Costa Bonita, Villa Elisa

Well, a few hours after sending my last email I received some unfortunate news. I will not get to see all those plans in Amambay come to pass (but I hope to hear about them later from Elder Gayoso). I have been transferred to Zone 4, Villa Elisa (Stake: Fernando de la Mora Sur). It was sad to leave, especially because I felt like I had not done all that I set out to do. But it was good to remember Zion's Camp. What they gained in that story was not winning a battle (baptisms, members), but leadership experience. And that is exactly what I have gained. I am more patient; much more of the leader the Lord needs me to be. The other church video that helped me was that of John Rowe Moyle. When explaining why he walked to Salt Lake with his amputated leg, he simply said "It's my calling." I feel the same way. The hymn "I'll go where you want me to go" is more and more important to me.

And really, I am excited to be here. Like I said, I am more patient. The change was still hard, but unlike when I arrived at my other two areas, I am not thinking so much about perfection, just doing the Lord's will and enjoying it. Ironically, that has allowed me to do more. I am discovering that happiness is really a decision. It is not always easy, immediate, or 100% of the time. But it is a decision based on our attitudes and habits over time. My Zone is a lot bigger--22 missionaries in 3 districts. One of my District Leaders is Elder Beatty, who was my Zone Leader in Ciudad del Este (he goes home in 6 weeks). I also have Elder Ramirez, my favorite Uruguayan who was with me in Zone 1. This area is much more like CDE--more hills, streams, and dirt roads. I didn't realize how much more urban Amambay was than the rest of Paraguay. The ward is small, but I am very excited for that! I have been frustrated with being in large wards with most of the leaders in the areas of the other missionaries. We have all the members in our area, but not the chapel (3 wards share a chapel--rare for Paraguay). We had 38 people in church, but we will do all we can to change that. One miracle on the way is the Duarte family. They have 5 kids between the ages of 8 and 15, who all want to get baptized April 27th. That should really give the ward a boost in primary and young men/women. The parents cannot get baptized because the dad was married previously and has not gotten divorced (that is incredibly common in Paraguay). There are also a lot of kids of less active families who we are working with. You'd be surprised by the percentage of baptisms that come from children of less-active members. I think that is why Utah has the highest baptizing missions. But really, I am excited to strengthen this ward and see that chapel filled. I am also the ward piano player again, which is fun.

My companion is Elder Enriquez, from Oaxaca, Mexico. He was an 18-year-old missionary, but he is now 20 (he goes home in August). He is a hard worker and a good leader. As with all companionships there are a lot of adjustments to make. Zone Leaders and older missionaries are also harder to change. But like I said, I am trying to be more patient, and most of the time we get along very well. I am sure we will have a lot of success together.

One experience I wanted to tell you. I had my first baptismal interview this week where the person didn't pass. It was an old man who wanted to repent and get baptized to follow Christ, but he didn't fully believe in the Restoration and he was convinced that the law of tithing is a suggestion, not a commandment. I tried to help him with both of those, but he just needs more time to become fully converted. It was a tough decision, and I thought about all the goals we have and what other missionaries would think. But I have always been taught to do the right thing no matter what, and there is no way I could stand before God and tell him that man was ready to be baptized. We're doing important sacred things here, and whether or not it is easy or popular we need to do the will of the Lord.

Great to hear the news, as always.  I'll try to ask my mission president about my question* in the next interview we have. With all the emails he receives every week, he doesn't usually have time to answer questions. Forgot to bring my camera, but I will send my last pictures from Amambay and my first ones from Costa Bonita next week. 

One more gigantic miracle. Do you remember Reynaldo and Rocío, that couple that was going to get married and baptized but there was a problem with the documents and she decided to leave him? That was quite depressing, but Elder Dyer, who was in that ward in Ciudad del Este, went to Guarambaré, where Reynaldo moved back to live with his family. While helping him get reactivated, Rocío came back to get married and baptized!!!!!!! I can't tell you how happy I was to hear that. All things are in the hands of our Eternal Father in Heaven. He sees the end from the beginning, and we can trust that he loves us infinitely and always has a plan. 

