This is my joy

The theme of this week might be Romans 15:1, a scripture I found and really liked. I don´t know how it translates to English, but those of us who are stronger need to be patient with those who are weaker spiritually. For example, not all the missionaries take the work as seriously as I do. Or yesterday it rained A LOT, and the investigators and members who committed to come to church did not. But, like I learned from that scripture, we just need to be patient, and love everyone even if they are imperfect. Cesar Insfrán was finally going to attend church, but I´ll have to wait until next week, which also means I won´t be at his baptism. It´s frustrating, but if there is one thing I have learned, my mission is not about me. It´s about the Savior Jesus Christ and helping other people come unto him.

Sonia is included in those who didn´t attend, so we´ll also have to wait another week for her confirmation. Interesting turn in the story of Deborah. We had a very straightforward lesson about the Law of Chastity, and without offending her, she realized herself that she is committing adultery. She, as always, wants to get married and baptized. Her member boyfriend does not. One thing led to another, and the next time we went by, they had fought and are no longer living together. So, there´s another baptism for Elder Rodriguez and his next companion.

We had the monthly meeting with the Stake President, and we are seeing slow but visible progress. He is always saying he wants to teach with us, and we decided to invite him to teach Santiago and Sara. Unfortunately, that just made her close off more. All of the wonderful progress we were seeing...ciao. She´s back to not wanting to get married. Now you know why Romans 15:1 is the them of this week.

But that is okay! We had my last Leadership Council today. I took more notes than ever, even though the things I wrote may not be used until my next mission (yes, there will be other missions). It was all about how to be a good leader, and one missionary, who had been here with me in Pa´i Ñu, talked about how I had been a great example correcting him with amor (love) so that the misionary wants to be better. President also talked about an experience he had with us a few weeks ago with a missionary who wanted to go home. Remind me to tell you when I get back. Above all, I was able to give my last testimony, which is also a feeling that everyone looks forward to. I just told them that I know I may not be the best missionary in the mission, but I know that I am the best Elder Morgan I can be, and that´s what is most important. I know that I am a child of God, that Christ died for our sins, and I can be an instrument in his hands. Like it says in Alma 29:9, "this is my joy."

I have learned so much in these years. I am amazed that I couldn´t realize at the beginning of my mission how important baptism is. I think I heard too many stories of "don´t worry how many people you baptize" and misinterpreted them. I have finally gotten as focused on baptism as I think I should have been my whole mission, and our goal is to help the Zone to do the same.

I also had my last interview. It was a great experience. The counsel President gave me was simple, direct, and but not very specific. He didn´t tell me what to do when it comes to work or marriage or anything, just focus on putting God first. He was also very emotional when he realized it was his first exit interview for someone who he had also interviewed at the beginning.

Haha, I didn´t realize I put a double meaning in the subject title. Honestly, I try not to count how much time is left. I just know that June 5 will one day arrive. I´m still feeling like a missionary. Next week, when everything culminates, I will write a little more about what I have learned and how I feel. Know that I will keep praying for you, especially for your back injury and Dave´s passing. I hope everyone is doing alright.

Love,

-Elder Morgan the Older

P.S. Elder Brown is my hero.

2 Weeks

Okay, I have to update you on some things that have happened in the last two weeks. That is a very long space of time, just so you know. We had our district activity, where Elder Henrie (our district leader from Idaho) made AMERICAN food. He made brownies, we tried the cream soda recipe (it turned out alright), and I did my best imitation of champ sandwiches from Ernie`s Sports Deli. Cooking eggs and meat for 16 sandwiches is a lot of work.

