Every day´s an adventure here in the mission. ;_). Just came home from the supermarket. As we walked in someone told us that he knew us. He told us that we were spies. ;_). We smiled, shook his hand, and got a little bit of a laugh as he called after us, “SPIES!!!” “SPIES”!!!! I´ve also heard that the white steeples on top of the churches are actually hiding antennas that we use to send our secret information. Nobody even told me! And I´ve been in the church my whole life! Man.
Well, if we´re on funny stories: I LOVE the bread here. They make it kind of like a roll. And they bring it out in HUGE baskets. If you catch it right when they come out, they´re still steamy and hot. You´ve got to swim your way through to the front to get the steamy ones though. ;_).
Also, sometimes, if someone REALLY doesn´t want you to contact them, and they see you coming at them, they´ll cross you. They´ll pretend like they didn´t see you, and then just make a very obvious sign of the cross, looking at a Virgin statue or looking at a catholic church steeple or something like that. It always gets me to smile. I really, really, really love Paraguay. The people, the culture, the little quirks, it all makes me feel so at home. I LOVE MY MISSION.
Elder Wray. I love him. He´s a champ. He and I are like brothers. His testimony is powerful. It´s FUN to go out and teach with him. He´s got a great sense of humor, and keeps the spirit around while he´s laughing.
On a side note, Gloria Baez is getting baptized at seven tonight.
;_). Just kidding. It´s not a side note. It´s a tender mercy from my Father in Heaven. It´s a miracle. Elder Curtis asked me on Sunday if he could ask her when she´s getting baptized. I smiled and said yes! Please! Elder Wray and I had had some VERY spiritual lessons with her the week before, but she just couldn´t accept the baptismal invitation. She was waiting for it to feel like the right moment for her.
I suppose that the right moment was right as everyone was walking into Sacrament Meeting. Elder Curtis walked in and calmly said, “ Your investigator is getting baptized on Saturday.” After a second´s delay of disbelief we put our heads on straight and immediately made arrangements. We confirmed with her, and went straight to the bishop´s counselors to make the announcement. Since then it´s been a whirlwind of preparations. Gloria made a HUGE decision last week to follow the Law of Chastity, and follow the Word of Wisdom. She´s changed her whole life around, and it´s been incredible to watch it from start to finish, or at least to her baptism. ;_).
President Callan himself interviewed her for her baptism. He enjoys doing them every once in a while, and felt like she would be a good candidate to interview. On Thursday night, after a 50 minute interview, they both came out with red eyes and tissues, and President ok´d the baptism. He talked to us the next day and told us that she knows the doctrine very well. He said that in his interviews he looks to see if the person will be able to stand on their own, and keep progressing, after the baptism, and said that Gloria was more than capable. Gloria told us that being in the interview, she almost felt like she was with Christ himself.
The church in Paraguay has gained a great asset. Gloria Baez will be a leader. She asked us last night when she would be able to teach classes. ;_). And so it is that Gloria Baez converted to the Church. 20 years old, in her 3rd year of Law School, with one of the brightest minds and futures that I´ve seen here in Paraguay. It´s truly been a miracle to watch her conversion. “I did NOT want to listen to the missionaries three months ago. Not one bit.” – Gloria last night to the member that we were with. It´s true! Our first few meetings were just ROUGH with her. A lot of really deeply engrained traditionalism had to be sanded out before we ever started moving anywhere in our conversations with her. But the spirit if real. So real. It testifies. It softens. I promise you that it does. Haha, I also promise you that it can take its sweet time doing so. ;_). It´s an amazingly humbling experience learning to bow the knee to the timing and perfect planning my Father in Heaven. I´m grateful for it though. It´s opening my eyes to His world, His ways, and i´m gratefully forgetting my own.
Read the first five pages of Chapter 20 of Jesus the Christ if you´re looking to get to know Him a little bit better. I read it this morning and got sucked in. Goner. Waaay gone. ;_). I was off in another world during studies this morning. Those are my favorites. When the spirit elevates you to a higher plane of thought and meditation and consideration. Sublime.
Mom. I´m in 2 nephi 32, my second time making my way through the book of mormon while marking it specifically. Yes. It´s a love that grows very slowly, but it´s a love that grows deep and stays deep. We teach 2 nephi 31 a TON in the mission. I just figured out why yesterday. Mark Christ´s name in one color, His words in another, His attributes (Chapter 6 of Preach My Gospel), and His Gospel (Lesson 3: Faith, Repentance, Baptism, Holy Ghost, Endure to the End) in yet another. Do that and you´ll figure out why too. I´ve found that most of the chapters are pretty strong in one or two of the four areas. Chapter 31 is LOADED with all four of them. And the Investigators feel it.
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