For the first time in forever, we didn't gain in weight

Merry Christmas everyone!  How did it go?

Here it went really well.  It was fun to focus more on Jesus Christ
and what He did for us.  Really, every thing we are, everything we
have is thanks to Him and His love for us.  In Mosiah 2, King Benjamin
is talking about how even if we were grateful and served our Lord with
everything that we have to give and will have to give, we will always
be in His debt.  All that we can do to show gratitude to Him is keep
His commandments and serve Him with all of our might, mind, and
strength.

I loved talking with my family on Christmas, although it was all that
I had to push the end button...I was like...aw flip.  But something
that I realized, as I walked back out into the heat and the stinky
streets, is that now, I am more comfortable here.  This is where I
want to be, and this...as cheesy as it sounds, is my life. es lo
mejor:)

Also, I wanted to give a big shoutout to Jodi and family for their
package, that was so fun to open and to see the pillowcase!  All of
those scriptures are amazing:)

Again, to explain the subject line.  We are trying to build a trust
bridge with the members here, so we decided to go caroling to all of
the members in the two areas of our ward.  We caroled in the other
area on the 24th, and ended around 8:15.  Which was fine, until we
realized that we didn`t have a bus, because the buses don't run on
Christmas Eve or on Christmas...so...we had to run for about 40
minutes to reach the house of an investigator that had invited us to
dinner.  We now know why some people think that Mormons are
psycho...it is because we are running everywhere all the time.  We got
there at about nine thirty, which was an hour late, and then had to
run to another appointment with a family of a recent convert, and then
we were late getting back home, so we had to run for another 20
minutes to get home and not be disobedient.  so, in total, we ran
about 1 and a half hours.  Betcha you've never done that on Christmas
Eve:)  We tried to make ourselves feel better by saying well, at least
we didn't gain weight:)

But in all seriousness, I loved this Christmas.  It made me realize
how incredibly blessed we are to be able to have the gospel, and to be
able to have families that love to be together.  We were talking to a
lady the other day that spent Christmas alone. She is about 75ish
years old, and is having health problems with her leg.  Anyways, it
made us so sad to see her and how lonely she is.

On Saturday we had a stakewide activity of Christmas. 2 days late, but
whatever.  All the wards put together a skit or...dramatization(?) of
a miracle from the life of Christ.  Our ward was the pool of Bethesda.
It was amazing to read this and to see the different miracles from the
life of Christ.  Between every skit we watched a Bible video from the
Church.  If you have time on Sunday or for FHE or something, you guys
need to watch these.  They are so powerful and...I don't know, REAL.
I loved watching them and watching Christ heal the people.

Anyway, it was a good, if really interesting week.  I love you all and
I hope that you have an amazing week!

Love,
Hermana Farish

Ward Christmas activity - "The Pool of Bethesda"

Pillowcase from her cousins

My Future Children

Hola a todos,

Merry Christmas to everyone!  How has your week gone, are you so excited for Christmas?

You may be wondering what is up with the subject line...well, i am going to tell you.  This week it rained like crazy, and when it rains, we get to walk in rivers ALL DAY.  My companion and I were trying not to think of what was in the water, we probably don't want to know.  We were walking in the water past our knees, trying to be as modest as possible, past all of these cars filled with people who were probably thinking...what is their problem?  Are they insane?  The answer is...only slightly.  We just have to hope that our future children will only have two eyes, one head, two ears, and all of the normal amounts of body parts, because this water is so gross!

This week was interesting.  My companion and I are still both pretty new to the area and the ward, so we didn't really realize that the problem here isn't the investigators, it is the ward.  We only had 46 people at church on Sunday, partly due to the rain, and partly due to the fact that we are in Paraguay.  We are really focusing in on less actives, we have around 125 only in our half of the ward.  We were thinking that we don't really want to baptize anyone if the ward isn't functioning.  We were asking around, and only one or two people are reading the Book of Mormon on a regular basis, and no one is having their family home evening.  These two things are so incredibly important: simple, but important.  We are working on a program that will help these people to read the Book of Mormon, and gain a testimony, so that they will have the desire to work and push themselves out of their comfort zone.  So...maybe we won't have baptisms, but we will have visiting teachers, home teachers, testimonies, and work, work, work.  I am so excited:)

This weather is SO bipolar.  We were dying of heat the first half of the week, and the last couple of days we almost wore nylons because it was so cold.  It can't seem to decide what it wants to do.  

We had 2 investigators in church this week, Freddy and Monse.  Freddy is 14 years old, and the cousin of a less active.  We got both him and the less active to church, and they are both reading the Book of Mormon.  We have now made that our own little personal requirement for baptism.  They have to be reading the Book of Mormon on a regular basis before they can be baptized, because the Book of Mormon is the foundation of everything we do, and if they have a testimony of the Book of Mormon, there is a better chance of staying faithful.  We have another investigator that came last week, but couldn't come this week because her grandson was sick.  Her name is Felicia, and she is also reading the Book of Mormon.  She wants us to teach her grandson and her daughter so they can be baptized as well...but does anyone know how to treat a gambling addiction?  Suggestions would be appreciated.

Jodi, thank you so much for the package, and thank you everyone for your testimonies!  I love to read one every day, and it will be so sad when they are gone:(

I hope that you all have a wonderful week, and that you can recognize how blessed you are to be able to be in the states, with all of the wonderful ideals and traditions that Christmas there brings.  I love you all so much, and I hope that you have a wonderful week!

Love,

Hermana Farish

A gross, dirty, stinky, mosquito filled river.  Whoopwhoop!

Our sad, strange little Christmas tree

He Is The Gift

Hola a todos!

How was your week? How are things going? Are you excited for Christmas?  Because I am TOTALLY excited.  For a lot of things, really.  There is a really cool video online that has been circulating through the world that is called, He is the gift.  christmas.mormon.org.  You should all go watch it.  Basically, it talks about how the real reason behind Christmas is Christ, the person who started it all.  It is really good, it would make a fun family home evening.

We had a baptism this week!  We baptized Elena and Samuel, her nine year old son.  Elena was a missionary in Guatemala and Africa for an Evangelical Church, so she has a strong Christian background.  The thing that caught her attention was that she would be able to do baptisms for her brother who died.  I don't think we realize what a priviledge that is, to be able to help the people that we love who didn't have the chance in this life to be able to have a second chance.  How cool:)

Saturday was really crazy.  One of the recent converts of my companion went to the temple to be sealed, so we woke up at 5, were on the bus by 6, and in Asunción by 7:30...yuck.  Since I wasn't involved with these people, I couldn't go inside, so we had divisions and we worked in Palma Loma (my new area) all day. My companion was Hermana Fardos.  She is from California and has a little bit less time than me, so it was fun to teach lessons.  It taught me a lot how to lead into a lesson and how to teach at all levels so the people can understand.

