October 2, 2010

Dear Family and Friends, October 2, 2010

This week was full of many training meetings as we continue on with the leadership training meeting scheduled every other month. First we had a zone leaders’ council where we spent a day with 21 zone leaders and the assistants. It is a time to see if everyone is following through and putting into practice the things we as a mission are learning. The zone leaders go on divisions with the district leaders and the district leaders go on divisions with the members of their districts. It’s is a way of sharing teaching ideas and reporting back to see where we are as a mission. We have some great zone leaders and some newer ones who are learning more and more in this time of increased focus on teaching better. It’s good to get the zone leaders together so they can learn from each other as they share successes and struggles and talk about their zones.

The district leaders and 18 trainers joined in for the next few days of leadership training meetings. We had a total of 73 in those meetings. We spent our time focusing on the doctrine of Christ ,our purpose as missionaries, the role of the Holy Ghost in conversion and revelation through the Book of Mormon. We spent a large amount of time doing practices to improve our skills. It really does help the missionaries when they can spend time role playing to learn how to improve when they are with their investigators. Mark would begin most practice sessions with a role play with some of the elders and then they would discuss it and see how they could have improved it. He and I did one of the role plays also. It’s really interesting to watch all the missionaries jump out of their seats and move around so they can get up closer to see and hear better. We went around and watched as they practiced with each other and we can see improvements happening quickly. The missionary department tells us that teaching skills are the one area that most missionaries are lacking. Most have strong testimonies and desires but they just need more help in their abilities to share what they feel and know with others.

We had a couple beautiful musical numbers by some of the elders during the meetings. It is so nice to hear their beautiful voices. Music here is a little interesting because not many people play the piano so the congregational singing is often without accompaniment. We enjoyed the beautiful music and the spirit it brought to the meeting.

This week we also went to a 5 stake/district combined youth missionary activity. They had a day at the MTC experience where they had put all the youth into districts and had classes and speakers. Mark spoke in the morning meeting about how to be prepared to be a missionary. It was quite a group with probably 300 sixteen to twenty five year old youths and young adults participating. They were all dressed in missionary dress and looked quite impressive. That is the hope of Paraguay for the youth to prepare and serve missions. There was a nice group of returned missionaries who were the teaching staff for the day. It was like the Camp Helaman that is done in our stake back home, but just for one day.

We went out to the airport Friday to meet with the head of security so we could continue to go back by customs to greet our missionaries. They kindly said we could continue which is nice for us. As soon as the new missionaries get off the plane and get in line at customs we can see them and then help direct them to get their luggage together. It helps us and the airport to organize when we have large groups of missionaries who are pretty dazed by the time they get off the plane here in Paraguay. As we were driving home from the airport we drove by an area Mark has been watching every time we go to the airport. He said it looked like it used to be a driving range and this time they had put up the markers and a little tent like building. I’m sure if we ever find time for a preparation day he will want to go hit a few golf balls there. He was pretty excited to see that!

We are enjoying General Conference this weekend. It’s such a wonderful weekend and a great opportunity for the missionaries to share with their investigators the wonderful messages we receive. We hope you all have a great week. We love and miss you all. Mark and Sandy

Pictures Sept 26, 2010

Elder Velluto ready to return home.

Elder Stearman, new secretary for President Callan.

Elder Bowns couldn't wait to let Elder Stearman start taking phone calls.

The group of members from Santa Rita at Asuncion Temple.

President Callan, Elders Villegas, Fernandez,Urmston with members

at temple in Asuncion.

Elder Bills, Villegas,Fernandez and Urmston with members from Santa

Rita at temple in Asuncion

Sept 26, 2010

Dear Family and Friends, September 26, 2010

Monday started off the week with lots of things going on here. We welcomed Elder Stearman into the office to begin training as the new secretary for President. He’s a very mature solid missionary who is already doing well in his new responsibilities. The secretary and secretary in training took half of the newest group of missionaries to downtown Asuncion to sign their legal papers. It was nice to see the new missionaries and ask how they were doing. They all looked good and most said their Spanish is coming! The process of keeping all the missionaries here legal is quite interesting at times. It seems whenever there is a change in people in the government everything changes. We just think we have the system down and then they change it or add new parts. It continues throughout the mission because they only will allow the signing to be valid for a certain amount of time and then they have to resign. It’s such a bother when we have missionaries 5-7 hours away who have to come in and sign. Oh well ,it is important to keep everyone legal so we do what we need to.

