The
best part of this week was traveling to Asunción for an incredible
conference Elder Maynes, from the Presidency of the 70. We did it in
Moroni, the chapel next to the temple, which I got to see for the first
time (our trip there is in two weeks). It is always great to see my
friends from the mission, including those from the north mission. Elder
Maynes served in the Paraguay-Uruguay mission, so he started off with a
few words in Guaraní that he said he has been waiting 40 years to say.
He was a great speaker and shared some incredible things that are
changing the way we teach. He talked about using the Book of Mormon more
and expressing love for the people right away. In Paraguay, people
often refer to each other as ¨Hermano¨, so we often skip the part of
¨How to Begin teaching¨ that explains that we are all children of God.
But I am trying to do that more with Romans 8:16-17.
He also talked about teaching clearly when inviting people to repent so
we can find those who are really interested. He told us to stop wasting
time trying to convince people to be interested, something I have done
many times. So that is something else I am trying to improve. It is a
little frustrating, because I am realizing how many people her don't
want to change. But scriptures like D&C 42:6-8, 123:12 help me not
get discouraged and have faith to find those the Lord has prepared.
And an answer to that prayer---Paola. She is a
friend of the young single adults in the ward who has attended church
activities for years, but never church itself. She knows it's all true
but has always been afraid of something. Missionaries have been trying
to get her baptized for a looong time, but she does not like to feel
pressured. With the baptism in our branch on Saturday, she decided to
come to church. We had taught her the day before and invited her to read
and pray. She hadn't prayed yet, but we talked about how she liked what
she had read (3 Nephi 11) and how she felt at church. My companion had
the insight to help her recognize her feelings at church as an answer,
and after listening and asking questions I pretty much said, Paola (it's
important to put the stress on the O...she likes that we are the first
missionaries to pronounce her name right, haha), you know it's all true,
and we are not going to pressure you, when do YOU want to get baptized?
And, what do you know, we have a baptism this Saturday!!
She is a friend of Laura Lopez, who has a
12-year-old sister that her family is trying to adopt. That will
probably be a baptism for the week after. Miracles all around! The other
person we are teaching often is Brian Naumann, whose dad speaks English
and is a less-active, anti-Book of Mormon member. We have had some
interesting lessons with him. I´ll try to share more another week. The
branch president's wife is awesome and offered to wash our garments. We
found a laundromat that will wash the rest for very cheap, which is
great. Just a lot of work to haul it there, but I am happy with what we
found.
So, we are working hard with the people we have and
always trying to find new people. I enjoy being district leader and
being able to focus more on the individual missionaries. I did 5
baptismal interviews this weekend, which was great. I am not sure how
big this city is, you'll have to google that. The downtown part is
fairly small, and that is where the sister missionaries work. Our area
is huge, but we work in the part within a mile or two of the chapel,
where there are more houses.
My companion is great to work with. He is new, so he
is willing to try anything. His name is John, but everyone calls him by
his middle name, Crosby (like Bing Crosby). Crosby Pacheco--how cool
is that name? Before the mission he liked salsa dancing, football, and
video games. Oh, when we were in Asunción we found a place that makes
Seviche. He LOVED that, and I got to try a bit. Very good. I like living
with four. We cook together, usually the missionary norms of rice or
pasta with eggs, meat or other sauces. Love the suit, thanks for
everything!
Love and prayers,
-Elder Wesley Morgan
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