November 14, 2010

Dear Family and Friends, November 14,2010

We are enjoying visiting many wards and branches of the church here. Because there are about 85 units in the mission we try to go to different ones each week. Last week we went to Sajonia and this week to Monte Lindo. Both are older more established wards and both were wonderful. We usually just drop in and we enjoy seeing the missionaries at work in their areas. The Monte Lindo ward today was especially a nice experience. We felt a great love and welcome from the members there. We both were invited to share a testimony and were very impressed by the leaders of the ward and their messages. We found out that they have only been serving a couple weeks and we were even more impressed. They implemented some of the teachings that we received yesterday in the world wide training and were doing such a good job already. It’s so good to see the way the church is growing in some areas here.

Monday we had staff meeting and took care of final details for the plans for the mission tour this week with Elder and Sister Bradley Foster from our area presidency. Tuesday we picked up the Fosters at the airport and brought them to the mission home for lunch. We went to the office where our wonderful office elders had everything looking great. (They usually do!) We began our first zone conference for 3 of the zones in Asuncion and all the sisters in the mission. Immediately after the conference all of the zone leaders met with President Callan and Elder Foster and Sister Foster and I met with all the Hermanas in the mission. We have 14 sisters right now and it was nice to share some messages just for them and they also enjoyed seeing each other. Wednesday we had 3 more zones come for zone conference in Asuncion also. Immediately after we had lunch and then hopped into the already packed car and headed to Ciudad del Este. The big word for missionaries is flexibility. Elder Foster realized during the conference Wednesday morning that he needed to be in Encarnacion on Saturday morning for a presentation ceremony with the first lady of Paraguay. Since that was 5 hours away from where we were going to be we had to flip flop our conferences in our two outlying cities. Our amazing office elders had notified 85 missionaries, changed our hotel reservations and had everything set so that two hours later instead of heading to Encarnacion we went to Ciudad del Este. Amazingly everything went well with all of the things we had to change, including meetings with local leaders in each area. We arrived at our hotel in Ciudad del Este and had a nice dinner with the Fosters in a hotel we stay at each time we are there. The restaurant has a wonderful staff who takes very good care of us. The last time we were there one of the waiters had asked us if we could get him a Bible. We said we would love to and said we’d bring it this trip. We visited with him a bit and gave him the Bible along with a Book of Mormon and some more information about the church .He gave us his phone number said we could send our missionaries to talk with him. We are excited to see how his visit goes the next time we go to Ciudad del Este. We’ve had some good discussions with him over the last few months and he is a really good person who seems to be looking for more direction in his life.

We held zone conference in Cuidad del Este and then drove to Encarnacion . On the way there we took a little detour to some Jesuit ruins from the 1700’s. Elder Foster was interested in stopping to see them so we had a nice hour there walking around and talking about the history of the Catholic church. It was nice to have the time to show them some of the historical parts of Paraguay as we made our way to Encarnacion. The assistants joined us for dinner that night and we discussed the conferences so far.

Friday we held our last conference in Encarnacion and then the men had some meetings with local leaders. We had a nice dinner with the Fosters and discussed the things we had learned during the week.

The conferences for the week were focused on helping the missionaries know how to support and help the local leaders hold their ward councils focusing on the 15 people or families that each ward or branch should be reaching out to. We also focused on deepening our understanding and knowledge of the Savior so we can teach with more power and strength. As we do that we can help more people find the truth. Elder Foster is such a kind and loving man and he shared with us the importance of understanding who we are and what great worth we have in the Lord’s eyes. Once again I love the zone conference cycle and the very real way I can watch the spirit direct what happens. Each conference focused on the same things but each of us in our messages changed a few things according to the direction we received from the spirit. Elder Neil Andersen’s wife made a comment that I have thought a lot about since we were at our seminar a few weeks ago. She said that the changing messages in zone conferences that happen every cycle are a result of the prayers of parents for their missionary children. I hadn’t thought of that part of the equation before. But in reality we are all working together to help these missionaries receive what they need to progress in this time of their life. It’s the same thing for us as we pray for our children who need things that we can’t do for them because we are here. Through the spirit other people step in and help them where we can’t. What a wonderful part of the plan that we all can help each other because of the influence and guidance of the spirit.