-Elder Wesley Morgan

*Wesley had asked what to tell people who are too worried about this life to care about what happens in the next.  I didn't have an answer for him and suggested he ask his Mission President.

Conference Number 2!

Conference was amazing! Felt more like other conferences before the mission--spiritual, but not world-changing like the last one was with the missionary age announcement. There was still a lot of emphasis on missionary work, which I loved. There was a lot about members getting involved, especially President Eyring's talk in Priesthood session. That really motivated me to keep trying to get Amambay excited about missionary work. We might just print that talk out and share copies of it. In Priesthood, I also liked President Uchtdorf's talk about the 4 Titles all of us have. That really helped me remember the importance of who I am and not comparing myself to others, just to what the Lord expects of me. He mentioned something I have been thinking about a lot. Missionaries, in their enthusiasm to be excellent, often create the idea that there is one type of ideal missionary that we all have to be--a super-positive, hard-working, gregarious, natural leader that makes everyone laugh and always has a plan to get the job done. President Uchtdorf said that we are meant to be different, and it's true! Being quiet or serious is not a sin. Everyone is unique, and they have a unique purpose. Having trials is not a sin either. We don't always have an answer. If we never failed, we'd never learn. There was quite a bit in this conference about being patient with others, especially our children. I loved Elder Christofferson's story about Sarah and  Annie. That inspired me to see the hope and potential in each person. Wish I could put my whole notebook up here, but I know you all received your own revelation and guidance. Those parts were my favorite, as was seeing BYU MEN'S CHORUS! That was a surprise. The people sitting next to me where sick of me saying "I know him!" "Him too!" Haha, I loved seeing Andrew Moore, Ken Kenworthy, Devin Flake, and a lot of other friends from the Choir. It was also a surprise to see Hannah Herring and Kristen Bodine up there! That music, as with all conference music, was wonderful.

I wish we would have had more people in conference. I always say it's kind of like the Brass serpent. Anyone could watch it and know that the church is true, but it is so hard just to get them there. We did have one surprise. Fermín is one of those investigators who wants to accept Joseph Smith as an inspired man and the Book of Mormon as a true book but not our Church as the only true one. That happens a lot, but he came to a session! We'll see what it did for him. Diego was also there, and we found out that the Stake President got special permission to baptize him here, mostly because of the opposition from his family and the friends he has in the ward. It was a mess getting all of that figured out. I am happy for him, but it would have been easier if he had just attended church where he lived right from the start. I've learned my lesson the hard way, and we will be sure to change that in the future.

Other notable occurences. Iván, a 19-year-old investigator, surprised us by teaching US a lesson. He had (finally) been reading the Book of Mormon and wanted to read the whole chapter to us. That warmed my day. I think I have also mentioned the Pavón family? They are still progressing slowly, but Hector, their cousin, is doing great. We were worried when he said he had a pregnant girlfriend (he's also only 19), but after teaching the Law of Chastity he said he would make plans to get married. He's awesome. The testimony of Giuliano, less-active guy who has been coming with us a lot, also helped out. He said something I want to teach more often--that they shouldn't feel bad for doing something they didn't know was wrong. That's why we have the Atonement. I also received a great idea while on exchanges with our District Leader Elder Dominguez. An old man said what many people say to us "It's so nice that you are preaching the word of God like Jesus said we should. My church needs to do more of that." I decided to give him 2 Restoration pamphlets so he could participate in sharing the gospel, and he was very excited to share it! I will do that more often--with investigators and contacts. We'll see how much other people can help us spread this message. Also, I would still love an answer to my question from last week--how do we help people who are too worried about this life to care about what happens in the next?

The Zone training also went great. Everything we taught was from what we heard in the Council with President Agazzani. We started off with the story of "La Piedra de la Sopa." I think I vaguely recall making "Stone Soup" in elementary school...but I never really got the point of the story. In any case, we bought real vegetables and meat to help the missionaries participate actively and see that every person has something to contribute. The rest of the training was about how all of us can be leaders, especially for the members and other missionaries. We are trying to change the way we do district meeitngs to focus more on what the missionaries need to do that week to help their investigators progress and to get them to commit to do it! I know that will help us have more success this next transfer.

