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

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