Pictures November 20, 2010

Elder Palma and Elder Robayo at airport.

Elders Henrie, Butler,Love,Presidente y Hermana,Singson,King and

Chatterley at airport.

All the new missionaries and their trainers.

Elder Smith pretending to be Presidente.

Presidente bringing Elder Smith back to reality!

Our new administrador Elder Sellers being trained by Elder Dance.

The leaving missionaries. Elders Packard, Clyde, Lizondro, Warner,

Bonilla, Escarate and Guitarra, a great group of missionaries!!

Elders Packard, Clyde, Lizondero,Warner, Bonilla, Escarate and Guitarra.

November 20, 2010

Dear Family and Friends, November 20, 2010

This week was change week so we received 8 new missionaries. Early Tuesday afternoon we received Elder Palma from Mexico and Elder Robayo from Sweden. A couple hours later Elder Butler from Layton ,Utah, Elder Chatterley from Reno, Nevada, Elder Henrie from Panguitch , Utah, Elder King from Logan, Utah, Elder Love from Mesa, Arizona and Elder Singson from American Fork, Utah all arrived. We spent the day in orientations for the newly arrived elders, they all interviewed with President and then we had a dinner at the office. We had our testimony meeting there also this time. Because they arrived later that most groups we arranged things a little differently this time. We were so impressed with the language abilities with the north Americans in this group. I think as a whole they were better prepared with their language and were able to express beautiful testimonies in Spanish. They must have had some great teachers at the MTC!

Wednesday the new missionaries went to sign their legal papers and then we had our meeting with the trainers. The new missionaries joined us and they were introduced to their companions. By 10:30 am they were all off to their new areas to get to work! The rest of the day was spent with the leaving missionaries going to lunch and the temple, followed by a testimony meeting at the mission home. Elders Clyde, Lizondro, Guitarra,Warner, Packard,Bonilla, and Escarate have all served well and bore sweet testimonies. We love them and will miss them! Thursday we went to the airport 3 times to say goodbye to them all.

Friday we met a new missionary couple that are here serving with the Perpetual Education Program . The Lucas’ also will be helping a bit with medical needs. She is an RN and he was an EMT so they are here to answer questions when we have them along with the area medical advisor.

This week we are thinking about our many blessings as we think about Thanksgiving. We are so grateful for the gospel of Jesus Christ. We are grateful for the restoration of the true church. We are grateful for the Book of Mormon and other scriptures. We are grateful for the sealing powers of the priesthood that bind us as families and friends to Heavenly Father and the Savior. We are grateful for the atonement of Jesus Christ and the opportunity it gives us to repent and improve each day. We are grateful for our wonderful family and the good things that are happening in their lives. We are grateful for our 187 wonderful missionaries who are here serving and learning to love the people of Paraguay and sharing the wonderful gospel message with them. We are grateful for the things we are learning as we watch them work and grow in their testimonies of the Savior. Life is good! We hope you all have a great Thanksgiving!!! Love, Mark and Sandy

Pictures November 14, 2010

Elder Centurion and our newest assistant Elder Parke.

Sister Foster and Sister Callan and all the hermanas in the

mission. They had so much fun being together!

The office elders were lined up and saluting as we left the office

after zone conference. Elders Smith, Steren, Dance and Stearman are an

impressive group of young men.

The Elders leaving after the zone conference in Ciudad del Este.

Ruins at Trinidad on the drive between Ciudad del Este and Encarnacion.

President Callan and Elder Foster at the ruins in Trinidad.

Baptismal font in the ruins.

Elder and Sister Foster and the Callans before the ceremony at Encarnacion.

Elder Foster and the first lady of Paraguay, Mercedes Lugo de Maidana.

Paraguayan harpists at the ceremony.

Chatting with the first lady.

President and Elder Foster with part of the 750 wheel chairs that

the church donated to the people of Paraguay.(They already received

750 earlier this year.)

Cemetary between Encarnacion and Asuncion. Almost like

little houses for the deceased.

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.