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

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!