Week 52- A Sunrise to Remember!

February 13, 2012

It’s 6:30 in the morning and I can hear my breathing as I begin jogging. I realize quickly how living in Paraguay has taken a toll on me and how out of shape I am. We run along the cobblestone streets and then we turn the corner and I see it: the view of the Rio Paraguay. It’s breathtaking, a huge orange sun sitting right on top the water. The rays of the sun reach high into the sky and then sparkle on the water, glistening golden orange. It is absolutely gorgeous and I jog along the road, not taking my eyes off of this beautiful sight. A cool breeze runs through my hair, and attempts to dry my sweaty face. I capture this moment in my mind and think to myself, “I doubt anywhere else in the world has sunrises as beautiful as Paraguay.”

Today we went to the Rio Paraguay for P-day and went fishing. It was pretty cool- but more cool to say we did it, than to actually have been doing it. Does that make sense? Bucket List: Go fishing on the river Paraguay. Check. The water is actually pretty murky and there are cows that graze right on the shore. One of the elders actually caught a fish and then gave it to a Paraguayan. It was fun and I think that the locals got a kick out of watching us try to fish. We bought a reel that was made out of a soda bottle with some worms and went at it. Sometimes I wonder what it would be like to live in a place where you don’t have to wipe the sweat dripping down your face every 5 minutes. But summer won’t be over for a while, so I guess it will be a while before I know. The only time in my life that I can remember being this hot was when I would have soccer games at 2:00 in 110 degree weather in Antioch, and I would have to run for a half that lasted 45 minutes straight.

How was my week? Well, let me explain something. There comes a time in every hermana´s mission when your stomach has just had enough of South American culture. It might be the food. It might be the wáter. It might be the heat. It could be a parasite. We just don’t know. But this week it was Hermana deVries stomach that had had enough and she got sick. This meant we spent a large portion of the week in the house. Needless to say, all of my letters are completely organized, the house is spotless, I have watched every dvd in the house and I even snuck in a few siestas. This also means that we didn’t work very much and thus, I do not have very many exciting new investigator stories to tell you. The sad news is that our cute little old Paraguayan couple and granddaughter told us that they weren’t going to be able to go to church again or read the Book of Mormon because they are just too old (or so they say). They do have a lot of health issues and a little bit of a language barrier (they mostly speak Guarani), however, all I see as a missionary are the blessings that they will not receive. The Lord has always required sacrifice from his people and those who are not willing to change and sacrifice for the Lord cannot expect to receive the full reward that Heavenly Father would like to give them.

I spoke in Sacrament Meeting, which I have a feeling I will be doing quite often in this little branch. I spoke about the doctrine of Christ and what it says in Preach My Gospel. The central purpose of this life is to repent and put our will and lives in harmony with the will of God. The Gospel is so cool. Everything is in our favor to return to live with God. He has made the plan in our favor, all of it made possible through our Savior, Jesus Christ. It’s just up to us to give God the only thing that is truly ours to give: our will. We must make the choice to follow Him.

I didn’t get to see the World Leadership Broadcast but I heard it was good and focused a lot on rescuing less-actives. I was glad to hear that because it is something that is much needed. I just read the World Report from 2008, which talks all about the family and it was excellent. Someday when I am a mom, I am not going to order parenting magazines- I am just going to read the Ensign.

Well, hope everyone is well and that you are enjoying winter and perhaps snow (what is that?).

Love always,

Your favorite hermana in Paraguay,

Hermana Brittner

PS. What is a cake pop?? Any news on David Archuleta’s mission call?

Week 51- Call me La Chaqueña!

“Live in each season as it passes; breathe the air, drink the drink, taste the fruit and resign yourself to the influence of each. Grow green with the Spring, ripe and yellow with the Autumn.” -Henry David Thoreau

Chaqueña- Chaco dweller

Feb. 6, 2012 (one year since my farewell talk)

Dearest family,

WELCOME TO VILLA HAYES! I have officially left the city and I am now in Villa Hayes which is past San Jorge and Mariano and across the river Paraguay, about a half hour from Loma. It is like a whole different world out here. First of all, I have never seen so many cows in my entire life, just wandering the streets. Also, I have seen horses, lambs, goats, ducks, a weird animal that looks like an anteater and a raccoon mixed (I only know the name in guarani) and pigs as big as horses. Many people here are the Indigenous people from the Chaco. They look like they came straight out of the Chaco. It’s really cool! Compared to their dark skin I don’t look tan at all, and I thought I actually was. Basically everyone here speaks Guarani at home and if we are lucky, Spanish too. Many people have family who work in the Chaco. The main sources of employment here come from a soap factory, iron factory, rock factory and there are a few fishermen. My apartment is two blocks from the Rio Paraguay and we are going to start running there every morning! There is no grocery store here, so we have to travel to Mariano Roque Alonso (45 minutes one way) to go grocery shopping or else go to little corner stores. Also, we have hardly any lunch appointments. Living in Loma spoiled me. I am going to be trying my hand at cooking with very limited resources. Wish me luck =)

This is the only area that my new companion has served in. She has been here for 3 changes/transfers. Her name is Tiffany deVries and she’s from Sparks, NV. I’m not sure how we didn’t know each other at BYU since we both lived at Liberty Square at the same time and she was in Sara Crase’s ward. She is studying to be a P.A. and loves sports, so we have a lot in common. She is a really hard worker so I can tell it’s going to be a good change/transfer.

