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?
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