March 19, 2012
Changes/transfers happened this week! Here they are: I am staying in the same area but I am now companions with my MTC companion, Hermana Van Dusen! I am so excited and happy!! Most MTC comps dream about being comps in the field but we are living it, one year later. To be fair, Hna. Van Dusen told me that we would be comps again when we were in the MTC. It’s funny that we started the journey together and now we are back together again. I remember doing practice contacts and lessons with our broken Spanish in the MTC but now we are doing the real thing. We are both experienced, which makes it nice and I think it will be a good change. I wonder what the Lord would have us learn from this? Also, Hermana deVries went to Ypacurai, which is southeast of Asuncion and it’s supposed to be a really pretty area. I was bummed that I only got one change/transfer period with her. She is a guapa!
Hermana Van Dusen saw a photo of me with my sisters that had been taken right before my mission and said that I don’t look like that anymore. It’s true! She said I used to look preppy and “chuchi” (fancy or rich). My style has changed since being in Paraguay as a missionary. Make up-- not necessary, you’ll just sweat it off anyway. Accessories-- too “chuchi.” Except for a watch that may have been broken which I fixed with a paper clip and superglue. Hair--used to be strawberry blonde but has now been dyed platinum blonde by the sun, up in a ponytail or braid, so I don’t sweat as much or attract too much unwanted attention. Shirt and skirt--the lightest thing I own, as to not sweat too much in the Paraguayan sun. Shoes--the ones that don’t have holes in them. Perfume--bug spray. Yum. I am not a frumpy or unkempt missionary, lest you worry. My simplest clothes are still considered the nicest clothes in town. And the funny part- people here still think I am the prettiest and most exotic German (haha) to walk the streets of Paraguay. Or least it seems so from the amount of times we get snaked (whistled at...) Go figure.
So yesterday, all of our investigators fell through except for one. My alarm didn’t go off and so we woke up at 6:50, having to be at the church by 7:am, because the colectivo was leaving to take us to a conference in Mariano. We ran there and made it! The Solis kids and their dad didn’t go which means their baptismal date is pushed back to next week. The conference talked a lot about less-actives, the family and tithing. Paula, who we are working with, was baptized but her records are lost. We are teaching her husband as well. She is 18 with two kids and a very sweet girl. She seemed to enjoy the conference even though her baby was having a hard time sitting still.
We have another rat living in our house. We are planning to exterminate it soon. We have seen evidence of it all over the house. It’s droppings are all over and our food has been broken into--apparently rats like uncooked pasta.
I am becoming quite the cook here in Villa Hayes, if I do say so myself! We have gone from 3 lunch appointments down to 2 every week which is o.k. because I love cooking! When did that happen?
Well, keep this area in your prayers! I love being a missionary and wouldn’t trade these experiences for the world!!
Hermana Brittner
Week 57- My new/old companion and my new style!
Week 56-What kind of condition is your Book of Mormon in?
March 12, 2012
Visiting less-active members is a big part of missionary work here in Paraguay. I usually visit a number of less-active members everyday. One o f the first questions I ask them is if they will bring out their Book of Mormon. The condition of their Book of Mormon says a lot about their conversion to the Gospel, the strength of their testimony, and their understanding of the doctrine. I ask the question, and then watch carefully to see what kind of expression comes upon their face: “oh, no, I have no idea where it is” or “ummm, sure, I’ll go get it.” Hint hint, inactive members do not read the Book of Mormon because if they did, they wouldn’t be inactive! They would have the desire to come to church! So, if they are able to find it, I examine what condition it is in. Is it covered in a layer of dust? Is it battered, torn, folded, warped or growing mildew? Does it have the names of the missionaries who baptized them in it and the date of their baptism? Are there specific verses, chapters marked? Do they have notes in the margin? Is it brand new and probably never been opened? I ask them if they believe that it is the word of God and if they have a received a witness from the Holy Ghost about the truthfulness of this book. This book is, in fact, the keystone of our religion. If it is true, everything else is true. Joseph Smith was a prophet. The true church of Jesus Christ was restored. Jesus Christ is the Savior.