I received your package mom, and it was AWESOME!  My companion loved, loved, loved her stocking, she wanted to open it right then and there!  We are going to see how long she can last.  How long WE can last.

So, today we went to Pizza Hut...and on the way we passed Burger King, McDonalds, and a TGI Friday!  My mind was completely blown. It was an interesing experience to eat pizza after 5 months...bliss:)

Now that the baptism of Elena and Samuel is over, our goal is to literally search.  Clap at every house and find the people who have been prepared for the gospel.  Here in Paraguay, you only have a doorbell at your gate if you are really wealthy, so you have to clap.  It felt ridiculous at first, like the whole a kiss on each cheek when you greet someone thing, but now it is normal...how weird.

We were walking yesterday and someone drove by and yelled out in English "Hey Elderas (they don't know we are hermanas, so we are elderas, not elderes), How are you?" and then proceeded to call us witches.  Sheesh.  Some people's children.  You would think that if someone was going to learn English, they would learn something useful.

Something that really took me out of my comfort zone (more than usual) was that I was asked to give a talk in sacrament meeting with 10 minutes to spare.  In Spanish.  Something that I used was the hymn "Have I Done Any Good?" In this hymn, it asks the questions that we need to ask ourselves every day, tells us to get a move on, and then proceeds to promise us the blessings we will receive when we do what we need to. If you have some time this week, read it and ask yourselves the questions. Mosiah 18 talks about what we promised when we were baptized, and how that involves helping others.

Something that made me sad was we visited a less active on Thursday, and this lady (like 75 years old) wanted to die.  She hadn't eaten for 3 days, because she just wanted to die and go to heaven with her mom and brother.  It made me so sad, because she just didn't have anything to live for anymore. She didn't want to go outside, nothing.  So we talked to the Relief Society president and a group of us on Sunday went over to talk with her, like a visiting teaching thing. We went back today and she was 100% different.  It was a testimony to me of visiting teaching and how the people respond so much more when they know that they are valued and loved.

Yeah, life is good, I love being a missionary, even when you sweat off everything and the only makeup you have is sunscreen and bug repellent, it is the best:) I hope that you all have a good week, and remember to ask yourselves what you have done today to help someone feel the love of Christ through you.

Love,

Hermana Farish

Baptism

Baptism

The paper says "After a day of much heat"  Apparently this is what happens to makeup in humidity

Stop That INFERNAL Happiness!

Dear Family,

To sum it up into one word, this week has been CRAZY! With a capital C-R-A-Z-Y. So, we had cambios, and I left! SAY WHAT!! I was transferred to an area about 20 minutes away by colectivo called Palma Loma. I wasn't too thrilled about it...not gonna lie. It is like, oh, you are happy? You have lots of people who are progressing? Bueno, we can't have that...entonces, changes. Haha, no, its all good. My new companion is from Honduras, Hermana Betancourth. She doesn't weigh more than 100 pounds, and is about up to my shoulder...I feel like this behemoth named Helga walking along beside her...ah well. My new area is WAY more wealthy than my last one. I am not so sure how I feel about that, but that is okay. I am learning so much with my companion (She will go home in May) and I am learning how to suck it up and just go with it. Also, Hermana Betancourth can speak Guarani really well, so it it my goal this change to learn how to bear my testimony in Guarani. We will see how it goes...

On a happier note, how was the Christmas devotional? We weren't able to see it here, but I downloaded it and am going to watch it tonight with my companion.

So...in my district meeting, I received a flipping awesome break my heart make me bawl my eyes out package from Bunkerville, Nevada. Thank you so much Jodi and Family. I wasn't going to open it because I was absolutely positive that it was for Christmas, but I did, and am saving the presents, jello, and...wait for it...WHITE CHOCOLATE POPCORN for Christmas:) Thank you so much, it made my month:)

So, Palma Loma was the area of the hermana leaders a couple of changes ago, and we have a baptism this week, with 3 other progressing investigators and lots and lots and lots of less actives. But we had a ward council on Friday, so we are doing good! This ward is functioning really well, and now all we have to do is get people there. No biggie:)

There are lights here and Christmas trees a little..we are going to buy a little one to use in our apartment. My companion has a ton of Christmas music, like the gift, and some other songs that make me REALLY miss home. But oh well. It has gone by so fast and I just need to take advantage of every day here. To celebrate, the people here go nuts on the 24th with fireworks, parties, drinking, and lots of other things. And then on Christmas morning, it is dead. Like a rock.

Anyways, it was a good week, with lots of changes, and lots of new learning opportunities. I read something this week in the Liahona that said (I am translating from Spanish, so it isn't word for word...) "When we have trials, it is either because we are being disobedient, or the Lord knows that we are ready to progress some more." So when life gets ya down, just know that if you are being obedient, the Lord will help you to progress and become stronger.

I love you all and I hope that you have a good week!

Love,

Hermana Farish

Ummm...the straight and narrow way?

9 year old girl they were teaching.  Erin is saying goodbye before she is transferred.

Cambios...AHHHHHH

Dear Family,

This week was really awesome.  We worked hard this week to be obedient and to take advantage of every moment that we have to work every day.  It paid off, which was awesome.  We had 5 investigators in sacrament meeting this week, and 2 complete families of inactives (not anymore!!!!!!!)  The bummer thing was that Carina, who came last week, wasn't there.  She had so much work...which is a blessing, but now we have to back off on "more work is a blessing part."  We went to see her yesterday, but she was with her boyfriend...blast.  Cool beans, next lesson, law of Chastity:)

One lady who came, named Maria Lopez, has 9 children, two of which came to sacrament meeting.  We have a family home evening with them tonight, we are hoping to catch the other 7 kids and the husband.  She has read everything we gave her, including Alma 5.  Someone has to be special to read the entire chapter, right?  Maybe we will try her faith with Jacob 5...haha, no.  I can't even read all of that chapter.

We have been really blessed this week, so that means that cambios (transfers) are here.  We moved to our new huge house on Saturday, and we can't unpack because we don't know what is going to happen...no sabemos.  It is so crazy that they are here and my training is over..AHHHH!!!