That's all the news I can think of. Really, I am feeling great and loving what I am doing. Being a missionary is an incredible opportunity, and I will keep sharing the gospel for the rest of my life. Trust in the Lord, talk to him as much as you can, and share what you know with His children. I love you! 

-Elder Wesley Morgan

Semana Santa (Holy Week)

Wow, this week sure was interesting. I can now tell you a lot more about what Holy Week is like here. It´s a big deal. Reminded me a lot of Thanksgiving, actually. Everyone has Thursday and Friday off from work and school. Unfortunately, people use that as an excuse to drink a lot. So we had a few days of walking and contacting all day. Everyone attends church Palm Sunday, Good Friday, and Easter Sunday. And all day, all the channels show "Holy Week Movies," marathons of old Bible movies like Ben Hur. The soccer game rivals Cerro Porteño and Olimpia was also similar to the Thanksgiving football games.

"A picture of Easter Candy we got, just to show that they do have that here. :)"

So, like I said we are working hard. I am helping my companion a lot with English, especially using books and songs to help him internalize it. Many things are hard for his mouth to say, like "shrinking." He also teaches me Guaraní, so I can now say Cheaipota heta ñapymikuéra (I want a lot of baptisms). We really do have a lot of people who can get baptized next month, we just have to help them see the importance of coming to church. For example, there is Lorenzo, who said he is now talking to his children more about religion (Catholicism) and attending his church thanks to our visits. That happens a lot. People feel the Spirit, but misdirect their efforts. But we taught him with Hermano Damiano, the 2nd counselor and former Stake President. He also served here in Amambay (he is from Uruguay) and I am sure he was a great missionary. Hermano Texeira, the other counselor and great returned missionary, also helped us out. When someone asked him how important members are in lessons, he said something that REALLY won my respect: "Honestly, it would be ideal if the missionaries never taught without members." ¡Es verdad!*

"Here´s Diego, my awesome 'convert' (he is working on getting baptized in the ward where he lives)."

Amancio is also progressing a lot. He prays to have help quitting smoking and preparing to get baptized. Then we have Hugo, that guy who is a little crazy. He doesn´t believe God speaks to us, but he believes aliens do. Haha, it is a challenge teaching him. He always offers us alcohol, and he finally let us pray once. We had another funny experience when his daughter came into one of the lessons. She is as skeptical as him and wanted to know what the bad part of our message was. He said "Well they have this story of an angel and gold plates that I don´t believe." "That´s it?" "Yeah." "Seriously? If that´s the worst you can tell me, why aren´t you Mormon already?" He didn´t know what to say. We have had a lot of funny moments this week. One thing about Hugo, his biggest challenge is his son who died 20 years ago. He doesn´t want to accept the plan of salvation because he says it doesn´t matter to him what the next life is like or if he can be with his son again. He says he needed his son 20 years ago, not 20 years from now. That is similar to a problem we encounter a lot here. The people don´t want to learn about what happens in the next life because they already have enough to worry about today and tomorrow. What do you say to people like that?

"Here´s a picture of me during weekly planning (there is always a lot to do!)"

 

Thanks for all the news and encouragement. I´ll try to respond to all your questions and emails next week. (Yes, I have adjusted to converting temperatures and weights in metric). I have had a lot of people calling me or sending me things to fill out. A lot of responsibility as a Zone Leader! But I really do enjoy it here. I know the Lord is with us. We are preparing to have a great Zone training, so I will let you know how that goes. Love you all!

-Elder Wesley Morgan

*It's true!

"Here are two pictures we took from the roof of a building. Gotta love Asunción! ("The Mother of American Cities")"

 