Monday we also said good bye at the airport to Elder Velluto ,a good missionary who was returning home . He served well! There were the usual phone calls about situations with missionaries that needed to be dealt with. Some missionaries seem to fight the very things that will bless their lives and help them forever. If they could just catch the vision of doing the Lord’s will now and forever things would go so much better for them. That day also brought the news that one of our sweet Elder’s brother had passed away. I am so impressed with the strength I see in these young missionaries who have answered the call to serve and do so even when things are very challenging and hard things happen. He told us that although the death was not expected, the spirit had prepared him a couple of weeks ago so it was easier for him to hear the news. He came into the office and spoke to his family on the phone and was able to lift and support them in their sorrows. What an amazing experience to watch a mature young missionary bless the lives of his family and provide comfort to them all at this very hard time. It makes me think about a message I heard from Elder Holland where he talked about vicarious blessings, the greatest of which is the atonement. He said vicarious blessings are those we receive because of the things other people do. We are blessed because of what the Savior did with the opportunity to repent and grow and change. When we attend the temple other people are blessed with the opportunity to accept the ordinances performed for them. When we serve in the church our families can be blessed as we fulfill our callings. The list goes on and on. When I see a young Elder anxious to give comfort to his parents I see the blessing that his mission is to his family and the wonderful way it can touch their lives as well as his own. I also know that as we are here trying to do what the Lord needs us to do , our family is being blessed and helped along the way. I am grateful for the true principle of vicarious blessings that our loving Heavenly Father so willingly gives to us.

I had a nice conversation with Lidu, our helper, the other day. We were talking about why some people remain faithful in the church and others do not. There are many on the roles here that we do not see in church meetings. She really cares about those who are not coming any longer. She said that for her it means that she has to just do what she knows she should no matter what is going on around her. Some people let the actions of another person determine if they will come to church or not. She said she could have been offended many times by what people say to her. She chooses to ignore those things and worry more about her relationship with the Savior and Heavenly Father. When President Monson spoke about not judging to the women in the Relief Society broadcast last night, it reminded me of my conversation with Lidu. That is exactly what Lidu was saying. If the church is going to grow and we are going to help less active members want to return to be with us , we need to teach with the Savior’s love and help people feel the spirit so they can truly be converted and have the strength to change and then be committed enough to remain faithful.

Saturday Mark met a great group who had come from Santa Rita to do baptisms in the temple. The missionaries have only been in Santa Rita since July but there are already 45 people attending their Sunday meetings. This trip to the temple will help them and encourage them to prepare to receive their endowments in the future. Elders Urmston, Fernandez,Bills, and Villegas are doing well there to gather in the existing members living there and teaching and baptizing more also. We have driven through Santa Rita the whole time we have been here and wondered why there weren’t missionaries there. It has been fun to see the excitement as the city has now been opened up for the work!

We are preparing for our second round of leadership training meetings and zone leaders council this week. We continue to focus on the new eight simplified lessons from Preach My Gospel recently given us to help prepare our missionaries to be better teachers. All the zone and district leaders and the trainers will be in Asuncion for three days and nights of lesson and practices. We counted about 74 people for lunches. It will be a great week with lots of energy all in one room! We love to see that part of the missionaries when they are working on being better teachers and then go out and help the rest of the mission.

