Sadly, the movies and music have turned it into a somewhat meaningless cliche, but REALLY, with LOVE, anything is possible! In the thick of challenging and strength sapping struggles, the clarity obscures and simple principles somehow get lost...always to be found again! But I´ve seen the power of that Truth. Now, if I 
couldn´t only get consistent with it, my companionship, my investigators, and everybody in my life from now until eternity would be blessed by it! Well, looks like we´re in for another sadly short Holla. So, my plan for email, from now on, is to do 2 thourough e'mail response, in 
the order I recieved them, and then to briefly let everybody else know when I got their emails. So, I´ve recieved emails from Awna, Shylo, Josiah, Calley, and, of course, my Mom, and Dad, and now Alyson. Just so you all know. Thank you so much. If there was anybody else, feel free to resend and I´ll respond. But I can´t say how much I love your letters! So little time. The week has been wonderful! Spanish is coming along faster than I can believe. I´m getting to know the area, and the fun is starting to come along. I´m learning more lessons than I can get my head around, and it is exciting. For any of you that have thought of serving a mission and have thereafter doubted, this is my advice....no, my PLEA, to you:
DO IT! What an opportunity it is to set the precedent for your life. Rather than start of adulthood with a choice to take the easy route, you get to jump RIGHT into the refiners fire of novel experiences, foreign lands and people, and the pure and ispiring work of helping other people. But, here´s the biggest secret that nobody ever told you: there is greater happiness to be found in doing the hard thing, than in doing the easier one. I love a quote from Jack Christensen that when you´re falling off a cliff, it seems like a lot of fun....until you meet again with the reality that is the cold, hard, ground. There is a lot to be lost by having too much ¨fun.¨ And there are 
untold blessings in persevering through difficult times. I can testify of that! I´m going to include 6 new pictures, so, that should be about 6000 words worth (heheh, I kill myself). Hopefully it´ll make up for what else I lack. Lots of fun stuff this week. Doesn´t feel right just to tell one story of 100 great ones, but I will anyway. We´re teaching a young man named Ramon that reminds me of my friend Andy Torres back home: super cool guy, who´s just fun to be around, and really wants to find the truth (somewhat of a rarity here in Paraguay where some are baptized for the wrong reasons). He runs a little Despensa, as they call the little stores that are found on every Cuadra (or block). Anyhow, as we tought him one day, 
my companion wanted to buy a popsicle, so I did to. I gave him a ¨mil¨ or 1000 Guarani, the equivelent of about 25 cents, and he said something I couldn´t quite understand. So, I knodded, and he brought out 10 popsicles in a huge bag, for me, laughing becuase he could tell I had just said ¨si¨ not really knowing to what. Anyhow, we all laughed, at me, an object of laughter with which I am perfectly ok. And now, he likes to make jokes about that almost every time we see him. As our friendship grows, so does his testimony. He made it to church this week, and we hope to baptize him in November. Anyhow, the work is great, and I am extremely happy! No time for too much commentary on the
pictures, but included is a beautiful Paraguayan Sunset (My companion wonders when I´m going to stop taking pictures of them, and so do I), two Guarango old ladies we´re teaching (which means they speak very little Spanish, which is hard since even my comp knows only VERY little Guarani), me standing next to a sign which says no peeing, at the Cathedral at Caacupe, and a few others...oh, a member family where we did a Noche De Hogar. I love you all and thank you SO much for everything.
Have a great week!
Elder McCarty
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