Mission Prep for Daniel

Okay, I forgot my camera cable to send the pictures of my clothes that need help. But that's okay. Next week. Really, from here on out, I will probably not ask for much more in packages than clothes/equipment replacements. But, as far as advice for Daniel goes, I have been thinking a lot. First, don't bring any ties with white or other light colors. They will get dirty very fast. Have an extra watch or two (especially if there are a lot of robberies in Madrid). My waist bag has been great for hot days, and it gives my shoulders a break. It would be good to buy a backpack and a waist or shoulder bag big enough for scriptures and a few pamphlets. Also, I don't think he will get the nice scriptures in the MTC in Madrid, so it would be a good idea to buy the ones he wants there. I love my new English scriptures...and they still appear brand new. After a few weeks in the mission, I basically only used them once a week. I don´t know if they will have any sort of cases there for scriptures, planners, and missionary handbooks. He'll have to find out there, I guess. Super glue would also be good, because no matter how good your scriptures are, they get used a lot. It´s always good to have extra shirts and garments, because those get dirty fastest. Bring lots of pens, notebooks, and paper. (The more you write the more you learn). It would also be good to bring some church videos. We can buy them at the distribution center, but it would be much easier just to bring them. There are the standard ones (The Restoration, Together Forever), but there are some other great ones for investigators like "On the Way Home" and "How Rare a Possession." (Of course, make sure the disc has the Spanish option). I also know some missionaries who have discs of Mormon Messages in Spanish. Don´t know how they got those, but they are golden! Be sure to bring your pedigree chart and line of priesthood authority, in Spanish if you can. Those are great to show people. Also, learn to cook simply (I don't have the time or resources to make things like the tortilla casserole), get used to trying new foods--even if you don't like them, and don't eat constantly. That is a problem I had. All my life, I had pretty much all the food and time I wanted. Now both of those are very limited, and I wish I would have adjusted to eating less and more consistently (not just snacking all day). Part of the problem is that my teenage metabolism stopped, but I think you´re still growing.

A few other things I thought of, that are more Spiritual. By the way, I am putting all of this in the letter that will go on the blog so that Mom can see it, along with anyone else who is preparing for a mission. I have talked about a lot of things in my letters up to this point that can help any missionary, but there are a few I would like to reiterate. Learn to accept culture and differences in habits. Everyone does things their own way, and some missionaries can't understand that their way isn't always right. You're going to a new world, and you just have to embrace it. Learn to overcome adversity. Be tough, and trust in the Lord. You are going to have to overcome your own challenges and teach people to overcome theirs, too. On that vein, always listen to people and treat them like agents, not objects. Allow them to make their own decision, and teach a lesson based on what they need, not what you want to teach them. Overall, just enjoy it. Don't expect to be perfect, ESPECIALLY not right away. The trials are to help us, and the mission really is a marvelous opportunity.

This whole week, including Palm Sunday, is a big deal here. We'll see if everyone having vacation time helps us find more people! And yes, there are bunnies and eggs.

I'm not going to lie, it is pretty sad to hear some of that news...especially about the boys who are not serving missions. It's not all surprising, but still hard to hear. I wish them the best, and I will keep praying and hoping that things turn around. I feel the same about Maria Villalva. I don't know if you remember her, she was one of my favorite investigators in CDE. In the Zone Leaders' Council today I got to talk to Elder Nielsen (loved seeing him), and he told me she pulled a total 180. She won´t even read the Book of Mormon anymore. And she was hours away from getting baptized. Very disheartening. But thankfully, I have an incredible companion who keeps me going, and in the Council we learned a lot of things that will help our Districts be more effective. I also received some inspiration about how to make sure the District Leaders do their job and follow up on everything the missionaries commit to do in the District meetings. The mission is improving, and I am trying to do my part. I know there are future members waiting for us around here, we just have to find them. One thing we are doing a lot more is talking about Family History. I have always wanted to include that more, and I am showing my pedigree chart to everyone I can. We'll see if it works. Amancio, Julio César, Lorenzo, and the Pavón family are still great, but have not come to church. But one of the Pavón family's cousins, Hector, is very excited to read the Book of Mormon, so he might be the push that gets them going. We also have Giuliano Paredes, a struggling member, helping us with them, which in turn helps him. This week he came running in the rain to help us with a lesson, which was a huge miracle. That surprised everyone! Just have to help the rest of the ward want to help us like that.

Maria also made me think of a Liahona article I read. In September 2009 there was an article about Paraguay! It explains how big of a deal traditions and family opposition are here. That is really one of the biggest challenges. There are so many people who are too scared to change religion for fear of being rejected by their family and friends. We just have to help them trust in the Lord and feel part of the ward family. 