Saturday morning we went to the ceremony in Encarnacion where the First Lady of Paraguay,Mercedes Lugo de Maidan received the 750 wheel chairs the church had given to Paraguay. Along with the 750 they received earlier this year that was quite a lot of help for the people here. The church does so many wonderful things to help people. The first lady was very gracious and gave a wonderful message saying that she just wants to follow the commandments and love and help everyone. Elder Foster spoke and then we listened to a few other speakers and recipients and some Paraguayan music. Mark and I had a nice visit with a young couple who were there because the husband was a doctor who directed one of the hospitals there. They just had a new baby and we had a good visit with them also about helping us with medical needs in that city. They invited us to dinner next time we are there and we received their information so we can contact them next visit there. The Lord leads us to good people all the time, he really does prepare the way for the work to be accomplished.

We are so grateful for the blessings of this week. We were taught by Elder Foster and spent time with him and his wife that we will cherish always. The church is true and we are happy to be here helping other people find the joy we feel in our lives because of the gospel! Have a nice week!

Love, Mark and Sandy

Pictures November 7, 2010

Sandy and Sarah

The Callans and the Pierces.

Sandy and the Pierces.

Sarah and Benjamin Pierce and family

Hermanas Sargent,Machuca,Sapuyes,and Potter came by the office so

they could go sign legal papers

Pinoza District. Hermanas Sargent,Machuca,Elders

Swenson,Stuart,Martinez,Vasquez,Tello and Sellers. Great group of

missionaries!

Elder Bowers on his last day in the mission.

November 6, 2010

Dear Family and Friends, November 6, 2010

November is here and again the seasons just don’t match the weather here. It’s been in the eighties and hasn’t been humid yet so it’s been quite nice. After we exercised today on our preparation day we spent some time in the pool which was wonderful! We have a baby bird out on the patio in a bush and have fun watching the mother swoop in with her worms for the baby. It’s a beautiful time of the year!

Last Sunday we attended our home ward here in Herrera. We don’t attend there very often because we are out visiting other wards and branches often but it was nice to be there with more people we know a little better. In the afternoon we went over to meet the Pierce family who live about 10 minutes away. Sarah Pierce is the daughter of our friends from Farmington Bert and Linda Margetts. Sarah and her husband Benjamin and their 4 children will be here in Asuncion for 3 years with an assignment with the US Embassy. The children are 9, 7, 5 and 1. Three boys and a girl. It was so fun to meet them and visit with them a bit. They are a wonderful family and will be a great asset to their ward. Examples of good strong families are so needed here. They both speak Spanish so they are adjusting quite well.

Monday we had a staff meeting and took Elder Bowns to lunch. He has served as the secretary for Mark and he was finish training his replacement so he went back out to the field on Tuesday. He served well and helped us in many ways. He was especially talented with computers and helped with quite a few things in that area.

Tuesday we said good bye to Elder Bowers who was heading home to Utah. President interviewed him and he was off to life after the mission. He had served well and we will miss him. After the interview , we went to a district meeting with the Pinoza’ district. Elder Swenson was very impressive in his directing of the meeting . We like to attend district meeting as often as we can so we can see what is happening during those meetings. They are all held on Tuesdays so we try to attend them whenever we can. That is where we see the leadership skills of the missionaries in action and get a little more time with missionaries in smaller groups.

The rest of the week was spent preparing for our upcoming zone conference and mission tour with Elder Foster and his wife from the area presidency. They will arrive Tuesday and be here through our whole zone conference cycle. We are excited to have them come!

We have spent a lot of time reviewing all of the notes we took at our mission presidents seminar also. I typed up 16 pages of notes that I had taken so I could read and study and review them more easily. We received so many wonderful things that will help us so much. We have felt direction as to the things we need to focus on with the mission and it is exciting to feel the direction we need to take to further inspire the missionaries to accomplish all they can for the mission and for themselves personally. It has been wonderful to see the many opportunities already where we have been talking with missionaries and we have remembered specific things we were taught that were exactly what the missionaries needed . The spirit is such an amazing gift for each of us. I know as we study and prepare and try to learn he helps us remember what we need to know exactly when we need it. When we are teaching about obedience I remember something Elder Aidukaitis said to us . He said, ”When we aren’t obedient we say “No Thank You” to the help we could receive from the Lord.” That is so true! The Lord wants to help all of his children and we just need to qualify for the help by doing what he has asked us to do. I know we all could receive much more help and direction if we were more obedient in our lives. I’m so grateful for the things I am constantly learning here through this experience. Well ,we hope you all have good week. We plan to! We love and miss you all! Mark and Sandy

Pictures October 30, 2010

Paraguayan harpist at the airport in Asuncion.