Now ask yourself these questions: what do people learn about you when they see your Book of Mormon? Is it left, dusty on the shelf all week only to be taken out on Sunday at church, or when you have to prepare a talk? Do you value and treasure it’s teachings? Do you read it everyday as the prophets admonish us? Those who read the Book of Mormon everyday receive a vast amount of blessings that cannot come in any other form. Something to think about. What could be learned from your Book of Mormon? Do you read it everyday? Will you read it everyday? I have learned to really love and value this book on my mission. It clarifies so much and sets our church apart from all the others. It is true and I have learned to drink from it’s pages and value it’s teachings.
One of the challenges of serving in Paraguay is that education is not a big part of the culture, let alone reading. Reading is not a past time here and education is not highly valued. I would say that the adults in the area which I am now serving in which, is close to the Chaco, have about a 3rd grade education level. There are also some who don’t even know how to read and many who do not understand Spanish. It makes reading the Book of Mormon everyday and understanding it a bit difficult. I am learning a lot about how to teach people according to their needs and to teach at a very basic level. You can’t be a good teacher unless the students understand what you are trying to tell them.
Well, we had 3 investigators at church yesterday. Our first investigator is Miguel Solis and he has a baptismal date for next weekend. His dad is reactivating. The second one is Rodrigo who is 9 and the grandson of a member. The third one is named Rodrigo also and he is 17 and a friend of a member. We will see what comes of this.
It’s funny, I have lived in Paraguay for almost a year and I am pretty used to everything, yet there are still moments when the poverty just hits me. It’s been an amazing experience for me to meet the people here, to see how they live, to learn the culture, to see how they have so little and yet are so content. I haven’t heard much about Luna (whose dad passed away) but I expect she is living with some relatives now. He didn’t actually die from a motorcycle accident but a different type of accident. Keep her in your prayers. His death shocked a lot of people here and caused a lot of less-active members to reevaluate what they are doing with their lives and what the Gospel really means to them. Hopefully it will help them change for the better.
Thank you for the early birthday wishes. I can’t believe that it is almost my birthday and that I am almost 23. I never thought I would live to such a ripe old age. (Ha-ha) It has almost been a year since I celebrated my b-day in the MTC. How time flies. If you are thinking about a package, you could send me some coloring books, markers, little toys, little dolls or Hot Wheels to hand out to the kids here. And maybe some Cadbury eggs and Easter candy for me, also dengue repelente, I mean bug spray. I appreciate so much all the wonderful packages that I have received. You have no idea how much joy they bring to a missionary!
Well, enjoy daylight savings time and spring. Hermana deVries was convinced that daylight savings is the same everywhere and so we showed up to church at the wrong time. Now we know- clocks change in April in Paraguay. Oops :) It has been raining here more and more and it gets unbearably hot for a day or so before it rains, to the point that I am literally dripping with sweat. I am very excited for winter.
Oh, CHANGES/transfers are TONIGHT!! This has been the fastest change of my mission. Maybe it’s because we have been working so hard. I am almost positive I am staying and I hope that Hermana deVries will stay too! Even though this would be her 5th change here and that’s a lot! We will see... there is also a new Hermana coming who needs to be trained. But I am holding out for my friend Faith! ;) Hopefully.
LOVE you all, thanks for everything.
Con amor,
Hermana Brittner
PS Lyndon and Katrina- can you send me Jessica Johnson’s mission address? Who knew she was going on a mission? I sure didn’t!
