Jan. 24, 2010

January 24, 2010

Dear Family and Friends,

We had a good week traveling around the mission. The weather is still hot but we have had some overcast days and rain storms and wind that cool things down nicely. After some interviews and packing the car we left for Encarnation Saturday afternoon. The water filter bottles arrived so the car was totally packed. We also had a mountain of Christmas packages that had arrived the week before we left. I added up all the postage one day on all the packages that had arrived one week and it was 1,075 dollars and we still have to get them out to the missionaries. Either by paying to have them sent or taking them with us. I know the missionaries love packages but it’s a lot of money to send gummy bears and marshmallows! Anything chocolate is destroyed and even sugar candy melts in the humidity. The area presidency asked us to send a letter asking families to restrain themselves from sending too many packages to the missionaries. It will save everyone a lot of money . The mission should be a time to learn to go without a few things anyway. President Hinckley said the missionary life is the Spartan life. Hopefully the letter will help reduce the amount of things sent.

We stopped in Paraguai for Mark to do some interviews and then got to Encarnacion in the evening. Sunday we went to a branch there and then went back to the hotel for a bit. Mark had another district training from 3-7pm and I stayed at the hotel. I’m moving through the Book of Mormon in Spanish quite quickly with all my alone time when Mark has meetings or when we are at the church during interview times. At first I was trying to understand every word as I read. I had my dictionary and english Book of Mormon all open. But I felt like it was too mechanical and I wasn’t getting the spirit of it so much. I decided to just read normally and see what happened. I realized that just like in English I don’t always know the actual definition of a word but by context I could figure things out. It was a much better way to read and my vocabulary is growing and I’m learning a lot in many ways. We all started reading and marking the Book of Mormon after our last zone conference on the Book of Mormon so it’s been nice to hear the wonderful experiences the missionaries are having with their increased testimonies as they teach people. I’m marking all references to the Savior and his words . Also I’m marking his attributes and any doctrines referred to. It’s been a wonderful experience. We all have paperback copies of the Book of Mormon so we aren’t marking up our better copies. I’m excited to go through it multiple times and see what I missed the first time.

Monday we went to a fruit market across the street from the church for breakfast. The missionaries love the fruit salad and flan and strawberry custard that they sell there. My personal favorite is the flan and Mark likes the arroz con leche (rice pudding). One missionary bought a watermelon to take home on the bus with him. We spent the day at the church with interviews for the missionaries and a few district members. I love talking to the missionaries and hearing their stories. I spoke with one elder who joined the church three years ago. He had gone to visit his grandmother and the missionaries came by. He and a sister and brother eventually were baptized. He didn’t know it but his mother was a baptized member along with her sister and mother. His mother was reactivated and his brother is also serving a mission. This young man is 26 and has already finished at the university. He said he hopes to help his father join the church in the future. He is learning English and speaks well. His studies are something to do with computers and he said English will help him so much. He will be a great asset wherever he lives. The mission has helped him so much.

Tuesday we had zone conference and more interviews and then we headed for Ciudad del Este on Wednesday morning. We had interviews Wednesday and then Thursday was our last conference and interviews. Friday we drove part way home and stopped for more interview at two places,Ca ‘aguzu and Coronel Oviedo. We took the zone leaders with us from Ca’aguzu to Coronel Oviedo. After the missionaries interviews there were a few district interviews also. We got home around 9pm. Saturday Mark was at the temple at 7 am for interviews and back to the office for three missionary interviews. We did our grocery shopping and Mark did the finishing touches on getting all the missionaries’ companionship assignments finalized with the new 15 missionaries that are coming Tuesday. That evening he had a meeting with a stake president while I put together the treat packages we give the missionaries when they come.

Today Mark left at 5 am to go 2 ½ hours back to Ca’aguazu with his counselor to find a replacement branch president for the one who passed away a few weeks ago. He’s really been busy with all the district business but he’s feeling like he’s getting to know more of the leaders better and he’s getting good comments on all the training meetings that they have been having. It’s still amazing to me that most of even the district and stake presidents have very little time in the church, many 4 or 5 years. He is supposed to meet with all 5 stake presidents monthly along with all the 5 districts. He said one of the things they ask about is his service and they pick his brain for help in their callings. He’s enjoying things more and more as he sees how he can help and support the leaders here.

I am getting to know my ward better since I’ve been there alone a bit lately when Mark has other places to be . I went to primary just to see what it’s like here . All the 6 children met together with one teacher. I had a nice chat with a woman who spent some time in the states working for a diplomat. Today the elders gave me a ride to church and the van started to sound weird. After church they decided they better not drive it. I’ve wondered how long it would take to walk to the office and church from the mission home and now I know. Thirty five minutes in Sunday shoes, and I have the blisters to prove it . The bottom of both my feet are one large blister from my toes to the ball of my foot. It hurts and I will now have a bit more empathy with the new missionaries and their sore feet!! Well I better run the missionaries are waiting for us at the office. Hope everyone is doing well. We are grateful for the blessings the Lord is giving our family as we are away from them. We are grateful for this experience that we are having. We love you all. Mark and Sandy

Pictures!