Sister Callan, Sister Peterson and Sister Da Silva at the market at

Tigre Delta.

In front of the boat before the ride through the Tigre Delta.

The grocery and supply boat . Takes supplies to the residents.

The Callans, Da Silvas,Petersons and Detlefsens. We all started our

missions together.

The Sheraton Hotel at Pilar where we stayed and had the seminar.

The Petersons,Callans,Da Silvas and Detlefsens.

The Aidukaitus',Arnolds,Gonzalez', Andersens and Fosters.

Elder and Sister Gonzalez, The Callans and Elder and Sister Andersen.

October 30, 2010

Dear Family and Friends, October 30, 2010

We had a wonderful week this week that went by way too quickly. We flew to Buenos Aires, Argentina for our annual Mission Presidents Seminar. We were excited to go and meet the new members of our area presidency and also to see all the other 13 mission presidents and their wives . We were especially blessed to have Elder Neil L. Andersen and his wife and Elder Walter Gonzalez of the seventy and his wife there also. The tradition has been for an apostle to attend each mission presidents’ seminar. This year a change was made and the apostles are no longer attending the seminars. We were told we were the only seminar that had an apostle with us this year. We were so grateful for the experience we had.

We began the week with a dinner and message by Elder Anderson and his wife. Each day we had meetings during the morning and afternoon .We were spiritually fed and given so many things to think about and come back to our missions and implement. The most important thing that we were taught was the focus on the great importance of helping the missionaries really gain a deep testimony of the Savior. It is so vital and is the foundation of everything we do as missionaries. If missionaries don’t know the Savior how can they testify of him? We have wonderful missionaries in our mission but some do come with testimonies that need strengthened and deepened. It is wonderful to watch missionaries come to the mission and grow the whole time they are here no matter where they were at the beginning of their mission. We were all encouraged to deepen our own knowledge and testimony of the Savior. We were taught by Elder Gonzalez who has an amazing knowledge of the scriptures. He taught so fast we were taking notes as fast as we could so we could go back and think about all that he was saying. His wife also was a great teacher. We did practices just like our missionaries and learned some things that will help us improve with our missionaries in the future. We really felt the love of our Area Presidency also. Elder Mervyn Arnold, Elder Marcos Aidukaitis and Elder Bradley Foster are wonderful, kind loving men and their wives are wonderful too. They all taught and shared with us during the week. We felt their excitement as they begin their time together as a presidency over the area including Paraguay, Uruguay and Argentina. All of the presidency members have been mission presidents among other assignments and callings. They are great examples of serving wherever the Lord needs them as they will all be here for a few years as they serve.

We learned so much from Elder Andersen and his wife. They are such genuine , kind and loving people. At each meal the seating arrangements were assigned with everyone rotating through the tables of all the area presidency members and Elder Gonzalez and Elder Andersen’s tables. It gave us a chance to get to know everyone and they had us all share a bit about our lives with them. We sat at Elder Andersen’s table Tuesday night and again Thursday for lunch. We were so impressed with his memory for detail about each of us and the things we had said. But more importantly we felt a strong love from both him and from his wife. Sister Andersen has lived outside of the country for 10 of the last 25 years with her husband while he served on different assignments. I really admire her and recognize the sacrifice our leaders make as they are away from family as they receive and accept different assignments. We received some wonderful counsel during the week from Elder Andersen and his wife that will bless the mission and our lives personally . We were so excited to get back to our missionaries after receiving so many wonderful things to share with them. We really did miss them!

