“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
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