How was thanksgiving?  For me...it was interesting.  In a really good way.  The week before, I was thinking about how it would be, without all of the family, yummy food, and all of the wonderful things that make up my memories of Thanksgiving.  I honestly wasn't sure how it would be, but it was awesome.  We ate at a member's home (actually, under her mango tree), and as I was sitting there, eating food that I am not used to, sweating to death, and all of that...I realized that there was no place that I would rather be.  Enserio.  There are so many things that I have to be grateful for; things that are important and that come directly from our Heavenly Father.  I am so happy for the opportunity to be here as a missionary, to be able to help people come to the knowledge of their Redeemer, who suffered and died for them because He loves them.  I am grateful for my parents and my ancestors, who have sacrificed so much for me, so that I could have the knowledge of the restored gospel of Jesus Christ.  I am so grateful for this gospel that gives me purpose, gives me a hope that everything that we do in this life, and every mistake that we make, has a purpose, that which is to become more like our Savior, and live with Him and our families for eternity.  I love the process of repentance, and how we can repent from the stupid things that we do every single flipping day.  And how cool is it that we have a ever patient Heavenly Father and an older brother who are there with us every step of the way.

I love this gospel, I love teaching it, and especially I love it when people can feel the Spirit of what we are teaching, and when they understand that the Spirit is testifying to them.  My relationship with my Heavenly Father is so much stronger, and I have so much farther to go, but that is okay.

I hope that you all have a wonderful week, and that you can remember what you are really grateful for!!!!  Love you!

Love,

Hermana Farish

Pasta Omelettes and Beet Juice

Dear Family,

How is everything? Is it cold there? Are you excited for Thanksgiving? Christmas Tree hunting? I was totally oblivious to the fact that Thanksgiving is this week until I saw a sign for black Friday, because turns out they have it here. Weird.

This week was really weird. But good. We had interviews and zone conference on Tuesday, and I received your package mom, with...wait for it...PRETZEL M&MS AND OREOS. It was pretty epic. I was so happy. We sat around after planning one night and just snacked on M&Ms...it was great.

I walked in the kitchen and saw my companion mixing raw eggs with leftover pasta...it was SO gross looking. But, turns out, you can make omelettes with pasta and raw eggs. So, if you ever have left over pasta and eggs, try a pasta omelette. It isn't as gross as it sounds. Also, beet juice. Gross. We ate at a member's house on Sunday, and she gave us this HUGE pitcher of sweetened beet juice. I tried it...naive little greenie that I am, and lo and behold, it was disgusting. You can really learn self control when you have the person who made the food standing there watching you eat it...it was sad.

On Wednesday, we received a call that we needed to find a house...by Saturday. We don't live in our area now, and every day we have to take a bus for like 15 minutes to get to our area. But apparently that isn't good, so we spent a lot of time and energy just walking around and looking for houses that would be secure. We can't be out walking in our area after dark, so we needed to find something where we could just walk and be safe in our house. Annndddd....we found it. It isn't in our area, but we can walk for a block and alli està. It is really big, but we are going to be moving hopefully this Saturday.

On Friday, it rained SOOOO hard. It was sunny when we left our apartment, but by 2:30 it was raining and so windy. We were trying to find a house, but we decided to start proselyting, and so therefore the thunder and lightning began. I haven't ever really been in a storm like that with no place to go and no protection but my umbrella. It was crazy.

Something that never ceases to amaze me is that time is passing soooo fast. too fast. It just hit me today that Thanksgiving is this week, and in a month or so from today, I can see my family face to face. Que en el mundo. It is going by so fast...I end training on 3 de december, and cambios are the same day. With this new house and Christmas, Hermana Chempèn and I are hoping that we can be
together for one more change. Quien sabe.

We had an investigator come to church this week, her name is Carina Venegas. She was a reference from one of the members, and has a baptismal date for December 13. She brought her nine year old daughter with her, and now we are hoping that she can continue to progress and recognize the importance of the gospel in her life.

Something that we really tried to focus on this week was to use the Spirit to discern doubts and needs. And what do you know, it worked. Every person has a story, doubts, and needs, that need to be met before they can progress.

Anyways, it was a good week, with new things to learn every day and something that takes you out of your comfort zone. I don't think I have one anymore...is that a problem? No sè un poco. I love you all, and I hope that you have a wonderful Thanksgiving.

Love,

Hermana Farish

Ready for rain!

Companions and Friends

Ready for rain 2.0!

BiPoLaR

Dear Family, 

This week, as very aptly described by the subject line, was bipolar. We had some fun moments, but some very not so good moments as well. On Tuesday, it rained all day, and it gave new meaning to a phrase that I have heard all of my life, but now I am going to apply it to mission life. My quotation mark key doesn't work, but it is, The mission isn't about waiting for the storm to pass; it is about learning to laugh, sing, walk, and proselyte in the rain. As missionaries, we can't really dance, so we do everything else instead. It was so cold, especially after Monday, when we felt that our faces were going to fry off.

One of the downer moments was a lesson that we had on Saturday. I am pretty sure it was the worst lesson that we have had thus far. We contacted the Centurion Family about 3 weeks ago, and they were really receptive and had a lot of questions. So, we came back and taught the plan of salvation, which went fine. But this last saturday...wow. It like blew up. We were teaching the restoration and all of the sudden he began to ask a lot of questions about gay marriage and other things that made us suspect that he had read anti-Mormon literature...yeah. When my companion began to bear her testimony to try to bring the spirit back and finish the lesson, the wife, who hadn't said a word at all, began to just rip on her. She was so...bitter and angry, we were suprised. We tried again to bear testimony, but again, she was just so angry and bitter...we didn't really know what to do...if the person doesn't let you bear your testimony, what can you do? So, we said a prayer, during which the wife left, and we got out of there. It is suprising how much of an influence one bad lesson can have. The Spirit was NOT there.

On that happy note, we had a really good lesson on Sunday with Synthia. Synthia is the girl who is 24 and whose parents are actually practicing Catholics. She called us and said that her dad doesn't want us coming to the house anymore, so we met with her and Shirley at Shirley's house. It was a really good lesson, and we know that the Spirit was there. We just hope that she was able to feel it as well. Something that I learned this week was that we are going to have changes in our lives. Sometimes, it is going to...em...not be fun. But, we can learn and progress from these changes and challenges. 2nd Nephi 2!!!! I love you all, and I hope that you have a good week!

