Change Week!

Hello All!

It's change week again! Nothing happens to me and E Panaifo because we're in training and that's really important to not interrupt. So, we're chilling out here in Capiatá (because they changed the name from Piro'y to Capiatá. I don't remember if I informed you all.....).

But the one big change that will be happening is this: The District groweth! We were just two companionships, but now we'll be five as we're being combined with the Ward next to us. That'll be fun. I was actually feeling bad just because I kinda slacked my District Leader responsibilities at the close of this change, but I have good plans for this new day and this new District! Excelsior!

Anyways, this week was a difficult one as far as getting people to progress. That's really been my challenge. Find someone and after finding them, get them to stick. So far, we have Hipólito, who is still infirm and still cannot read for lack of glasses, but who is still excited and desirous to share with us, which is wonderful. We realized that he hasn't been asking in his prayers if these things are true. He's just kind of focused on the reading thinking that that's the only way to know, but we're going to help him out with that this week.

Familia Benitez wasn't in church this week. :( But, they had a legitimate reason why. Their son, Moisés, who they want to be baptized soon, cut open his foot SUPER bad and it was a messy, messy thing. So, he cannot walk and they were stuck with him. He actually won't even be going to school for a week straigth. It was a bad cut. But, we were losing hope in Nelson, the father of the family, until he showed that he still really really wants to make a change and meet with us. He's been asking us specifically, "You guys will visit me this week, right ?" I was so happy to hear that. So, we're still in the fight with them.

We had our big activity this Friday, but that kind of flopped. It was sad, but at the same time I was able to learn from it and I know how to do better in the future. But! The Sisters had an awesome baptism this Saturday! His name is Carlos and he had a long journey to getting baptized, but it's so great to see him there. I got to do his baptismal interview and I'm so grateful to have heard his testimony so personally. Unfortunately, I forgot my camera...... :(

Well, other than that, we found a really awesome new family this week and we'll see tonight if they shall be solid investigators! I really believe that they will because they were really good and we really connected in that night. But, I'll write more about that next week.

To write a bit about what we have been doing, we've been working all this time with a lot of recent converts, trying to help them stay active. Sometimes that's such a fight and a lot of them are young men who just kind of like drive and we've finally started to make som progress this week. One recent convert family will be moving very soon and we're so sad to see them go. But I'll tell you more next week. Cliffhangers!

And, we have a really really awesome new Ward Mission Leader who wants to get to work, and so work we shall! I'm excited.

Thank you for your prayers and well wishes. 

I love you all.

Elder Harris

Making Up

Hello All!

This week is to make up for the past two, so let's get started shall we?

I'm going to start with P-day fun.

Two weeks ago was 4th of July, and you guys already heard about that and will finaly get to see pictures! Yay! Elder Gallegos was the guest star!

Last week was the birthday of Hna. Minks who's in our Ward and just turned 21! Yay!!!! It was great because Elder Gallegos came again! Yes! It's so good to see him. I realized that we came to be really good friends and there's really nothing quite like training to bind two people together (I send a shout out to my recently deceased Elder Yauney. Rest In Laziness until school begins my friendly Kaiguei). 

In any case, it was fun and we were able to take lots of good pictures. When in the store looking for fun party articles, we found that Paraguayan supermarkets get super, super random. Including having clown noses. Expect to see those come back for the rest of my mission. The best part of it all is one of the Elders there was Elder Bonzo. I feel like we helped him get in touch with the missionary he was always meant to be.

This P-day we just did business. So, not terribly much.

The work! It's been rough these weeks. A lot of people falling through and a lot of disappointments on all sides, but we push on. I think we need to work this week on talking to everyone all the time and not just when plans fall through and working on having better, set plans, because we just had a lot of empty days where we set plans that aren't actually any appointments, and because of that, more appointments fall, and we just go house to house for lack of something better to do. We're resolving that slowyly but surely and I'd definitely say that each week has shown improvement in one way or another. This week that improvement was definitely in our companionship. We grew much closer together and stronger. Also, on a totally non-mission related note, I improved my cooking skills quite a bit this week. However, if anyone has any additional instructions about how to make a good risotto, I'm all ears, because I'm pretty sure you don't just do what I did (throw rice in a pan, then water, and when the water's gone, milk, add flavors and cheese and all of that). I didn't even get the rice all the way cooked. :(

But, there were plenty of other successes.

I have to tell everyone about Hipólito Oviedo, because a blessing disguised heavily as a serious medical emergency gave him more time to see us this week. Though he lives thirty minutes away from the nearest useful thing to do, I love going out to visit him because he's been so prepared to receive us. He was in the hospital on Thursday and had a rough weekend, but we helped him through and he's starting to do better. He also was able to get his glasses repaired today so he'll finally be able to read the Book of Mormon! Yes! This man is amazing and he's suffered so much. His wife left him and he's had to repent of a lot of things, but now he's made some changes and wants to make so many more. God sent us out one day to a far off place that made little sense to go to find him, but he was there waiting for us, and we've been able to strengthen him since then. You will hear more about him!

Other things:

This week, you will all read of the baptism of the Sister's investigator, Carlos Figueredo, who has won a really difficult battle against a smoking addiction and alcohol to come to this moment. He's getting baptized this Saturday.

We've also been working to prepare a Fireside for all families about Eternal Families this Friday in which we can get some new investigators. That should go wonderfully.

I hope you all have a wonderful week and do wonderful things! Enjoy a flurry of pictures!

The Last Short Week

I promise that this is the last time that I send basically nothing. I'm so so so so sorry that I've done this twice in a row and next week you guys will receive an explosion of events from the weeks. We've been going out and finding so many people who need our help and I'm so grateful to God for the grace He has shown us.

God's promises are so real and He loves us so much. I'm so grateful to be part of His mercy towards the children of men.

I love you all.

Elder Harris

Once Again, A Lack of Time‏

I'm so sorry that you guys are only getting every other week so often! But I'll tell you some of the good things that happened:

Brother Benitez came to church with his whole family on Sunday! It was so awesome and now they're progressing towards becoming an eternal family someday! 

We didn't actually do anything for the fourth of July on the fourth, but today we cooked up some fried chicken with some guest stars (feel free to take your guesses as to who they are), and celebrated that way. Btw, fried chicken takes forever to make when you have to take the skin off of chicken and everything. I do not recommend it if you just want to cook something in an hour and have very limited cooking supplies.

I will write you all next week so much more!