Mom with the sister missionaries at Zone Conference

January 16, 2010

January 16,2010

Dear Family and Friends,

This week we attended our own ward here in Asuncion. We got a new bishop a couple weeks ago. He is a wonderful man who used to be the ward mission leader so he’s very focused on missionary efforts. He doesn’t have any counselors yet so hopefully he will find the right men soon. There really is a shortage of men in the church here. Most wards and branches have many more women than men. Our ward has grown though since we have been here. A couple nice families have joined the church and it’s nice to see their excitement as they spread their feelings about the church with others.

Monday was preparation day for the week of zone conferences. We always love the times when we can see all the missionaries. The missionaries love to come together and be taught and see each other. I always love to hear the talks they give at zone conferences. The missionaries give their talks in Spanish if they’re north American and English if they are latin. It’s really a good time for everyone to have a little empathy for each other as we improve our language skills. We really are encouraging all the missionaries to continue to work on their language. I keep remembering before the mission I was talking to Robert one day and he said that many missionaries get to a comfortable level with their language and then stop progressing. I’m glad he said that to me because it has helped me to keep working and encouraging others to always be improving. What a chance we all have to be really fluent in another language while we are here.

As I was talking with a missionary the other day he was telling me about his family. He joined the church by himself a bit ago. No one in his family is a member and they really didn’t want him to come on the mission. Right before he came his grandpa had some pretty major health problems but he didn’t let anything stop him and he came. He’s a good young man and is doing well already in these first few weeks since he’s been here. I’m very impressed with the dedication level of many of these missionaries who are here with little or no support but have testimonies and know they want and need to serve. When they go home they will be such a strength to their wards and branches.

We had a great three days of zone conferences. We focused on working with members to increase our missionary efforts. Mark has had training meetings the last few weeks with the district leaders so he has been working on helping everyone see the importance of working together to be more effective as missionaries. Hopefully by teaching everyone at the same time we will all be working better together. In the afternoon the assistants and zone leaders had practices with the missionaries while Mark finished the missionary interviews. We received a shipment of water filter bottles this week also. Each missionary received one at zone conference with enough replacement filters for the two years they are here. We are so excited because clean water is a problem here and this will make it so much better. When the missionaries are offered water at a member or investigator’s home now they can accept it and put it in their bottle and be good to go. The missionaries in Brazil received bottles a while ago and their cases of diarrhea went down by 75-80%. I am really excited about that because most of my medical phone calls are about diarrhea . It will really improve the health of the missionaries. When it is so hot the missionaries really need to be drinking 3-4 liters of water a day so now they won’t have to try and carry so much water around with them.

We gave all the missionaries a mission calendar at zone conference also. It has a photo of each missionary and highlights some important dates for the mission. They can roll it up and take it home at the end of their mission also because with all the photos and names it will be a good reminder of the other missionaries they served with. They all loved it. I’m sure we’ll give them another one next January since they seemed to like it so much.

We are packing up and heading off today to Encarnacion . We will attend church there and then Mark has district training tomorrow afternoon. Monday we begin interviews there in Encarnacion and zone conferences on Tuesday. Then on to Ciudad del Este for interviews and zone conference. We won’t return until Friday. Time is weird here. It seems like forever ago that we were out there but it has only been 5 weeks. We got our information on the new missionaries so we are already getting excited about receiving the next group of 15 on January 26^th. They look like another wonderful group of young men. We hope you all have a great week. We love what we are doing here and we love and miss you all.

Love, Mark and Sandy

Pictures Jan 9, 2010

Sunset

Big Moth

Rain storm and downspout

Flowers in the yard

Jan 9, 2010

January 9, 2010

Dear Family and Friends,

This week was spent in many interviews for Mark. He interviews half the missionaries in and around Asuncion the week before zone conference which is next week and the rest he will interview next week. The rest will be interviewed the next week when we are out at the conferences in Ciudad del Este and Encaracion. It’s fun to catch up with the missionaries while they are waiting their turn. I get to hear of some of their wonderful experiences and at times I hear of their concerns. I continue to enjoy hearing about companionships and how they get along and work together. Not all do as well as others but most do very well together. I was talking with an Hermana (missionary sister) from El Salvador. She was telling me that the day we drove into the mission office from the airport with her she saw an Hermana standing in the parking lot. She said when she looked at her she knew she would be her companion. The next day when the companionships were announced she was happy and said she had already felt that she would be her companion. The best part is when she said she is exactly what she needed as a companion. It is so evident when you talk to the missionaries how they feel about their companion. It also shows in the effectiveness they have in teaching people. The lessons the missionaries are learning are so important for life about working together with other people .The spirit can also work so much better when the missionaries are working well together.