Love,

Hermana Farish

It was very cold outside!

Tree Stars and Killer Ants

Hola Familia!

How are you all? My enter key doesn’t work, so this is going to be formatted a little weird. I had a good week, it was really long, but good. You might be asking about the subject line, but it is for real. For those who have seen the land before time, you remember the tree stars? Well, they exist. Here in Paraguay. They are really big….Who knew? Just thought you would want to know. Also, there are killer ants. And they fly. They have these huge wings and so so big and gross…and they like divebomb you. Because it is so humid, they can’t fly very well, so sometimes during a lesson a huge ant the size of your bottom thumb joint drops into your lap or on your hand or your Book of Mormon…yah, we only freaked out once…

We had a good week, mostly because this week we really focused on the commitments to read, pray, and attend church. Because we didn’t have any investigators attend church last week, we really felt like we needed to step it up and focus on the importance of and the blessings that come from fulfilling the commitments. We did that, and lo and behold, we had an investigator come, Aileen Frankhauser. Aileen is 9 years old, and what was awesome was that her REALLY pregnant aunt brought her. Her aunt is a less active. The problem with this family is that they live really far from the church in the poorest section of our area, and they have to walk a ways to be able to find a bus. But they came. We taught them Saturday about obedience, using DyC 130 22-23, which basically says that when we obey a certain law, we receive the blessings that pertain to that specific law. Apparently it helped, and it was so cool to see them walk up and have them be there with us.

Something that I have really started to appreciate like never before is the Sacrament. It gives us a chance to look back over our week, see in what we need to improve, repent, and basically start over. With every week, I am beginning to appreciate it more and more. It is amazing the things that Jesus teaches us…everything has a purpose, and everything was planned to help us reach our potential as children of God. I love this gospel, and I love the hope and purpose that it gives us every day to be able to do all of the things that we have to do in order to return to live with our Heavenly Father. I am so grateful for my parents who taught me to love the Savior and to work hard to be able to gain my own testimony. I love you all, and I hope that you have a wonderful week.

Love,

Hermana Farish

How we dry our clothes

Ummm...not sure what this one is about

Tanned feet

¡3 MONTHS!

Dear Family,

3 months ya! Can you believe it? Because I can't. There have been so many experiences packed into the last 3 months that it is like a blur. This is going to go by so fast!

To start off, I experienced my first real rainstorm this week. It was so loud, with thunder and lightening like a strobe light. We were all awake at 4:30 am because it was SO loud! It was gorgeous though, and for the rest of the week, it has been nice, cloudy, and less hot, with plenty of mesquitoes to make it perfect.:)

Another awesome thing is that we lost our only progressing investigator. Why is this awesome? Because we fasted on Saturday and Sunday to be able to discern the true desires of our investigators, and that is what happened. Her name is Miguela, she is 17 years old and has 2 kids. Crazy right? We haven't been sure from the beginning about her desires...Does she want to be baptized or does she want welfare? On Tuesday we changed her baptismal date to the 22nd because she hadn't attended church, and on Saturday she dumped us, because she needed to work. Apparently she needed help before the 22nd. It made us sad, but now we know of her true desires. That same day, we found 2 new families that are of oro. We contacted a lady, who told us to come back (OTRO DIA! is my least favorite phrase of all time). So we went, taught another lesson, returned, and then a random girl told us that the same lady who had rejected us wanted to talk with us, and we had an excellent lesson with her and her husband. Our goal is to take advantage of this and really help them to progress and make covenants.

I honestly believe that fasting is one of the best ways to be more sensitive to the Spirit. We found lots of new people, and we are hoping to be able to work with them to get them to church.

We taught a girl named Synthia on Sunday with a returned missionary from our ward, Wendy Sanabria. The cool part about this thing is that they are both studying English and business administration and are in the same year at the university, so they were able to bond. We also had the parents of Synthia with us in the lesson, both of which are hard core Catholics. We taught the Restoration and halfway though the dad had a question about the different bibles. We had already read in our bibles during the lesson, and theirs was WAY different then ours. However, Synthia asked a question about the statues and images of the virgen Mary (here in Paraguay, almost every house has a statue of the virgen mary and some sort of altar thing).She wasn't sure if it was something that was right or not. Right off the bat, her parents began to say, oh it says in the bible that it is okay and we believe in the bible because it is of Jesus and stuff like that. So, we read in Exodus to help ease their minds. hehe;) Little do they know that the Bible of every single decent Christian church explicitly says, in the 10 commandments received through Moses, that statues and idols are insults to the Lord. It was even more purete because in the spanish bible, it uses the word imagens, which just happened to be the word that Synthia had used when she asked us. Awkward. So the parents were like, well, it isn't true, it is a mistake...we just rolled our eyes. But Synthia understood, which is what we wanted!

em...que màs. Nothing really, just working hard and trying to live up to the standard of the Lord. I am beginning to feel really inadequate, in that how on earth am I going to be able to convey the importance of the gospel of Jesus Christ to these people who couldn't care less? Then I think, well, it isn't me who is conveying it, it is the Spirit. And THAT, ladies and gentleman, is how missionary work is. Everything is through the Spirit.

I love you all, and I hope that you always remember that you have your Savior right next to you, helping you through those things for which He has already suffered. Alma 7: 11-13. Whenever you feel alone, like no one on the planet can help you, remember that He is there and that it is His purpose and His glory is to help you achieve and fulfill your purpose as a loved child of God.

Love,

Hermana Farish

Me, rear + Jungle

Me, front + Jungle

Hello again!

Hola mi familia, còmo està?

I am doing pretty well, considering I sweat off like half my body weight every single day. Apparently it hasn't been this hot at this time of year in 55 years, and I am just lucky enough to be here right now. whoopwhoop!

And also, may I just say a gigantic thank you to Kat and Jeff for the package! It was the greatest thing ever! I loved the letters, and especially the shorts and the starbursts! I have worn the shorts every day...yeah, I am so excited! I then saw that they were from Pizza Factory, and I almost started to bawl because I have this vision in my head of warm, perfect pizza and breadsticks, with salad and pink lemonade with sprite...yeah, I had to stop that before I sent myself into deep depression. Anyways, thank you so much, it made my week.

Also mom, I haven't received your package yet! Que en el mundo!:( Oh well, something to look forward to, I guess. I received your letter, and also Bobbie, I received your BOOK! It was the greatest.