Week 55- Service, Tragedy and "The Amazing Race"
“God doubtless could avert war, prevent crime, destroy poverty, chase away darkness, overcome error, and make all things bright, beautiful and joyful. But this would involve the destruction of a vital and fundamental attribute in man- the right of agency.” Joseph F. Smith
March 4, 2012
Well, things seem to be cooler here in Paraguay. Now, instead of dripping in sweat 5 minutes after walking outside, it takes 10 =) It did rain a few times this week which deceived us into thinking that fall was here. This week we helped one of the recent converts, Fabiola, move into a new house, just down the street from her old one. They went from living in a small, crowded 2-room house with an outhouse, to a house with 2 separate rooms and a nice bathroom attached. A small upgrade but an upgrade nonetheless. It made me count my many blessings, as I looked at their one bedroom with 2 sets of bunk beds and one queen bed where she and her 4 kids sleep. It was pouring rain when we were moving all of their family’s stuff (which amounted to about the amount of stuff that I have at college, which probably isn’t surprising to my old roommates :)), which made it quite an adventure. It was a fun day and it’s always nice when we find service to do (no one wants the hermanas to help them because they think they need strong elders who don’t wear skirts!)
We experienced a tragedy this week here in our little branch in Villa Hayes. The Elder’s quorum president, Hugo, passed away in a moto accident (a huge problem here in Paraguay) while coming back from Ciudad del Oeste, where he sells brooms for a living. He left his 12-year-old daughter, who is now going to have to find her mom and hopefully live with her. It’s always strange when someone dies who I have recently visited and taught. He was a great guy, always willing to help and visit members in need. It was a tough blow to this branch, to lose a good friend, Elder’s quorum president and another priesthood holder. The number of priesthood holders are dwindling, and it seems like Satan is doing all he can to stop the branch from progressing by attacking the priesthood holders. The passing of Hno. Hugo has made me think a lot. It’s amazing how short life really is; you never know when it will be your time to go or when one of your loved ones will pass away. That’s why we are always commanded to repent today and not put off ´til tomorrow what we should do today. Tell your family you love them. Live everyday to the fullest. Live without regrets. One day your time on earth will be up and you will be in the Spirit World thinking about all the choices you made and the life you had on earth. The Gospel of Jesus Christ is really what it is all about and when we have an eternal perspective, we are able to make choices based on what is really important and what will help us get to the Celestial Kingdom with our families.
Unfortunately, none of our investigators came to church yesterday and we have been fasting and praying to find new investigators. Nothing happens in this work until you find someone to teach! We did find a less active man who has 2 kids who need to be baptized. We are working with him to get him reactivated (he just came back from the Chaco) and teaching him and his kids. He came to church with one of his sons yesterday. He works everyday from 6pm-6am. So on Sunday mornings he goes home, showers, gets his kids ready and comes to church, without sleeping at night. Que guapo!
For P-day today, we went to an Indian reservation right on the edge of civilization, where the Chaco starts, in a city called Benjamin and bought some sweet authentic souvenirs. The Indians there speak a weird click-click language that I think comes mainly from the throat. It’s cool and crazy sounding.
Speaking of Paraguay, hope you all got to watch the “The Amazing Race” which was filmed in Asunción, even though the show apparently took place in the more touristy part of Asunción and not the poorer part on the edge of the city. Apparently, the harp is the national instrument. I have only seen one guy playing a harp on the side of the road but that’s it. Oh and funny story: A cute little member girl in Loma who lives in one of the poorest parts of the town, in a one room wooden house, pulled this huge, expensive harp out of her little wooden house. I don’t know how she ever got it in there. She was taking lessons but quit and I think they are still paying for the harp. I guess it’s not only in America where parents buy expensive instruments, with high hopes of their children playing. Anyway, hope you all have a great week. Thanks for the letters and love. You all are great. Read the Book of Mormon! It will change your life.
Love,
Hermana Brittner
PS Happy birthday to the two cutest little nephews in the world, Ethan and Owen! I am such a proud Aunt!
