Cambios (transfers). Written February 16, 2015

Hermana Aguilar

Left to Right Hermana Aguilar my new comp, Hermana Bronson my BFF from the CCM,
me, Hermana Bronson's new comp

Another beautiful week in Paraguay...... sooo the change was this week....... and Hermana Escobar se fue (she left) and I am still in good old Coronel Oviedo 2.1 and my new companion is... Hermana AGUILAR!!!!! She was the mom of Hermana Bronson, one of my best friend’s from the CCM, so its way fun! She just got done with training and now it’s like she is training all over again but worse because she doesn’t know the area or English!!! Yep, that’s right. I haven’t spoken a single thing in English since Wednesday. It’s weird. I wrote this letter in Spanish in my head last night and now I keep getting confused what to say so when its Spanish words it’s because I honestly can’t remember the English one and I am trying to hurry. It was the same in my last week’s letter but this week it is even worse, but I am learning soooo much!!! Hermana A is from Guatemala. Having Hermana Escobar as a companion was almost like having a North American especially in contrast to Hermana A. For example last night to help with my acne she rubbed aloe all over and made me sleep with it on. Also we picked some leaves on the side of the road and boiled them up and drank it to help with my stomach. Hermana Escobar would make me drink tea too but we bought it in the store not from the side of the road. But her food is really good and she is determined to help me lose weight because she is not as sweet about my weight as Hermana Escobar was. She keeps looking at me and saying seriously you look pregnant. We are going to eat healthy this change. I’m not complaining. I like the idea too. Everyone keeps saying my Spanish is soooo much better and we haven’t even been together a week. I personally think it’s just that I have more confidence to talk then I did before, but Hermana A seems to think I didn’t know anything before. ahah It’s ok. She can think that. I really am learning so much. I love that she was Hermana Bronson’s companion. She is always talking about her, and me too. I have lots of stories from the CCM with her. We have been working hard to find new people because basically all the investigators we have aren’t progressing which means to Hermana A that we don’t have any because no one we teach comes to church. It’s been really hard for me because basically I am in charge of everything: the paper work, the planning, the phone calls with our district leader, well pretty much all phone calls. This was so hard for me. In the past I would say our number but when he started asking all our plans Hermana Escobar would take over. But when he asked she just looked at me like what’s the plan and I don’t know it was magic. I just started talking and I had plans. I wanted to cry Friday because no one I planned to visit was home, literally everyone. I think she could tell I was so upset. I told her it’s because I want her to like it here. I want her to like being my companion because she had kept saying how much she missed Hermana Bronson and her old area. She told me I needed to worry less about what she thought and what the Lord thinks and how I can work harder in this area and what the people we are teaching need. I think I really needed that. I had been so worried she wouldn’t like me and what she was thinking and I wasn’t focused. So after that I spoke a lot more in the lessons and since that I have just been progressing like crazy. I don’t think she loves the area yet or me... haha but she told me that I am a great missionary and that’s why I am still here. I still have more to offer in Cornoel Ovideo and I still have more to learn here as well. As far as the combios (transfers) she is the only new addition to our district which I was so grateful for. I need Elder Denhalter this change. He is so patient and helpful. This was a rocky week of a lot of new but also a lot of growth for me and this area so I am really excited for this change. Now for the milagro (miracle) of the week. The elders had a baptism Saturday of 6 people, a whole family. We had planned for a boy in the rama to pass by for Hermana Justina so she could come and in the morning he wasn’t answering his phone. It’s kind of confusing everything that happened but basically I was determined to have her there so we walked to her house, got her already. I called lots of people and one of the youth said they could. It’s kind of really a long story but we ended up walking an hour to attend the baptism but it didn’t matter because we made it and Justina was there and she cried and she was so sweet singing the hymns. Today is her birthday. We are going to her party, I hope seeing this family is the push she needed to feel ready. The family alone is a huge milagro! They are gold. Unfortunately Justina couldn’t come to church. The same joven (youth) who flaked on us Saturday flaked Sunday, but he is the only one with a car so we have no other options. But I still have faith she is going to be baptized. Her desire is amazing. Anyways that’s all I got this week. I hope I wasn’t negative. I really love Hermana A and I feel so grateful she is my companion. I love you all!!! 

Hermana Ball