We had cambios (transfers) on Wednesday. I saw Tyson Boyer and Aaron Fielding...THAT was really, really, really weird.

This week went really well. We are trying to discern the true desires of our investigators, because we have a lot of people who are just nice and who want to talk about the word of God, but not so many people who really have a desire to seek the truth and follow the example of Jesus Christ and persevere to the end as a member of His true church. It is so hard to stop visiting people, because you don't want to give up on them, but you don't want to waste time if they don't have a true desire to act on their faith.

That being said, we had a couple of little miracles this week. TO start off, we were contacting in a newish part of our area, and we contacted this lady, who, turns out, had been investigating the church 17 years before! Say what! She had pictures with the elders and everything! And then she proceeded to tell us that she is never home at this hour, but that day, she was:) We then proceeded to teach the Restoration of the Gospel, and it was the best we have ever done it. Hermana Chempèn tells me that if, when I am teaching, I learn something new, it is because I was teaching by the Spirit. How cool is that!? And I learned so much in this lesson. We are going to visit her again this next week, and we are praying that it turns out!

The other miracle was yesterday. We contacted a house that we had contacted my first day in Paraguay. During the lesson my first day, it was terrible. TERRIBLE. I cannot even express to you how terrible it was. And halfway through that first lesson, the mom started to freak out because her husband was home and she hadn't made him his terere...yeah, so we left really fast. But yesterday, we contacted the husband, and he was totally open to us teaching him. He called his daughter out, and we began to teach. His daughter, Synthia, is 20 years old and is very smart. She had so many good questions, and, for the first time in my mission, when we challenged her to read Moroni 10 in the Book of Mormon and pray about it, I really felt like she was going to keep her promise to read, ponder, and pray about our message. It was interesting to see the difference between my teaching that first day and where I am at now. Flip. And there is still so much to learn!

The other miraculous part of this is that she is a cousin of Shirley. Shirley is 12 years old, and is one of the best people that I have ever known. She reads the Book of Mormon by herself and has memorized two or three hymns. She is so amazing, but she cannot ride the bus and attend church by herself, and her mom will not go to church. So, if we can get Synthia to attend church, she can bring Shirley and Shirley can be baptized. it is the little things, AHHH!:) We were so happy, we couldn't stop smiling.

We are working with the ward, one step at a time. We had ward council on Wednesday for the first time since I have been here, and only 4 people besides us showed up. HAYA. oh well, it actually happened, that is good.

It is interesting to see how the families function here. Rarely are both parents in the home, usually it is a struggling single mother with 5 or 6 kids from different fathers. so so so crazy. We are teaching a girl that has two kids and is living with the father of her youngest, and he is one of the creepiest people I have ever seen, which is saying something, because there are a lot of creepy people here. What i don't understand is why she is still with him...some people. enserio.

We had our double ward activity on Saturday, and it went really well. We had lots of little stands with different games, and I thought of the Andrus Reunion, because we had the nylons game going, stack the cups, the vaseline and the cotton balls, and three legged races. it was a lot of fun and we had a good turnout.

Right after that ended we had the clase de piano, and it went really well. During the week I had made worksheets and guided notetaking paper things, and that helped a lot. An entire family came that was just baptized last week, and the mom said that she learned more during this one class than she had learned from a course at the university. That kind of boosted my self esteem.

Anyways, something that I have learned this week is that when we have faith in Jesus Christ and in the ennobling power of His Atonement, we can do our best and be satisfied with the results. Everyone has their agency, but with the Help of Jesus Christ, we can do our part to help them make the right choice. The Book of Mormon is full of examples of this, I especially love in Mosiah, with King Benjamin and Abinadi. it is the greatest!

I love you all, and I hope that you have a good week! Be safe and be obedient!

Love,

Hermana Farish

Erin teaching piano to members & non-members

Erin's Zone

Seguir adelante con fe (Press Forward with Faith)

Hola mi familia,

This week went by fast and it didn't.  The days are really long, and it was really hot this week.  Like 116 degrees farenheit hot.  We have a converter on our phone from Celcius to Farenheit, and it was 40 to 46 Celcius, which is 104 to 116.  Yeah...we are drinking like 5 to 6 liters of water a day, it is ridiculous.  However, having said that, the week just flew by.  Halfway done with training, and trying not to freak out.  AAAHH!

The primary program in our ward was yesterday, and it was so fun to play the piano again and see those cute little kids singing "me encanta ver el templo" ( I love to see the temple).  It turned out really well, and I even got this little corsage thingy from the Primary President.  Cool beans.

We had our first clase de piano Saturday night, and had about 15 people come!  YAY! and tambien some non members.  It went really well, and afterwards I was able to work with a couple of the more advanced kids.  I have my frozen piano book, and when they heard it they were so excited! 

The highlight of my week was that I invested in basketball shorts...Hahah, jk, but it was pretty awesome.  I really, really like them.

Na, this week  we really focused on finding new people to teach, or finding those who are prepared to hear and accept the gospel.  Yesterday we went into a new part of our area, and we found a lady named Marcela.  After getting to know her a little bit, we asked her about her purpose, and why she thought she was here on the earth.  Her answer, word for word, was "Para sufrir."  (in order to suffer).  We were like...uh...say what?  As we taught her a little bit more, really focusing on her worth as a daughter of God, she began to open up, and turns out, she has had a more rough than usual life.  However, she accepted the baptismal invitation and we are hoping to be able to teach her again and help her realize that she has infinite worth to her loving Father in Heaven, and that He wants to live with her and her future family for eternity.

We were going back to our apartment last night when we heard a lady kind of yelling.  She was walking in front of us, kind of just yelling to the air.  We were like..what in the world?  And then we saw that she had a baby in her arms, the tiniest little baby that you have ever seen.  And she was holding it like a watermelon or something.  We walked a little faster and contacted her.  Turns out that her baby is less than a month old, she has a boyfriend who is on drugs, and is pretty close to being homeless.  We think that she was high at the time, and we didn't really know what to do, so we asked her what she needed and she said, " a prayer".  So we prayed, and in the process made sure that the baby was still alive.  It was, but it broke our hearts to walk away and abandon the lady to her crappy life.  We invited her to church and all that, so who knows?

One thing that I am really beginning to learn is that change is okay.  In this life, we are here to learn and progress from those things that change, whether  they be good or bad.  And in this process, we slowly become like our Heavenly Father.  SLOWLY.  And if we are righteous, we are promised so many wonderful blessings.  2nd Nefi 9 and Alma 5 are so amazing and promise the righteous the ability to stand tall in the presence of God in that day that will come to all of us, no matter what.

