wonderful thing to watch! Our feelings have been tender as we have
experienced so many wonderful parts of this mission for the last time. We
are so grateful for the wonderful missionaries who have come and gone
during our time here. We have been blessed to have around 480
missionaries here during our time in Paraguay. They are all now a part
of our lives forever. We always want to know what is happening in their
lives and see the great things they will accomplish. We know our lives
are so much better because we have been able to spend time serving here
with all of them.
The
parents of two of our missionaries came to pick them up so we had fun
meeting Elder Richard’s parents and Elder Siever’s parents and brother.
They were both excited to introduce their families to the people they
had taught in their different areas.
Friday
we spent a good amount of time watching as the president of Paraguay
President Lugo was impeached. The formal proceedings began around noon
and by 6:30pm they had sworn in the new president who was the vice
president before- Federico Franco. We were asked to have all
missionaries stay in their apartments for the evening that night because
of some hints of violence but we were grateful that there were no more
problems and we all went back to our normal schedules and work on Saturday. Some people have kind of joked that the people get more upset about losing a soccer game than a president being impeached. Hopefully things will remain calm as the changes in the government are put into place.
Saturday
we went to a nice baptism in Ka’aguy Rory. A family of four and also a
young girl were baptized. It was a nice service and the parents of the
young girl are planning to be baptized in the future. Sunday we attended
our home ward in Barrio Herrera. It was a tender time saying goodbye to
some sweet people we have come to love. We were both asked to bear our
testimonies one last time. We have seen what a
wonderful change can come into people’s lives when they learn and accept
the gospel and live it! These people will be in our hearts forever!
They have blessed our lives so much.
We
know this is the work of the Lord and are so grateful for the
opportunity we have had to serve here in Paraguay. We are eternally
grateful for the wonderful missionaries we have served with and for the
preparations they made before they arrived in the mission and for the
work they accomplished while they were here. We are grateful for all of
their parents for teaching them and for supporting them while they have
served. We are grateful for our family who has supported us in so many
ways. We have mixed feelings as we leave this country and people and
missionaries that we love so much. But we are excited to see what life
will bring as we return to our family and friends at home. We know we
will always be connected to our missionaries and that brings us much
joy. We will write one more letter after our arrival home and that will
conclude the report of our mission. We hope the
things we have written have helped share a bit of the life in the Mision
Paraguay Asuncion. A life we have loved so much! Have a great week! Love, Mark and Sandy
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