Talking with the missionaries one on one is also very good for my language skills. We have fun as I make my mistakes and they help me and then I encourage them with their English and I help them. All of the Latin missionaries receive the books in the MTC in Argentina to begin an English study program while they are here in the mission. It is really a great program. While the North Americans are working on their Spanish each day the Latin are working on their English. After they complete a series of three books and take tests on each module checked by their companion they can take a computer test here in the mission. It is given through BYU and when it is completed and graded it gives a competency level of their English in the form of a certificate that can help them with future employment. If the missionaries take advantage of the program it is great. Not all do but part of my responsibility is to help and encourage and track their progress. Some missionaries are quite fluent by the time they finish their missions. Like everything it has to do with their desire and the amount of effort they put into the program, but what a blessing for those who take advantage of it.

We’ve had a lot of rain lately . The pictures will show the rain pouring down the chain downspouts. It’s an interesting way to direct the rain but it works. All the rain also brings lots of beautiful flowers. The red ones are in our back yard now. The sunsets are also gorgeous most nights. We just finished watermelon season- we ate one large one a week and now it is mango season. They are sooo good. There are small ones everywhere that just drop off the trees so they are easy to find for the missionaries but there are also Brazilian ones that are larger and a bit less fibrous. I can’t get enough of those. I used to buy the dried mangos at Costco and I loved those but these fresh ones are amazing.

We are excited about the new Gospel Principles manual. One thing I have noticed since we have been here is the beauty of sweet simple testimonies of the gospel. Many people here are new in the church and their testimonies are based on the simple truths which are still new to them. It will be nice for everyone to focus on the basics again and share as a church as we grow stronger in our testimonies and understanding of the gospel.

We are grateful for the things we are continuing to learn and for the help the Lord is giving us. We still have so much to learn and do. It is overwhelming much of the time but we just try to do the best we can and keep moving forward. We’ve been here 6 months already. We love our mission and miss our family but things are going well. Until next week, Love, Mark and Sandy

Pictures Jan 2, 2010

Group of missionaries going to catch the bus after meeting.

All the district and zone leaders in the mission who were in Asuncion for a leadership council meeting.

Leaders reacting to the news that Sister Callan and I will have two new grandchildren added to the family in August. They were really happy for us.

Jan 2, 2010

January 2, 2010

Dear Family and Friends,

This week was a little calmer than some .It was kind of nice to have a little down time on the holidays. Mark had meetings in another city on Sunday so he was on the road all day with his counselor. I stayed here which was kind of nice for a change. Monday and Tuesday we were at the office preparing for a leadership council for all the zone and district leaders in the mission. Wednesday was a special day because it was Laura’s birthday. It was so nice to hear that Jenny and the kids went down to Provo and Sara, Robert,Rachel,Jack and a couple other friends joined together for a birthday celebration. It sounds like they had a good time and it makes us so happy to see everyone back home taking care of each other.

We spent our Wednesday in the leadership council. It was a great way to start the new year with all the leaders of the mission together to share and be taught and receive direction for the coming months. We really have some great missionaries here and it is nice to see all the dedicated young men trying to learn how to be better leaders. The last part of the day was spent with the sharing testimonies which I always love. Each missionary brings his own strengths with them to the mission and it is good to watch them grow even more in their testimonies and love of the Savior and his work here in the mission. There was quite a strength in the meeting with all of them together .

We continue to hear wonderful testimonies of the Book of Mormon from the missionaries who are reading and marking the book as they study it. I am also working on reading and studying . This year I’m reading the Book of Mormon in Spanish and it really been a great experience. The understanding is coming very well and the wonderful thing is that as I read I’m improving my Spanish skills also. Most of the missionaries say that by the time they finish the Book of Mormon the first time in Spanish they can pretty much see a major improvement in their understanding of the language. We are grateful the missionaries are working so hard to know the Book of Mormon better. They are having great experiences as they teach their investigators with their increased testimonies.

We had our office staff meeting Thursday morning. We have such great missionaries in the office. They each carry a big load and they each are working so hard to support all the missionaries and take care of the business of the mission and they run out the door at 4:30 pm everyday to go find and teach people. They are a great example to the mission.

Friday and Saturday Mark spent preparing for some training meetings he has with the district leaders out in three different areas the next few Sundays. He’s trying to help the leaders understand the important role they have in missionary work and help them in their leadership duties in their branches and districts. There is always so much to do in the way of training with the 5 districts that are in our mission. I think Mark is doing a great job with all that he has to do.

I think one of my favorite times of the mission is when Mark is reading his weekly letters from all the missionaries. He sits and reads and gets so excited to hear the successes and growth of the missionaries. He also loves to hear the missionaries share their struggles and the way they overcome problems and continue to work hard. They are such an example of the good young people in the world who are taking challenging situations and doing the best they can and growing through the process.

We are grateful for the way we are learning and growing also. We love the missionary work that we are called to do. We are grateful for the good family that we have and for the good friends we have. The Lord has been good to us. We hope you all have a good week! We love you! Mark and Sandy