Well Familia, A beautiful TUESday it is (yeah, they changed Pday on us this week). We´re looking at days of 40 or 42 degrees here in the heavy, humid Paraguayan heat. I have NO idea how that translates in Farhenheit, but BOY IS IT HOT! I took lots of Pics this week. I LOVE taking them. Attaching them here through internet takes a little time though so if you feel like weighing in on the written word versus Photographed balance, let me know and I´ll do what I can to accomodate.
A great week with a thousand great experiences. I kind of like doing the lighting storm of experiences so here it goes again. We learned a way to shock and awe the Paraguayan people: it´s called the ¨Magic Ball¨ and consists of holding these round mints in the air for 10 or 15 seconds with SHEAR breath power. Yeah, the people love it. My comp is impressive, but I´m still working on my skills. Oh, and once we win their attention, we win their hearts by teaching from ours and with the spirit.
Announcement: I LEARNED the correct way to use a handkerchief (oh, and yes, when used correctly, they are the greatest lifesaver in great heat known to man). You see, you quadra fold it, then use one side to deposit sweat or dirt, or whatever occasion may require. Then, when sufficiently full...you just REFOLD it! Brilliant. And you have a new, fresh square of material to use. Wow, if only I´d known that sooner. To all the teachers of children out there, lets teach our kids this kind of thing...it´s just common sense...lol.
OH MY GOODNESS. We found the coolest Paraguayan band. I´m seriously considering taking a second job (haha, ok, not really, the mission is kind of time consuming) as their manager and taking them international. See the pics. We passed by and waved and then looked at each other, both turned around and went and talked to them. They played us a bunch of songs and we requested the only ones we knew (of Paraguayan Polka as it´s called). Anyhow, they were drinking too so they weren´t TOO interested in our message and after a few songs, and playing them one of my own, we said goodbye and were on our way. Ha!
There is this Hermana in the ward that has the kindest heart and every time we pass she wants to invite us in to eat. The problem, other than the urgency of our calling, is that sadly....she really can´t cook. One time, she forgot an ingredient in the Budin (somekind of geletin-ish cake that´s actually delicioius) and it fell, burned, and tasted HORRIBLE. With smiles and without breathing through our nose, we gulped it down. Another time, as she talked to us and added sugar to the Juice and fruit she would blend up, she added a scoop, and then another, and then another, and my companion´s eyes got bigger and bigger and he finally said something. She stopped, turned on the blender, and fed us the SWEETEST juice I have ever tasted in my life.
This week has been one of refilling our investigator pool. We asked almost EVERYBODY for references and made LOTS of contacts. We found this family that really SEEMED like they wanted to hear our message and thereby change their lives. We taught them and they loved it and so we invited them to be baptized and they committed willingly and with excitement to the 27th of this month. Then, the next week we went to teach them again and were told by a neighbor that they´d gone to spend the rest of the year in a different city with some relatives. It seems they either forgot or were frightened by the importance of what they were about to do. Their time will come, it just may not be now.
We also had interviews with the President this week. That´s an interesting phenomenon. I´ve been struggling ALL of my mission to THROW off the ambition of the natural man and to be motivated by humble desires to serve Christ. Yet, still one hopes to ¨make a good impression¨, or somehow SHOW how hard he´s been working or how MUCH he wants to serve. The interview was great and I was struck by how much energy it gives me to be encouraged and supported by somebody that I love, respect, and trust deeply.
We also found and began teaching a 75 year old man named Ezekiel. Very kind and old and sweet and difficult to understand but he warmly greeted us in every meeting and remembered his goal to be baptized and was excited for it. Then, Saturday, when my companion and another Elder went to pick him up for the big day...he was ademant that he wanted to talk to me, since it was with me that he made the commitment. So, I rushed to get there, and to no avail. He´d decided he wasn´t ready, and now we´re teaching him again and hoping he remembers how it felt when he recieved his answer that baptism was the right thing for him.
We give LOTS of Priesthood blessings, and so far, every WORD that we´ve uttered has come to completion. One young man, Marcelo, loves to play soccer and to run around and to swim in the river, but was bed-ridded with some kind of problem with his heart. His brother is a member and invited us to bless him. We did. The next day he went in to have some tests done and they all came out without any problems. What a miracle! Within days he was running to the river with his friends again to swim and play and do the things 13 year old boys should do. And now, he has plans to do something that every person should: to be baptized. We are helping to prepare him...helping to do what, in the end, only God really can.
Also, We work a lot with the Bishop and with his Mother who dilligently takes care of his Cancer-ridden father every single day. She is a long-time member and understands the gospel. It is a joy to be able to see how much strength she has to carry on...not only her OWN, aging, arthritic body, but that of her ailing husband as well. She told us a story that I´ll NEVER forget of a night when, as she always does, she asked her husband who he wanted to say the prayer (he usually doesn´t answer since he´s unable to express himself or respond when spoken to). This time, though, he gently laid his hand upon her head, and without hesitation, proceeded to give her a tender, heartfelt, if somewhat broken Priesthood blessing. I realized that this elderly, yet strong hearted wife was caring for her husband in almost EVERY possible way, but almost NOBODY was caring for her. It was a sweet experience, and filled my heart with joy to see the kind of love that lasts through ANY trial.
Well, I´m feeling really great. The work is wonderful and the sense of stability and power that comes ONLY from the Savior is undeniable (that is, by anybody who has felt and recognized it). Oh, and by the way, I´m having LOTS of fun every day. Jumping contests, rapping in the streets, hearing predictions from would-be prophets (yeah, apparently I´m a visionary and I will see many visions...and my companion will get the car that he´s always wanted...hilarious...maybe true, who knows).
I´m not going to invite you to doing anything TOO hard this week - just to think of Christ one more time every day. What are we doing to make his sacrifice worth it? He suffered it all, and what are WE letting get the best of us? These are the thoughts that pick me up when the heat, long days, and dissapointments get me down. That make me smile when I´d like to weep. That let me rejoice when the world would have me complain. Carry on family and friends. Remember you are children of God.
With Love, Elder McCarty
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