Last Sunday, like I said, was Stake Conference. It was very spiritual, especially for me personally. I got to see the effects of missionary work done in that Stake while I was there a year ago. The photo attached is of Miguel and Gema, who I found in Costa Bonita. She is from the Nivacle tribe, if you remember me saying that. They got married and baptized after I left, he received the Melchizidek Priesthood, and she is pregnant with their second baby. In San Isidro, two converts who I met while I was there are now doing very well. One, Francisca just received her endowment and her mom, who was very Catholic when I was there, just got baptized thanks to several miracles. The other one is preparing to serve a mission very soon. Just a few results of missionary work here in Fernanda de La Mora Sur.

"My companion and I at the temple."

We went to the temple, which was beautiful. The new video is amazing. We`ll talk more about all that later.

Sonia was finally baptized! But she did it in secret, and her family made her go visit some relatives when she should have been at church for her confirmation. We called her to try to get her to come...but it looks like we`ll have to wait a week. She understands that her baptism isn`t complete, and we visited her with the Benitez family last night. They live nearby and should offer great support.

Marcelina Insfràn and her daughter came to church again. She decided not to go to her meeting, but her husband had to take care of another daughter. She already has a very strong testimony, so the only question is when she`ll be baptized.

We also had a great experience with Santiago. His girlfriend Sara had a dream that she was getting married. We had a very intense lesson about repentance yesterday, and she wanted us to come by again today to talk more, because yesterday she wouldn`t commit to a marriage date.

Well, this subpar internet place is kicking me out early. What can you do? All is well.

Elder Wesley Morgan

Rapidisimo

Well, I received my flight plans, and I´ll admit it, I feel like my mission has come to an end. But hey, that´s life. I´m excited to see you all, like we did yesterday, but I will stay focused on the work. Next week I´ll write more about plans for the next life. For now, keep praying for Sonia to stop smoking and for the Insfráns to have faith to keep coming to church. Stake conference was VERY spiritual, and a bonus: I met a returned missionary visiting Paraguay who is studying at Georgetown with Sophie Siebach. God never ceases to amaze me.

Elder Morgan the Older

Just Keep Swimming

"Well, I finally have time to send pictures of our small-ish apartment. As you can see, the other two missionaries are sleeping on the floor. That´s interesting for Elder Henrie, who is more than 2 meters tall."

It was a bit of a hard week. We are losing contact with a lot of investigators, which is tough because we don´t even get the chance to tell them why they should keep investigating. But, we also found a lot of new families, like the couple last night who had heard some bad things about tithing. It was a good lesson, and we are able to shift the focus to baptism and finding out if this church is true. With all of those new people, our biggest challenge is that most people want to wait a few weeks to see what church is like. Elder Morgan doesn´t have time to wait! Well, next week we´re hoping for a lot of people to come to church, especially the Insfrán family, whose daughters were sick but are now committed to come.

Yesterday we asked the bishop when he would interview Andrés for the priesthood. He started to talk about how many people get scared when he talks to them about commandments like tithing, so he likes to wait a few weeks. My companion and I were not very happy with that, but we told him we understand his point of view (from my experience as a counselor I know a little of how hard it is to work people who just aren´t willing to keep the commandments), and luckily the night before Andrés had asked us to help him fill out the tithing envelope. He´s very converted and willing to obey, and the bishop believed us. It sounds like they had a very spiritual experience in the interview--what a relief for everyone.

You asked me a bit about my zone and the area. I can´t think of much more to say about the Paraguayan culture, I feel like I´ve shared everything. The biggest difference in this area is that there are so many members (including less-actives). We contacted a teenage BMXer with long hair who was listening to Linkin Park, and when we went by to teach him, he told us he was a member. Happens all the time with all sorts of people.

We have a great, hard-working zone. One of the sisters who just arrived is Hermana Cortés, who was also with me in Ca´acupé and when she started the mission in Amambay. We´ll also be ending the mission together, which is cool. For the first time, we have two young American district leaders. Elder Henrie, from Idaho, and Elder Walsh, from Utah. They are great to work with.

That´s about it! I look forward to talking about spiritual experiences next week. See you soon!

Love,

Elder Morgan the Older