This week I got to do exchanges with Elder Huamán, from Peru. He is incredible. I loved his conversion story, especially when he said how sad he was to have to wait until Saturday to get baptized. He prayed about the Book of Mormon right after the missionaries taught him and wanted to get baptized the next day. There are great missionaries here, and I am also always trying to improve myself, while at the same time forgetting myself and giving my will to the Lord. It is amazing how those two actually work together. Thanks for telling me you have been noticing my progress. I hope you are all progressing too. Love you all!

God be with you,

Elder Wesley Morgan

Great week of exchanges!

Elder Morgan and the assistants to the president (all of whom have served in Amambay)

The view from the top of the assistants' apartment building

Elder Gayoso on the bus on the way to do exchanges with the assistants

Okay, like you saw in the photo, we had the excellent opportunity to do exchanges with the assistants. I got to work with Elder Dyches, who is incredible. He was here in Amambay a year ago. He is always excited, shows genuine love for the people, and is very focused on baptism. That excitement for baptizing has spread to most of their members in the ward. I wish we could do that more here. He really has a miraculous opportunity. Because of the change in where the assistants are, he is finishing is mission in the area where he started, but like I said the ward is much more supportive. I really learned so much from him in that day. We also did exchanges with Republicano. I helped Elder Correa, who was pretty discouraged his first few days, but he seems a lot happier now that he is adjusting to everything. We had some really interesting experiences. One of those was with Blanca, a less-active member who is now Methodist. She did not want to accept the Book of Mormon again (the typical "the Bible is everything" mentality). I have found that Ezekiel 37:16-17, John 10:16, and Isaiah 29 are great testimony-strengtheners for people who already believe in the Book of Mormon, but they make no sense to people who don't want to accept it. What helped her most was José Olavarrieta´s personal experience and testimony. She talked a lot, but she ended up talking herself through the issue and decided to give it a shot again. I read some of 2 Nephi 29, which is a very direct way to explain why we need more. In personal study I also found a few other scriptures (the title page, 2 Nephi 33:10-15) that talk about how this Book will be used to judge us (a doubt she had) and it was written especially for this continent. It is pretty cool to know that I am preaching the gospel to the Lamanites.

Many of our investigators--Lorenzo, Amancio, and the Pavón family, are progressing slowly, but really need to make the decision to come to church. For new investigators, we found all men this week (hopefully we'll teach their wives next week and be able to count them as families). I´ll give you a quick summary of who they are for a general idea of the kind of people we teach. Luis Caballero got baptized without getting confirmed a few months ago, but he is planning on moving back! What a miracle! We´ll have a confirmation this month! Luis Cabral is an old man who wants to do everything. One of his sons is a member, but the rest of his family hates us. Hugo is a crazy-ish man who we found during a huge rainstorm this week. He doesn't believe the Bible was translated correctly, he is very smart, but he also has some weird theories. Brian is a young man who almost got baptized in Puerto Pabla, but it looks like he also has family opposition. Eleno moved here from a small, far-away city, and my companion can speak Guaraní to him. He really is great. Hope they can all progress!

I will think a lot this week about things I wish I had known, especially with clothes. (Next week I will send pictures of a few things I need replaced). We use all the same manuals as you, but because we don't always have investigators in church, we don't always have Gospel Principles class. I am really trying hard to get that going even if there is one investigator who stays after sacrament meeting. I am doing great health-wise. My toenail still looks funny, but it feels great. I am trying to send more pictures, and I would love to get more from all of you. :)

It's sad to hear about Aunt Karen and Sister Rhees, but they are both wonderful and I know that these are all just steps in God's plan for us. I know things will be great for them on the other side. Thanks for keeping me updated on everything. I know Braxton is out on his mission, and I would love to know if we sent off the rest of those young men. This is a Marvelous Work and a Wonder, and I know they would contribute great things to the Kingdom of the Lord. 

Love you all!

"This is what I wrote on the board to start our Zone training. It´s an example of everything you could possibly do in the first lesson, all of which are good things, but there isn´t time to teach all that in 30 minutes. So we practiced teaching a first lesson according to what interests the person so they open up to us and feel the Spirit (those are the other pictures)."

"Last P-Day we mopped the floors Paraguayan style--tossing water and soap all over the floor, scrubbing it with brooms, and squeegeeing it all away."