Today our son Robert is blessing our sweet little granddaughter Rose Amelia in Provo. We wish we could be there with them along with Rachel and Jack . We are grateful for the good things that are happening in our family and even though we enjoy the joy of these events from far away the joy is still there. We love our family and the knowledge that we can be with them forever brings us great comfort as we are away from them for these few years. Have a great week! Love, Mark and Sandy

Pictures Sept 19, 2010

Primary children after Primary sacrament program in Barrio Herrer

Sept 19, 2010

Dear Family and Friends, September 19, 2010

We hope everyone is having a good week. We had a nice Tuesday when we attended a meeting with Zone 3 here in Asuncion. With the new schedule of zone conferences and interviews quarterly instead of every six weeks we were asked to hold specialized trainings in between to help with teaching skills for missionaries. The zone leaders Elders Guenther and Rodriguez asked President to come and help give the zone a boost. We met with the 22 members of the zone from 9am to noon. As part of the renewed focus on teaching we also received the DVD’s produced by the missionary department called” The District 2”. It is the second of a series of video clips of real missionaries in real teaching settings that we watch and discuss. They really are inspiring and helpful in getting discussions going and helping us to be able to dissect the teaching methods being used. As we were watching them in preparation for the meeting the day before I had this feeling of gratitude for the missionaries and the wonderful things they are doing by helping people every day to learn about the gospel. We aren’t in the homes as much as they are and it made me want to be there with them more. At the end of our meeting the Hermanas came up and asked us if we would go with them to visit a family they were teaching. We met the La Flor family and had a nice visit with them. They had some questions for Mark and we were able to share our testimonies with them. They have a baptismal date set so hopefully they will continue on in their study of the church. It was exactly an answer to my desire to be in the homes a bit more. The Lord listens to our desires ,I know!

Mark had two different video conferences this week. One with the area presidency and another with the area seventy assigned to Paraguay. He also went to a stake Priesthood meeting in Fernando de la Mora stake. The focus from the area has been helping the local leaders be able to fulfill their callings better by better training. It is still amazing to me that many branch presidents have only been members 3 years of so and District Presidents just a bit longer. There is a need to strengthen all members here and especially the men so they can become stronger leaders. For the missionaries it is at times a balancing act to know how to support local leaders without stepping in and taking over. Many of our missionaries have come from areas where the organization of the church is fully functioning and they know how things should be done. If they are not careful the local leaders will sit back and let the missionaries do what the local leaders should be doing. They are really concentrating on getting ward and branch councils going now and that will help things so much as more and more begin to routinely hold their meetings. It’s a great education for these young elders to see what happens in branches when required meetings are not held. I’ve heard more than one elder say they have learned how important these council meetings are and also they will always do their home teaching when they go home because they see how important it is now!

Mark went to Encarnacion today for a Priesthood meeting. He and his counselor drove 4 hours to the meeting and then will have interviews and the meeting and then drive home after the meeting. A very long day for him and a quiet one for me! I went to our home ward today and it was the Primary program. One of our office elders , Elder Steren , played the piano for them and they sang well and presented a nice program. There were about 15 children and 3 leaders there for the program. There were probably 85 or 90 people in sacrament meeting which was a bit more than normal for our ward.

Our lesson in Relief Society today was about faith in Jesus Christ. I am grateful for my testimony of the Savior and the faith I have in him. I know that with faith in Jesus Christ we can do whatever he asks us to. I know he understands everything about me and my struggles and successes and truly is the only one that can help me at times. Just as we teach people that they need faith to move forward and be baptized we need to continually strengthen our faith throughout our lives. I am grateful that because of our faith we can do things that we might not otherwise try to do. I know that because of our faith in Christ we can become the people he needs us to become. How blessed we are to be a small part of this great work here in Paraguay and have the opportunity to share that message! We love and miss you all!

Mark and Sandy

Pictures September 12, 2010

New Area Medical Advisor Elder Hollingsworth and President Callan

Elder Marin and President and Sister Callan

Looking down stairwell of 17 floor Hotel Sabe in downtown Asuncion

View from 17th floor of hotel--downtown Asuncion

Downtown Asuncion

The River Paraguay seen from the hotel window

The oldest train station in South America is in downtown Asuncion,

also the pink La Pacho tree

Odonto (dental) center....Maybe we'll stay here after the mission

and Mark can set up a practice here!!

River Paraguay which borders Asuncion

Down Town Asuncion

Downtown Asuncion

Elders looking over Asuncion

Elders Smith, Dance, Steren, and Bowns with full tummies!!

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