I Received My "Baby"

Sorry about last week everyone!  We only had half of the normal time so I wasn't able to respond to anyone.  We ran to the hospital in Asuncion to see a recent convert. Sorry about that!

So....my mission has taken a rather large turn for the...crazy weird.  We had transfers this Tuesday, and I was told that I was going to train.  Aaaannnndddd....I almost died of a heart attack.  But I am good now.  I received my "baby" on Wednesday, Hermana Francani from Bahia Blanca, Argentina. She is AWESOME.  She is thirty years old, and one year away from graduating from law school...needless to say, I was really, really intimidated.  But she is so amazing, and it has been so interesting to me to look at her, and see where I came from.  She came from a ward that has had a lot of the same problems as Palma Loma, and thus we see that President McMullin is inspired.

We were able to have another lesson with a family that we found last week, Daniel, his sister, and his three sons.  They are SUCH good people, and we hope that we can help them to progress and to recognize the importance of the gospel in their lives and the eternal perspective that it gives to them.

I was reading in Alma 1 this morning, and it was talking about all of the tribulations that happened with the people of Alma y Limhi, and then later with all of the persecutions in Zarahemla.  One verse really hit me, and I love the promises that it gives to the faithful who patiently wait out and endure well their afflictions:

      25 Now this was a great trial to those that did stand fast in the faith; nevertheless, they were                 steadfast and immovable in keeping the commandments of God, and they bore with patience the         persecution which was heaped upon them.

They had patience, and they understood that even though they received trials, their Heavenly Father still loved them and was with them every step of the way.  They PUT THEIR CONFIDENCE IN HIM.  Mosiah 29 and Mosiah 7:33 also talk a lot about that.  With this whole training thing, and it is the first time as senior companion, I was really overwhelmed.  But when I just put it in the Lord's hands, He helped me to have confidence, and to remember all that I have seen, learned, and experienced, so that I can help this sister learn how to stand on her own two feet as a missionary.  I love that feeling.

UM...not really much else happened, apart from...wait for it....THE BISHOP'S WIFE CAME TO CHURCH!!! WOOOO!!!!  But really, we were so happy to see her finally come to church and take the sacrament for the first time in who knows how long.

Yah, life is great, I hope that everyone back home is doing fine.  From reading your letters, it sounds like everyone is so incredibly busy.  I hope you can always find time for the Lord and for the things that should be the most important:)  I love you!

Love,
Hermana Farish

My "Baby", Hermana Francani

Oh. My. Chipa. (AND Marriage)

First off, I saw Josh's email in my inbox and the first line said, DEAR ELDER FARISH...I just about had a heart attack.

Secondly, So....we almost died of a chipa overdose.  Seriously.  IT WAS BAD.

Here in Paraguay, something that is REALLY popular Easter week is chipa.  Chipa is a type of bread that is kind of hard on the outside, but on the inside, when it is warm, it is SOOO good, and the inside is soft and salty.  I loved it before this week...haha, not really. For Paraguay, Passover week is the week to make chipa, and almost everyone we talked to gave us chipa.  We were DYING by the end of the day!  Something we laughed about afterwards was when we emptied out our backpacks at the end of the day, and all day we had been sneaking chipa in because seriously, we couldn't eat it all. We had a MOUNTAIN.

And, general conference was just AMAZING. The first day, it was slightly awkward sitting in a room full of missionaries listening to EVERY SINGLE PERSON talk about marriage and family.  HAHA, but really, it was so nice to listen to the general authorities, and listen to the comfort and inspired counsel that they have for us. I loved the talk by President Uchtdorf, that talked about the grace of Christ, and how we will receive while we are doing all we can do, not BECAUSE of all we can do. Also, I loved something that I am sure the entire Mormon population loved as well, when Linda K. Burton said, (in Spanish, I don't know in English) "Tu me levas, yo te levo, y ascenderemos juntos"...something along the lines of "I lift you, you lift me, and we will ascend together."  How cool is that?  We have to help each other always, especially in relationships like mission companions, marriages, and families in general.  We can't be selfish...dangit.

Saturday night, we found a new family!  We had contacted the dad during the week, and we had planned to go to their house Saturday, and we almost didn't find it.  When we found it, at like 8:30 at night, he saw us, called out my companion's last name, and we had a wonderful lesson with him, his three sons, sister, and teen nephew.  We talked about the plan of salvation, and Daniel (the dad), would like to establish a relationship with God, with him and his sons.  We were just like...hey! We can help you with that!  We had finished our fast as a district on Saturday, and we had fasted to find a family!  And what do you know, Heavenly Father found us one:)

Anyways, I hope you have a wonderful week, and I hope you are all doing well!

Love,
Hermana Farish

Hermana Betancourth and Hermana Farish