One afternoon we all took a break and went on a boat ride on the Tigre Delta at the Puerto de Frutos. There is a grouping of islands that are inhabited year round but are especially busy on weekends by all the people from the city for recreation. It was interesting to see the school boat as the children left school and got on the boat to go to their homes. There were bus boats that people ride in between the islands and grocery boats that bring all the items the people need. It was a nice afternoon and fun to see a little more of the area.

We continue to be so grateful for the experience we are having as we serve here in Paraguay. We are learning so much and our lives are so much fuller because of this experience. We are grateful for the way the spirit teaches us as we strive to help these wonderful missionaries we are entrusted with at this time. There is much to do here and we felt the message of urgency in the things we heard this week. We are grateful for our chance to be taught by an Apostle this week and know our mission will be blessed as we follow the counsel we have received. We hope you all have a wonderful week! We love and miss you all!

Mark and Sandy Callan

Pictures October 23, 2010

Spring Flowers

Elders Flint ,Lamb and Nielson practice

lders Ayala and Perales show us their apartment in San Ignacio.

. Elder Cano and Elder Beckett teach Elder Centurion.

Elders Parker and Ramirez are happy!!

Elders Wright and McGee.

Elders Barboza,Romero,Stokes and Rios after interviews.

Elders Fernandez and Villegas in front of the rented chapel in

Santa Rita. Nice name on the building!

Elder Durrant and Woodruff in front of their house in Santa Rita.

Elders Nichols ,Sueldo and Rockwood working on teaching skills.

Elders Boydston,Tyler,Alexander and Pearson doing their practices.

Elders Nichols ,Rockwood and Wray working hard!

Happy Elders Tyler and Nichols!

Elder Faber and Pugsley practice as zone leader Elder Roberts watches.

Zone leader Elder Facer working with Elders Hunt and Arrieta as they plan.

Elders Guizada and Hall doing some planning.

October 23, 2010

Dear Friends and Family, October 23, 2010

This was another week of interviewing as we travel out to Encarnacion and Ciudad del Este to finish up the rest of the missionary interviews for this cycle. We really enjoyed the week as the missionaries were all busy with training by watching the DVD’s on improving teaching and discussing them or doing practices. One district had some training by the zone leaders and another zone used the time to do their weekly planning while they were waiting for their turn for interviews. Again my favorite part is spending a little time visiting with those waiting. Elder Alexander shared with me his scripture for when the week seems hard. Mosiah 23:21,22 speaks of our patience and faith being tried but if we trust in the Lord we will be lifted up in the last day. He is a positive elder who is working hard and doing well.

I also enjoy participating in the practices. It’s a real insight into how the missionaries really are doing as they teach. The thing that I especially love is the way the spirit helps and teaches during the practices. More often than not we all have wonderful spiritual insights as we do our practices, not only about our teaching methods but about the lessons we are teaching and their personal application and how we can help others to understand the message. It also helps me to know the missionaries better. I did a practice with Elder McShinsky and Elder Villalba. It really helped me to know their personalities and them better . Some missionaries are more reserved than others so it’s nice to hear them teach and see who they are more clearly. We are so grateful for the opportunity we have to spend time here with these wonderful missionaries. We learn so much as we watch them work hard and learn personal lessons through their challenges. The life of the missionary is difficult at times but the wonderful part is watching young men and women learn how to grow through their struggles and become more prepared for their futures. Really that is what life is about for all of us each day, trying to be better and better in all that we do.

We are in spring now and the drive was beautiful as we went around the mission. It really is a beautiful place that we are living in right now! We were also able to visit two apartments we had not yet visited in San Ignacio and Santa Rita and also a new chapel we are renting in Santa Rita. The weather has been perfect temperature with a bit of rain thrown in so everything is green and growing. One thing we find interesting is the way road crews along the route we drive on use only machetes or gas powered weed wackers to trim the sides of the roads. It seems an awful slow way to accomplish the task!

We spent a lot of time while driving thinking about what we see going on in the mission with our teaching abilities. It really is true that if you want someone to learn something well they need to hear it seven times seven ways. We just keep trying to help everyone learn what they need to so we can teach our wonderful message more clearly and with the spirit so that more people will be brought to the Savior and his gospel.

Well, we hope you all have a great week! Love, Mark and Sandy