“Behold, I am a disciple of Jesus Christ, the Son of God. I have been called of him to declare his word among his people, that they might have everlasting life...And then they shall know their Redeemer, who is Jesus Christ, the son of God; and then shall they be gathered in from the four quarters of the earth unto their own lands, from whence they have been dispersed; yea, as the Lord liveth so shall it be.” (3 Nephi 5:13, 26)
Hola Mom, Dad, Sisters, Friends!
This is Paraguay:
Green plants growing. The faint smell of burning trash wanders through the air. The pot cooks on the fire with food for dinner. Jagged wooden boards make a house. A small one-room shack with one mattress for the whole family. Kids run and play and roll around in the red dirt and laugh. Their brown eyes look up at me. Trash surrounds the outskirts of their house, where cows graze. A chicken walks across the yard. A kitten scampers through. The sun is setting: an orange and red glow in the distance.
Another day, another lesson, another house clapped, another song sung, another invitation given, another commitment made. “Soy un hijo de Dios,” we sing. For he truly is a child of God. That two-year-old with big brown eyes, sitting on a log, wearing a ripped, dirty shirt with a fly landing on his cheek, sucking on his fingers and giving me a shy smile. This is Paraguay and this is the message I bring. That we are all children of God. That despite everything bad that is in the world, despite the trials of life, despite our own weaknesses and inabilities, there is hope. “Hope is like the beam of sunlight rising up and above the horizon of our present circumstances.” - (Utchdorf, The Power of Infinite Hope.) And that hope comes through the Gospel of Jesus Christ. It comes through the belief that we can someday live with our Father in Heaven again with our families. Because although we are imperfect, there is One who was not and it is through his Atonement that we can achieve these hopes. I have learned what is important to these people and in turn, I have learned what is important to me: my family, God, serving Him and the people of Paraguay with all my might, mind and strength.
How is life on the other side of the equator? My companion has been sick all weekend with some kind of flu/cold so we have spent a lot of time in the house. I am hoping that I don’t get what she has and that she gets better soon. We need to get to workin! On a brighter note, our branch president was so impressed with our song that we sang in Sacrament meeting that he is requesting that we do another special musical number at branch conference in two weeks. I am excited!! Things are starting to cool down here, but it hasn’t gotten cold yet, just cloudy mostly. My Spanish is improving poca a poca but I have found that my listening skills have increased far quicker than my speaking skills. This means that I usually can understand what’s going on but when it comes to speaking in comprehensive sentences to respond, that’s where it gets more difficult. One less active lady said that she likes listening to me talk because she can hear my English accent and she likes it. My mission president says my Spanish is ¨pleasing to the ear,¨ which is a good thing. So at least the natives like listening to me, even if I don’t sound Paraguayan (yet!)
Hope all is well! Thanks for the letters and love! And to all my BYU friends, I don’t know what addresses to send your letters to now that the semester is over, so you better write me again and let me know!!
Con mucho amor,
Hermana Brittner
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