I love you all, and am so grateful for the opportunity to be together as a family forever.  So many people here have no purpose or hope for their existence, it is so sad. That is why we are here, is to help those who are ready realize their worth as children of God, and as such have purpose and an eternal potential.

Sorry, this is really long, but I hope you all have a wonderful week!

Love,

Hermana Farish

and....no pics...something was wrong with the memory card...sorry, next week.

Well Flip....

Hola mi familia!

Sorry this is so late, we went and worked until 4 and then began ciber. Anyhoo, this week was really long, but really good. To begin, we had a crazy hailstorm with stones literally the size of golf balls. I kid you not, they were huge. And when they began to fall, we were under a tin roof, so it was soo loud! We almost had a heart attack. On the upside, we were stuck there for about an hour and a half, so...we got to know the investigators really well:)

A good experience this week was when we taught the Araujo family. They came to conference last week, and this week we really wanted to push for a baptismal date. Anyways, the mom was really afraid to take the step to pray for an answer, so we read a scripture that Pres. McMullin (mission president) had just given to us THAT DAY! It is in 1 Juan 4:18. It is how if we have the true love of Christ, we have no need to fear. It was legit. The spirit was so strong and I hope that they will act on the love that they feel and pray to their Father and Heaven.

My companion made this food the other day by mixing and blending saltine crackers, bread, chilis, milk, and some other stuff all together. You put it on top of rice. It was pretty good until I thought about when Lacy had thrown up on the carpet...and how it looked...seriously, the exact same as the food I was eating. I love food, but I could not eat any more...my appetite was GONE.

Another funny food story was when we were eating at a less active`s home and they gave us flan for dessert. For those who don't know, flan is like pudding and jello mixed, and sometimes with the texture of rice in the middle...I can't really explain it...but yeah, it was really weird. I was trying to gag it down when all of the sudden the guy started to talk about his bowel problems (gestures and everything). Yeah, wasn't going to happen:)

We found a whole family of less actives (basically our whole area is inactive) on Saturday, and we had a pretty good lesson. During the lesson, I looked at the hand I had just shook and it was COVERED in huge nasty looking planter wart thingies. It was gross...after we left, the first thing my companion said was "Jesus touched the lepers and didn't get sick..." We giggled a little and put on LOTS of hand sanitizer.

Our goal for this next week is to be able to help our ward get back on its feet. It is slightly dysfunctional, and the health of the bishop isn't very good, so we are trying to get things moving a little with recent converts and such. We are planning a ward activity for the 25th of October with the other ward, so I hope that it works well and we can get things moving.

I think that this is slowly becoming my comfort zone. I love meeting new people, which is weird for me. It is fun to look back and see how I have progressed, even if it is only a little. I really struggle with the slowness of everything here. Another really hard thing is that our ward is basically dysfunctional. There hasn't been a calling since the week I came, and the bishop just goes home after church and doesn't really do anything to help those people in his ward. he has a good heart and an amazing family, and we are doing all we can to support him and make his life a little easier, because there are a ton of people in this ward who only attend church every other Sunday so they can get their welfare check...it is something we are trying really hard to work on, but there is only so much you can do. Any suggestions?

As I have tried to learn to love these people, sometimes, I am just like WHY! WHY ARE YOU LIKE THIS!!! But I am trying to see them as Christ does, with all the love that I have in me. Because I can see that our investigators can tell when we sincerely want to help them. Even in street contacting, we can make an impression and help them to realize a little of what Heavenly Father has in store for them. I am going to try to work on that this week too. we can do it and compare experiences. I am out of time, but tell mom that I love her so much, and thanks for all that she has taught me, both you and her, and that I can do hard things. Because this is hard. but i can do it with the help of heaven.

Anyways, It was a good week with lots of learning experiences and lots of new people. I am so grateful for the opportunity to be here to grow and learn how to help others to develop an enduring testimony of Christ and His gospel. What a responsibility, and what a blessing it has been. Thanks for all of the emails! Love you all and have a good week!

Love,

Hermana Farish

Our apartment and latest meal

Happy Birthday Jacob!

A taste of home

Empanadas....Yum!!

The Jungle Book...Paraguay Edition

Another week gone by...

Querido Familia,

Another week gone by...REALLY SLOWLY. However, it was a good week, and we found so many families to teach! They are really struggling with the amount of priesthood holders here, so when we find men who are willing to listen, we get really excited.

Conference was PURETE (the guarani word for awesome:)). I watched the first three sessions in English (including the women's conference) and the last two in Spanish. I loved watching and listening in English, and the music was gorgeous. On Sunday, we had investigators in both sessions (yay!) so I was able to go and listen in Spanish. Obviously, I didn't understand as much, but I was able to focus less on what they were saying and just listen with the Spirit. Something really cool that I didn't know is that Elder Richard G. Scott translates his own talks into Spanish, so we could still hear his actual voice, just in Spanish. Also, everyone here was so excited when the two speakers spoke in Spanish for their talks. It meant so much more to them, and it was awesome to see their faces.

We had our own little miracle during the last session. There is this family that the missionaries have been working with since before I came, and honestly, I was wondering why we were still with them because they never attended church, never kept their commitments...but lo and behold, we invited them to come to General Conference, and they showed up for the last session! All four of them! We about had a heart attack when we realized who they were and that they were standing in the foyer of the church. Anyways, we sat down, and just before it started, Hna. Chempèn and I decided to say a prayer, and ask (again) that this family would be able to feel inspired and feel the truthfulness of this message. we were waiting...waiting..and BAM!!! the last talk with Elder Bednar...I am pretty sure that all of the missionaries around the world who had investigators at the conference thought they had died and gone to heaven. Seriously, Hermana Chempèn and I looked at each other and we just had tears running down our cheeks...it was an awesome experience and a testimony to me of prayer, prophets, and the power of the Holy Ghost. Now all we have to do is get them to the font...no biggie. :)

Another highlight of this week was when we walked up to a house to follow up on a reference, and when we began to clap, we looked at their window and someone had stuck their hand out and was flipping us off...we just looked at each other and started to giggle. I am pretty sure people think we are nuts. Oh well, I keep telling myself it is either cry like a nut or laugh like one, so might as well laugh.