The branch is really struggling here with a ward attendance of 40 each week. Seven of them are an American family. We had a miracle yesterday when a family who we were teaching came to church! We share the gospel message with tons of people who tell us they will come, but most the time they don’t. This family however was there when we walked in at 8:AM!! Juan who is 82 and partially blind, is a hilarious old Paraguayan man. His wife Maria and their 11 year old granddaughter Yohana, came as well. It was so awesome! Unfortunately, they only stayed through the first hour because someone wanted to rent their canoe but we will work on that. Juan told us, “I have been waiting to read the Book of Mormon! That’s what I want to do!!” Maria is a cute little Paraguayan lady and Yohana is cute and reads the Book of Mormon to them aloud. Also, a random contact that the previous hermanas found before I arrived came to church as well! Exciting potentials! We taught Relief Society and Gospel Principles and next week I’m giving a talk so most likely I will be teaching all three hours.

Mom, you asked about the different kinds of fruit they have here. They have limes, but not lemons, so they call limes lemons. They also have a fruit called mburucuya (guarani word, don’t pronounce the m), which turns yellowish orange when it’s ripe and they make juice out of it. The juice makes you sleepy though- some kind of chemical it contains. Another fruit, Guayaba, which is green outside and pink inside, is used to make juice and jam. They are really good. So far all the areas I have served in have these types of trees, along with mango trees and other fruit trees which line the streets and backyards.

This week it has been soooo hot, but it’s also windier here, which is nice. We had a huge rainstorm that started while we were sitting on a porch teaching a lesson. We all looked at each other and decided to go inside to finish the lesson. Afterwards, the investigator looked at us like we were crazy, as we said 'chao' and headed out the door into knee-deep rain and waded through the streets. Oh and that evening, the power and the water went out. So we walked home very tired, dirty, and hot, and without light, until finally the power came on with the air conditioning.

Oh the adventures of Paraguay... I will keep you updated on our progress.

Sincerely,

Hermana Brittner

Week 50- Life is beautiful with the Gospel of Jesus Christ.

Life is beautiful with the Gospel of Jesus Christ.

Jan. 30, 2012

I think the sky is bigger in Paraguay. Maybe it’s because I’m outside walking around all day and not sitting in a car or in a classroom, but the sky just seems bigger. Looking up, I might see a clear blue sky with white puffy clouds on a hot day or the sun setting a deep orange and light pink at the end of a long day. I just love looking up and thinking about how God made this earth for us to enjoy. Regardless of what trials we are passing through, or where we live, or how old we are, or how much money we make, each morning we are given a brand new day and the ability to create our own world with the choices we make. The sun rises and sets on everyone. I’ve learned here in Paraguay, to take life one day at a time and focus on the challenges and opportunities at hand, instead of living in the future or the past. Today is the first day of the rest of your life. What will you do with it?

Well, this week was full of surprises. First off, I went on a division/split in Ybera Tuesday and Wednesday. This was a surprise because I found out the day before and they just started setting up divisions for hermanas which is really cool. Ybera is right next door to my first area, Kokuere and walking around there, it felt just like Kokuere. I realized what a city girl I have become living in Asunción with all of its luxuries for so long now. Like the fact that people in the city know how to read and write, they usually are educated and have careers, they might have a computer and shoes to play soccer in, they hardly speak Guarani in the city, and the meals they serve usually include more than one rice and meat. Yes, I have been very, very spoiled.

I found out that lunch was going to be at Cristina and Jorge’s home who were strong members from Kokuere, who had moved to Ybera. It was fun to see Christina again! Although I have to admit that when I found out that what she had cooked us was white rice and cow’s liver, I sort of lost my appetite. Welcome to the country!! Yes, I ate it and it wasn’t that bad. The texture was kind of different and it only made me feel weird when I started thinking about my anatomy class at BYU and working with cadavers and human livers. But don’t worry, we won’t get into that.

The other highlight of this adventure was meeting new members and investigators and having new companions for the day, Hermana Fonseka from Honduras and a local, Hermana Ocampos from Capiata. I had a great time and I realized that the work is the same wherever you go (Can I also mention that the house in Ybera does not have air conditioning in the bedroom? Torture!)

A cool experience: On Thursday I was walking in an area near our house on a division with Gabi and we got a reference from a member for her neighbor. We clapped her house and walked in and this lady told us that the night before, her son had been really upset because he had just left his church due to some drama and she had told him, “Don’t worry Son, tomorrow someone will come to our house to talk to us about God.” She started crying while telling us the story because the next day, we showed up. It was really cool and we had a great lesson with her and her son. We are going back to teach tonight. I don’t think they are ready to accept the Gospel but isn’t it wonderful to know that God answers prayers.

On Saturday Hermano Rojas called me to ask if I would give a talk in Sacrament Meeting which I agreed to. On Sunday, President Boyden, the Asuncion Temple President and his wife came to church (they are really nice) so my talk was limited to 5 minutes. I shared my testimony, a scripture and told the ward how much I love and appreciate them, since I am pretty sure I will be leaving here on Wednesday due to transfers/changes. My companions said that it sounded like my farewell speech, which it kind of was. I have learned so much and grown so much in this ward.

My last Sunday (I assume) was wonderful. We had the highest attendance I have seen in 7 months- a full chapel! Lots of less actives that we have been working with came, and one less active said that he wants to prepare to go on a mission! I also found out that my friend, Juan, has decided to go on a mission instead of getting married! That means that Loma has the potential to send out 4 elders this year! I am so excited!

Well, my dear friends and family, time is up! Hope the Davidson’s enjoy their time in Cali! Drink a slurpee for me!

Trunky moment: David Archuleta is going on a mission! Woot woot! Maybe he’ll come to Paraguay!

Con cariño,

Hermana Brittner