Week 54- People from the Chaco
“Forget yourself and go to work! Olivdàte de ti mismo y ponte a trabajar!!”–advice given to President Hinckley when he was a missionary
Feb. 27, 2012
My dearest family and friends,
I have to tell you about this awesome convert who was baptized right before I arrived in Villa Hayes. His name is Cleto and he runs a house for travelers from the Chaco. He is a Chaco man who speaks just enough Spanish to get by, but mainly Guaraní. He houses Chaco indigenous Indians who are passing through Villa Hayes en route from the Chaco to Asuncion. He is a great convert, who loves to share the Gospel. It truly shows the gift of tongues because even though he doesn’t understand everything we say, the Spirit testifies to him the truthfulness of it. He is usually one of the first people to arrive at church on Sundays. When we go to his house to visit him, there are usually about 20 Chaco people sitting outside, who don’t speak Spanish and just stare at us unceasingly with a scowl on their face because they have never seen a white person and apparently in their culture, they don’t smile much. But we go in and Cleto gathers a circle of Chaco men to listen to us sing and teach and explains about the Church and his testimony in Guaraní beforehand. They sit around sippin terere(tea). Blame it on my vivid childhood imagination, but I can’t help but think about the indians in Disney’s Peter Pan movie who sat around in a circle, with dark, dark skin smoking pipes. It’s just like that but they drink terere instead. I never would have dreamed in a million years that I would be sharing the Gospel and my testimony with this Indigenous people in their native land in the Chaco of Paraguay. The Gospel really is for every people all over the world because it is the Gospel of Jesus Christ, for God’s children, regardless of race, gender, social or economical status.
Where has February gone? Well, this week went by pretty fast, unfortunately without any news on the investigator front. We had a ton of people commit to coming to church but when Sunday morning rolled around, no one showed, not even Sergio. It has been pretty rainy this week and rain here in Villa Hayes means mud because they do not have cobblestone roads, just dirt roads with little pebbles which turns into MUD when it rains. So we trudged from one neighborhood to the next, with 5 pounds of mud sticking to our shoes, umbrella in my hand, whereas Hermana deVries had her hood on because her umbrella broke. Let me just tell you, it’s tough working in an area with very few strong members. Missionary work without a strong branch or members- it just doesn’t work. Missionaries cannot do their job without members and so we are still having trouble finding new investigators. Pres. Madariaga has advised us to work with the less-actives, the recent convert lists (only 3 out of 10 recent converts are active here) and the lists of youth over 8 who have not been baptized. So that is who we are working with.
Another thing our mission is focusing on is more contacting but not clappìng houses. It is more of an effort to always be talking to people and never pass up an opportunity to share with others as we are walking around, doing our normal missionary routine. Our zone leader committed all of us to talking to more people every time we ride a colectivo/bus. It’s kind of fun- you have the people who don’t want to talk to you at all- and those who are really friendly. It’s been quite interesting and I don’t know what I will do someday when I am back to after-mission life at BYU and I can’t start talking to people about Jesus Christ 5 minutes after I meet them!
We also had zone conference which was pretty cool, even though we had to wake up at 5 AM to get there on time. We learned a lot about charity and how we need to have charity for the people we teach and with whom we work. Also, Elder Giovanni of the 70 (of the area? I don’t know which) talked about Alma 5 and how when we are truly converted to the Gospel it shows on our face and in our heart. I have never noticed that so much until I became a missionary. So many walk around in this world looking depressed, miserable, like they hate their life and it’s just sad because they don’t have the hope and light of the Gospel and it’s even sadder when we give them the opportunity to learn about the Gospel and they openly reject it. The devil is so clever and his only objective is to make us miserable. There is only one way to be truly happy- follow Christ. There are only two teams and in the end, we know that the winners are those on Christ’s team- not only in the end, but right now, as well.
I can honestly say that the Gospel is what brings hope, happiness and light into my life and it means everything to me. I know that Heavenly Father loves each one of us and only wants us to be happy and grow to become like Jesus Christ.
I love you all and thank you for your continued support! Thank you, Ruth, for the wonderful package which truly brightened my day! You are great!
Love,
Hermana Brittner
Week 53- Bugs, Bugs, Bugs!
“...Ye see that God will support, and keep, and preserve us, so long as we are faithful unto Him, and unto our faith, and our religion; and never will the Lord suffer that we shall be destroyed except we should fall into transgression and deny our faith.” Alma 44:4, The Book of Mormon
Feb. 20, 2012
So imagine that you are sitting down to have a nice bowl of ice cream after a long hot day spent proselyting and walking in the sun. You sit down at the table where your companion is and pick up the spoon. You look down and see a little black something on the top and assume it is a cookie from the cookies n´ cream ice cream that has snuck on there. But time has taught you to always examine your food a little closer while living in Paraguay so you look a bit closer and realize that it isn’t a cookie but a beetle. Does that stop you from eating the ice cream? No, you just paid two mil for that! So you scoop it off onto the table and dig in. Just another day in Paraguay.
