Adventures in Paraguay!

Well they are safely in Paraguay and all is well!! They are loving it and sound so happy! Here are some excerpts from their latest letter and some pictures that they sent along!

"What a wonderful week we have had here in beautiful Paraguay. The week went by quickly and we are exhausted. We arrived here after a one night stay in Buenos Aires to rest up and to meet with the Area Presidency. We then flew into Asuncion Paraguay on Wednesday morning, the 1st of July. We were picked up by the Bradleys at the airport after clearing immigrations and customs. We went directly to the mission home where we had lunch and received information from the Bradleys about the mission home and mission office.Sandy and I were given the cell phones of the Bradleys to begin using immediately and the calls started coming in from members and missionaries within minutes. We are now in the saddle. The Bradleys said goodbye and left and we looked at each other in disbelief. We are now the proud parents of 160 missionaries (we are expecting an increase to 190 over the next few weeks). Words cannot express the feelings of inadequacy that filled our hearts. Our knees are getting quite a workout as we plead with the Lord to qualify us for this overwhelming responsibility. We are grateful for the prayers of our family and friends and can feel their effects already. We jumped in with both feet and have just finished a tour of the entire mission. We met each of our missionaries during a series of 9 zone meetings in 5 cities, covering around 800 miles in the mission vehicle. Meeting them and looking into their faces and feeling of their goodness and dedication have filled us with such gratitude. We see already that we will gain much strength from these valiant elders and sisters. They are so young and yet so very capable." "I have learned to drive in Paraguay! It is a miracle. There are traffic laws but no one follows them. I felt like a brand new young missionary when the assistants lovingly but firmly handed the keys to me and said it was time for me to learn to drive here. I have adapted quite well and have actually calmed down. I drove the entire mission with Sandy as we followed the assistants from city to city." "You would be so proud of Sandy! She has shared her testimony and other thoughts in Spanish at every meeting. The compliments come rolling in as the members and missionaries praise her for her progress with the language. She is already loved by the missionaries for her determination to speak the language. My Spanish is coming back as we add more and more vocabulary to our memory banks. There is so much more I could write but I must stop. It is late and tomorrow we pick up our first new missionary at the airport. We love you all and are grateful for your kind and loving support."