"I also made peach cobbler with your super-easy recipe."

"In one of the districts, four of the 6 elders are from Peru. (They don´t like hearing that they all look the same)."

YAY DANIEL!!

I am so excited for Daniel!* I know he wanted to serve in Europe, and it is great that he will be speaking Spanish. How perfect! I know Europe is tough, especially for baptizing. But I am sure he will work hard and be ready for it. I am serving right next to Grandpa´s mission, and he´s next to where Dad served. I´ve heard great things about the Spain MTC: He will learn a lot there, especially with the opportunity to leave and proselyte.  Really, that is awesome.

Don´t worry, I made sure not to let José tell me until I read the email. He has helped us a lot this week. He drove us around all day Saturday. Unfortunately, we still did not have anyone in church, in spite of our efforts to teach a lot more with the members. We have some people who could come, but have doubts or conflicts that they still can´t overcome. But, we keep trying to improve how we teach. My companion is really great about being patient and willing to work harder. This week I watched the movie "On the Way Home." I really like what that shows. I wish I could have more families like that, and I realized I need to focus more on the conversion process (I also read Alma 17-22 this week). In studying that, I have discovered a lot of things to help me (especially the Book of Mormon and the Spirit), along with realizing that most of the process rests in the agency of those who we teach. They need to decide. I also learned that we were teaching a lot more in the last months because it was summer vacations. So, it looks like things are going to get tougher again. That just means there are a lot of opportunites to learn. I am really trying to focus less on comparing myself to others and expecting results when I want them. Abinadi has always been a great example to me of a missionary who suffered and testified but never saw the amazing impact he had.

We are also seeing a lot miracles, but not always the fruits. We normally invite the people to be baptized the first lesson, and we have had amazing experiences with people who were very willing. But it has been difficult to find most of them, sometimes for family opposition, or other circumstances. Maybe they weren´t sincere and hid from us later? (That happens sometimes). Or maybe I am just planting a lot of seeds for future missionaries. That is why I have been thinking about Abinadi a lot. I always try to just do the Lord´s will, and I hope he is using me to do great things, though I may not be here for the baptisms. For example, we have Juan Ramon, who still needs a lot of help. It will take a while for them to overcome the difficulties with their son, and we are just trying to give them hope, often by singing hymns. Honestly, I wish I could just sing all lesson, every lesson. Haha, but it´s not that easy.

We talked about the impact a missionary can have in our Zone training this week. There´s a church video of President Eyring talking about the waves a little pebble makes in a large pond. We really can do a lot of good (or bad) as missionaries every single day. We taught them how to teach the 1st lesson according to the needs of the investigator, which went very well. A lot of comments showed that they learned a lot. Actually, in trying to plan a simpler training this time, we opened it up for too many comments. That is the problem I had sometimes teaching Elder´s Quorum at BYU, which is better than when I taught Sunday School and there were no comments. It´s a tough balance to help people learn by the Spirit but still give them all the teaching you can. Especially all the motivational scriptures and questions (like "What would you do today if you knew you could not fail?) at the end, I feel like we inspired them and gave them things to apply to the work they do every day.

I was up late last week helping the other missionaries pack, especially in Centro where we had to clean, organize, and prepare the area book for the new missionaries. The bus terminal was an interesting situation because of all the missionaries who I may not see again, like I explained last week. There are three more transfers before the mission split, and I am pretty sure I will be in my next area in July. So on whichever of those three dates I leave this area, I will be pretty sure of which mission I will stay in. I will also try to send more pictures...but as you have seen, that often risks you not getting the email. I appreciate all the news I get from you, and I am thankful for your support. It is going to be exciting to have my brother in the mission field with me. Any questions, or anything else I can do to help with that, let me know. I love and pray for you all! Please pray for me, my companion, the missionaries in the Zone, the members in the ward, investigators, and all of Paraguay. And don´t forget that the Lord is always with you!

-Elder Wesley Morgan

*Elder Morgan's brother Daniel has been called to the Madrid Spain mission.  He leaves for the Madrid MTC on July 24th.  Hooray for missionaries!