All in all, a good week, and now that conference is over, we get to buckle down and work hard for this next month or so. Can't wait:)

Something that I learned this week is that our older brother, Jesus Christ, is here with us. ALL of us. If we make a bad choice, He is there, just waiting to begin the healing process. I don't remember who said it during conference, but the gist of it was that our Heavenly Father and His Son know of every single step and success that we have. Whether it be we didn't eat another cookie (the struggle is real) or we were able to repent of a major sin, They know about it, and they are waiting to bless us. If we can have faith in Them and Their limitless love and patience, our lives and burdens will be so much easier to bear. Es la verdad. Mosiah 2 is an excellent chapter about the love of God for His children and how we can show our gratitude to Him.

I love you all and I hope that you have a wonderful week!

Love,

Hermana Farish

Well, it is officially...winter...

Hola everyone!

You know that it is going to be interesting when it is only 70ish degrees and you are sweating like you had just ran 10 miles at 3 pm in St. George and all you were doing was walking around! And it is only spring...but whatever:)

This week went by SO fast. One of the highlights of this week was when I biffed it into a puddle of muddy, warm, mesquito filled water...yeah, it was great. I stepped off the colectivo, took one step, and faceplanted it into the water. Hermana Chempén started to freak out...but I was laughing too hard to notice...the front of my skirt and legs were COVERED in mud, and a lady walked by that we had taught the week before. She was like...¿Que en el mundo...? (What in the world) Yeah, it was pretty great. We were on our way to a member's home for lunch, and when I walked up looking all gorgeous, she just rolled her eyes and showed me to the water pump:)

On that spiritual note, we had a baptism on Saturday, Gabby Lequizamon, ll years old. When we visited her on Friday, we weren´t sure if she understood the importance of baptism and the changes she is going to have to make in her life. When we told her we were going to wait another week, she just...I don´t know, deflated. We felt like the worst people ever. But then we asked her to bear her testimony. It was one of the sweetest, most sincere testimonies. So therefore, she was baptized:) And when she was confirmed the next day...holy cow, the words, "I say unto you, receive the Holy Ghost" were so powerful, and she looked so happy.

We had several investigators come to church this Sunday, even though it rained. When it rains here, the attendance drops up to 50%. crazy. Anyways, one of these, Laura, came with her 2 year old daughter. She missed her collectivo, so she took an expensive taxi, which took her to the wrong church, but she still came! YAY! Her baptismal date is November 11, and I hope that she continues to be awesome.

One thing we really struggle with is the welfare progam and discerning the true desires of our investigators. Our area is really poor, and it looks like a jungle, with dirt roads and so much green that my eyes hurt. One of our investigators, Miguela, is like this, and we just hope that her desire is true and that we can help her to develop a testimony.

We contacted a new family this week, la familia Lequizamon. When we clapped, the guy that came didn´t even have a shirt on...we were like, oh great. But we had a great lesson with him and his wife. He changed his clothes,. and when he came back, he looked like he should be a general authority or something. and his wife looked like the next Relief Society President. It was great, except they didn't come to church...dang it.

There is this recent convert named Milciades that just loves the norteamericanas...he is a little mentally impaired, but is so sweet. He only speaks Guarani, and pronounces my Name hermana favi...yah, we had the kiosko again Saturday morning, and when we went to the church to pick it up at 6:30 am, he was there in his suit, ready for the baptism at 5 pm. So sweet.

I am playing the piano for the primary program, and am starting a weekly piano class for teens, to see if we can attract some new investigators. No one plays here, and does anyone have any suggestions on how to teach to so many different levels and needs? Just a thought.

Also, the scriptures are the Best, especially the Book of Mormon. I love it so much, and I cannot wait for General Conference this Saturday. We will also be able to see the Women's Conference on Saturday, which I have heard is the bomb.

My Spanish is coming along, people can understand me! WEIRD!! I am trying to memorize phrases in Guarani....and epically failing, but whatever.

I am so proud of all those in the deer hunt, congrats, I am glad no horses were shot:) Anyways, I hope every one has a good week, be obedient and read the scriptures, because that is how you will grow and develop your testimony so you can bear it to others:)

Love you all!

Hermana Farish

During a weird moment...

Baptism of Gabby Lequizamon

Two Weeks Down!

¡Hola!

Well, what a week this has been. It has gone by really fast, that is for sure.

On Monday, we had a lesson with a nonmember lady named Chiquita. She has a less active grandson who is struggling with lots of major issues. Our goal is to baptize her and get him help an back to church. We are trying so hard to stay positive and keep smiling.

On Tuesday, we met with a family of recent converts. My companion and her ex companion were the ones who baptized them, and so they are really close. When we got there, we were surprised to find that the mom was totally freaking out.  She told us that she no longer believed in Joseph Smith, the book of Mormon, or any part of the gospel. Hermana Chempèn did awesome, she just expressed her love for them and started to sob only after we had left. That was really hard, but when we went back on Saturday, she (the mom) said she had thought about it and was fine, so...I don't know. I also came down with a pretty legit cold. Whoop!:)

Wednesday, it was raining like crazy! We met with an investigator family for our last lesson, and it is so hard when they are such good people but they won't commit to do anything or to progress. That is what we are struggling with the most right now, helping people to keep their commitments.

Thursday, it rained again! We met with an 11 year old girl named Shirley. Shirley is so awesome. she has a testimony, she reads and marks up the book of Mormon, and tries so hard to choose the right, but her mother will not let her attend church. and because she is 11, she cannot go by herself. There isn't really anything we can do but pray and keep visiting every so often.

Friday, Hermana Favela Shared this quote with us..it is kind of long, but totally worth it.

"I am a part of the fellowship of the unashamed. I am a disciple of Jesus Christ. I won't look back, let up, slow down, or be still. My past is redeemed, my present makes sense, and my future is secure. I'm finished and done with low living, small planning, smooth knees, colorless dreams, tamed visions, worldy talking, cheap giving and dwarfed goals. I no longer need preeminence, positions, promotions, plaudits, or popularity. I don't have to be right, first, praised, recognized, regarded or rewarded. I now live by faith, lean on His presence, walk with patience, am uplifted by prayer, and labor with power. My pace is set, my gait is fast, my goal is heaven. My road is narrow, my way is rough, my companions are few, my guide is reliable, my mission is clear. I cannot be bought, compromised, detoured, lured away, diverted or delayed. I will not flinch in the face of sacrifice, hesitate in the presence of the adversary, negotiate at the table to the enemy, ponder at the pool of popularity, or meander in the maze of mediocrity. I won't give up, shut up, or let up until I have stoked up, stored up, and paid up for the cause of Christ. I must go 'til he comes, give 'til I drop, preach 'til I know, and work 'til He stops me. And when He returns for His own, He will have no problem recognizing me. My Banner is clear."   - Henry B. Eyring.