Alright, so I have received a few questions from my little sisters about bugs. “Have you seen a spider yet?” “Are the bugs big there?”, so I thought I would satisfy their curiosity. Yes, I have seen a spider. In fact, many, many spiders. There are lots of spiders, mosquitoes and flies. Tons of flies. Sometimes you walk into someone’s house and their table has about 30 flies on it. They have ants here that are about three times the normal size. They also have the regular ants as well. We find spiders all the time at our house but I am getting really good at killing them. I am a spider killing machine! I usually just grab my flip flop off my foot and smack it dead. Or if I don’t have my flip flops I just smack it with my hand. No biggie. I realized a while ago that it has become perfectly normal to have numerous spiders, ants, flies and mosquitoes land or fly on you in the middle of a discussion, and you just constantly smack them casually while continuing to talk about Joseph Smith’s first vision.
Well, this week was a good one. No weird sicknesses, no unexpected changes. We had a 12-year-old investigator come to church. His name is Sergio and he is a ´guapo,´ in the Paraguayan sense of the word, meaning awesome. The previous hermanas used to teach him but dropped him because he couldn’t get permission from his dad to get baptized. Well, he walked to church alone, wearing a white shirt and black slacks but only woke up in time to get to Sacrament meeting. He is a really cute kid, I only wish that his parents would show some interest so that he would be able to have the support and help of his family.
As missionaries, we often go to investigator’s homes on Sunday morning to walk with them to church so they don’t have to go alone. It is always an act of faith to go pick up investigators because you never know if they will really end up going with you, even if they already said they would. This Sunday we walked 40 minutes out of our way to an investigator’s house, only to be told that they wouldn’t be going with us and then walked another 30 minutes to church. It’s just part of the work. It’s an act of hope that this family will make whatever sacrifice is necessary to go to church and change their lives and that they will realize the importance of church.
The district (like the stake but we are in branches, instead of wards) came to our branch this Sunday and we were 10 minutes late because we had gone to pick up our investigators. Only the 3 members of the district that had shown up to the Relief Society meeting and not a single soul from our branch was there, not even a member of the presidency or the person who was assigned to teach. It’s a little bit discouraging and sad to see the lack of interest that many members have here. As you can tell, it is a struggling little branch that can use all the help they can get.
We are struggling to find new investigators who are willing to make changes and sacrifices to follow Christ. We have had quite a few lessons. Getting in the door usually isn’t the hard part, it seems the people here are very open to our visits, but finding the chosen who are willing to change is the hard part. Many people here believe that which ever church you go to is fine and they are all the same. They all talk about God. I know without a shadow of a doubt that all churches are NOT the same. There is only one true church which has been restored to the earth in these latter-days. The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints has the authority- the Priesthood of God and a living prophet. I have never been more certain of this fact- that the Church is true. There is no replacement or any other way that a man can be saved except he is baptized by those who hold the proper authority. I know that the boy Joseph Smith saw Jesus Christ and God in a grove of trees and through his humility, God called him to be a prophet. These truths and the power that has been restored, makes it possible for us to return to live with God and our families together forever some day.
I am happy and working hard. These trials are just part of the work and part of life! What doesn’t kill me only makes me stronger. You may wonder how I like living in the “country.” Let’s just say that I have decided that I never want to live farther than 10 minutes away from a Super Wal-Mart. Today we went to my old area (the city) to go grocery shopping, which was cool. Kind of weird to be back but I enjoyed it. Loma is my homeland and Villa Hayes is something to which I am adjusting. My district and companion are awesome and we are becoming really good friends. It’s amazing how the “country-life” brings people together!
Love always,
Hermana Brittner