First week with Elder Gayoso

Elder Morgan and Elder Gayoso

 Okay, we found out the rest of the changes, and I was very excited! Both of our District leaders became Zone leaders! Our two district leaders are now Elder Dominguez (Hidalgo, Mexico) and Elder Richards (Snowflake, Arizona), who were already here. They are both excellent missionaries, and I am excited to continue working with them. There were changes in almost every companionship, and it seems like we have a great group of 14 missionaries. I am now companions with Elder Gayoso (in the photo). He is Paraguayan (Santa Rosa, Misiones), but lived most of his life in Lugano, Buenos Aires, which is the same ward as my trainer! That was pretty cool. He speaks Guaraní fluently, which helps. He has been companions with several missionaries who came with me. He has never been a leader, but he is very positive and excited to do everything. Really, he is an incredible example. He has had some serious family and vision problems, and he told me how that has forced him to be a positive person. He's one of those awesome people they make movies about.

The days during the transfers were pretty crazy. I was up late several nights helping other missionaries. I spent Tuesday in Centro because my companion had already left. Wednesday in the bus terminal was an interesting experience for me. I saw a lot of missionaries from my first area who are getting ready to leave, and most of the missionaries who came with me are also leading, training, or doing something exciting. Also, Elder Speedy went to be a Zone Leader in my ward in Ciudad del Este, so I talked to him a lot about the people there. We also found out that the mission is going to divide! The work of the Lord is growing at an incredible rate, and you have probably heard that in July we will have over 400 missions. One of those is Posadas, Argentina, which will take with it Pilar, Encarnación, and Ciudad del Este from our mission. Any missionary in those zones will become part of the Posadas mission, and the rest will stay here. So the next few transfers will be like receiving a new mission call. Whatever happens, I will lose contact with this area or my first one. That, along with all of the other happenings, gave me nostalgia pretty hard. I missed my old area, and I worried about which of my friends in the mission I won't see again if they go to the other mission. I even missed Elder Knudsen a ton, which surprised me (but he still has to call us all the time, so it's all good). I relate to what you were saying about James and Ryan. I don't want time to move so fast. (Yes, let's avoid talking about the end of my mission and things I am going to do after until we absolutely have to). Things are changing, but I found that the answer is to just keep working. That helped me keep thinking ahead instead of looking behind. Wherever I serve, I am serving Jesus Christ. 

Speaking of thinking ahead, I played chess with one of our investigators, Lorenzo (I actually won one of the 3 games). He is great, but we are having a hard time helping him progress. With the theme of chess, I need to think a few days ahead as to which members we need to call to accompany us. That has always been a challenge for me in the mission. We are also working a lot with the Ayala family (Juan Ramón, Felicitana, and Gustavo). Basically Juan Ramón (about 60 years old), works a lot because his wife is sick and obese and cannot walk. His son has had drug problems and causes them a lot of anguish. He asked us to be like Simon the Cyrenean and help him with his cross. We are starting basic, with reading and praying every day, and we promised that would help them see results. The other people worth noting are Julio César and Sergio, two teenage boys who we found reading the Book of Mormon when we came for the 2nd lesson. They are very interested and definitely want to come to church and get baptized. We'll do all we can to help them overcome the challenges on the way to doing that.

Those pictures from José are of the Stefanius (the Brazilian couple that gives us lunch every Monday) and the Caballero family (recent converts). That was a family home evening we did on Elder Knudsen's last night. We have a Council at the end of the month, which the President and Assistants teach, and then a training with our Zone based on what we learned there to start the month. I am very excited for that. It is going to be a lot more simple than the last one, and I will tell you how it goes next week. I will also be ecstatic to hear where Daniel goes! Great to here about Makade, he is an incredible person. We also have local missionaries that serve here for a couple weeks when there are uneven numbers or other difficulties. It is a good opportunity for someone with less than a year in the church to start being a missionary. It is an incredible work, and every member of this church can participate. Thanks for your love and support!

Elder Wesley Morgan

"Here are a few photos from the museum we went to a few weeks ago. There have been a lot of famous singers-guitar players from Paraguay, so a lot of the museum was about that. You had said something about the Paraguayan harp...but no one here seems to know much about that. Who knows?"