How cool is that? I thought it was pretty epic. Friday night we set up a kiosk for the Church in el centro de Luque, and I tried not to take it personally that while we were setting up, every single person moved at least 100 feet away...yeah, it was great.

Saturday, the highlight was probably the lesson with Gabi. Gabi is 11 and is going to be baptized on Saturday! YAY! While we taught her about tithing and fasting, there were pigs squealing, chickens, dogs fighting underneath my chair...the works:) About halfway through we heard a scream and turns out her sister tore a tendon in her foot and had to go to the hospital, so...we kind of left really fast. It was one of those situations where you either laugh or cry.

Yesterday, I played the piano for church and for the Primary program practice. They are trying so hard, and it was fun to be in that environment a little bit again. All four of our lessons fell through, so we decided to contact, and, believe it or not, not one person was interested. So thirty contacts later...yeah. it was rough.

The food isn´t all that different...I have grown used to fat on beef, and i am trying to force myself to like bananas and mangoes (she wouldn't eat bananas even as a baby). I love pears they are so good here, and I have lost 2 lbs! yay! I like my companion, she is way chill, a little too chill sometimes, and since it is really important to me to be exactly obedient, it is kind of hard. I don't know where to draw that line between being nitpicky and on time.

As an American, and especially with my hair, I stand out like crazy. we get a lot of honks and whistles, especially from the drunk men...We live in an apartment on the second floor. I like to think of it as a penthouse, with high ceilings and lots of windows:) I have a pretty hardcore cold, but i am on the tail end of it, so that is good.

We are counting down the days for conference. We watch it at the chapels idk when. Going to the store is crazy. they have armed guards everywhere, and you have to give up your bag at the front because there is such a high risk of theft. Sad day.

One thing that I have learned this week is that we cannot do this without the members. The members help to create a lasting and enduring base of testimony that will help the recent converts. So, my invitation to everyone is to go and find the full-time missionaries or your ward mission leaders. Ask them what you can do. They need your help, and so do the investigators and less actives. I know that when you do this, your testimonies will be strengthened, and your families, jobs, studies, and lives in general will be blessed.

Also, a huge thanks to those who helped with my family history. I love to read those stories and draw strength from them. When I think my life is hard, I read about the lives of the pioneers and about the men who left their sick wives with 10 children to go on a mission.

I hope everyone has a wonderful week, and remember to be obedient! I love you!

Love,

Hermana Farish

Well, I'm still breathing....

¡Hola!

As encouraging as that subject line sounds, it has been a good week. So many things have changed...crazy. We left for the Buenos Aires airport at 4:30 am Tuesday morning, it was really hard to say goodbye to Hna. Boehmer, but I know she will do great. Our flight was delayed until about 9:15 because of bad weather in Buenos Aires...it was so cold and rainy! I placed a book of mormon in the airport, that was a good feeling, even though I am not sure how much she got out of my AMAZING spanish:) We stepped off the plane into Asunción and tried to breathe. EPIC fail. It is so humid here. W walked out of the airconditioned airport in our jackets and cardigans and started to sweat buckets. NOT fun. We spent the night at an apartment for the sisters...I was the only person there who couldn´t understand anything, and I was so tired..I was thinking the whole time....What. have. I. Done. The next morning was fine, sleep is wonderful.

I met my companion, Hna. Chempén the morning after we arrived. She is from Peru, and speaks pretty good English. Thank goodness. She has been out for 9 months, and is an amazing teacher who knows how to adapt to the needs of the investigators. She is SO patient with me and my awful spanish! I met her exchanged pesos for guaraniis, and then left for our area! Our area, Maramburé B (yes, that is guarani) is only about 1/2 hour away from the mission home. It is still in the suburbs of Asunción, but it honestly looks like the middle of some jungle place, complete with dirt roads, tons of weird looking plants, and lots of poverty. After unpacking a little, we caught a colectivo (bus) to our area, which is about 10 minutes away, and started proselyting. Here in Paraguay, they don´t believe in saying the s at the ends of words, so when the first person we contacted began to speak, I was like...What? Pretty much everyone in these poor areas also speak Guarani, so when someone begins to speak and I REALLY don´t understand what they are saying, I know it is Guarani or Portugese.

We ate lunch at a member´s home on Thursday. This family literally has nothing. While we were there, one of their 8 kids brought a pair of shoes he had found, and the mom just put them on the little girl and those were her shoes. However, they do have a TV and a satellite dish on the roof of their shack mom, just like you said. While we were eating, a girl came up to my companion and offered her a little gusano blanco (white worm), and told her to eat it. She was like....uh no. Anyways, so this little girl popped the head off of this worm, all the guts spewed out on her fingers, and she just popped it in her mouth and licked all the guts off of her fingers. We were like...WHAAAA...yeah, we were a little traumatized. We ate at another member´s home (an actual house) and while we were eating, a huge cockroach fell on the guys head, and he just shook it off and it fell on the floor. I didn´t freak out, you would be proud of me! However, I may or may not have taken my feet from off the floor.

The people here are so incredibly nice. Like to find a legitimately mean person is weird. However, they are so laid-back that they don´t have a desire to change. Which is why we have missionaries. On Sunday, we went to go get an investigator and her brother came out and told us that she had left, which we were pretty sure was a lie. Anyways, that was really disappointing, and then when we got to church, I found out that they have the new missionaries bear their testimonies in sacrament meeting. GREAT. It actually went pretty well, not too scary when the people actually kind of want to hear what you have to say. There is this little old man in the ward named Milciades. He is handicapped, only speaks Guarani, and is in love with my companion. It was really funny until he started to touch my shoulder, arm, and hair (which I am never wearing down again).

We get to handwash all of our clothes, so everyone be really grateful for your washers and dryers. My first time was this morning and it was interesting to say the least:)

Anyways, I am slowly adjusting to the culture and the people, but I love it here. I love studying the scriptures and learning Spanish y michimi (a little bit in Guarani) de Guarani. Thank you for all of your emails, please keep them coming, I love hearing from you!

Love,

Hermana Farish

Me and Hermana Chempen

Doing laundry by hand for the 1st time!