Paraguay is awesome. There's honestly not a lot to do in this country, but it is one of the most beautiful countries in the world. Here in the city is not very pretty, but even though I'm not in a pretty part of Paraguay, the people are still loving, kind, and super super super calm. Everybody knows each other which is something very different from the United States. In my country we don't really know each other, even some of our neighbors. Here it's a very different world. Every one says Grandpa to the old people or Grandma. At first I got really confused and thought, wow this guy must have had a lot of kids, but I was glad to know that its just a loving way to say friend. The people here are so loving and the food is SO GOOD!!! Not going to lie it is not the most healthy food in the world, but it is definitely happy food. It makes me really happy. Being here as a missionary, it has blessed me a lot. There are exceptions and sometimes as a North American some people think I'm a spy, sometimes I say that I am a spy for kicks and giggles and we always get a good laugh. The people are humble and always helping each other. I have learned here the importance of loving thy neighbor and doing my best to help those in need. This country has changed my perspective of life. It is a third world country and I have seen a lot of humble, lower means families, but that does not take away their smiles and their hopes. I know that if they world accept the gospel then they could have the hope for a much better world in another place and build mansions in the heavens. I love Paraguay and I'm sure going to miss it.
We are teaching a couple of investigators:Liz Paola, Carol, Sofia, The Centurion family, The Molinas Family, and Martha. Coral and The Centurion family went to church on Sunday and the rest have been to church recently and we are trying to help them complete their assistance's so that they can get baptized. A lot of them are progressing and they have plans to be baptized on the 18th and 25th of April and on the 2nd of May. I will let you know of their progress. With Martha I learned the importance of actually acting with the faith that one professes. She is awesome and she told us on Saturday that she wants to know the truth and find out for herself if the church is true, but she doesn't want to go to church. We can´t expect God to answer our prayers and guide us if we do not keep his commandments and if we are not obedient to what he tells us to do.
I'm so grateful to know this gospel. I'm grateful for my parents who raised me in the church when I was very little. I'm grateful for Heavenly Father who always stretches out his hands lovingly to lift me when I fall. I know that this church is true and it is something that I treasure most dearly in my heart. I know that if we listen to the words of the ancient and modern day prophets then we will be able to return back to our Heavenly Father who has prepared the way for us to return back to our heavenly home. I love God. I love this country, I love these people, I love this gospel and I'm very grateful for the privilege that I have had to be here.
Thank you for the love and support. I promise that I will have pictures next week.
Elder Jessop
Good morning, how are you?
ReplyDeleteMy name is Emilio, I am a Spanish boy and I live in a town near to Madrid. I am a very interested person in knowing things so different as the culture, the way of life of the inhabitants of our planet, the fauna, the flora, and the landscapes of all the countries of the world etc. in summary, I am a person that enjoys traveling, learning and respecting people's diversity from all over the world.
I would love to travel and meet in person all the aspects above mentioned, but unfortunately as this is very expensive and my purchasing power is quite small, so I devised a way to travel with the imagination in every corner of our planet. A few years ago I started a collection of used stamps because through them, you can see pictures about fauna, flora, monuments, landscapes etc. from all the countries. As every day is more and more difficult to get stamps, some years ago I started a new collection in order to get traditional letters addressed to me in which my goal was to get at least 1 letter from each country in the world. This modest goal is feasible to reach in the most part of countries, but unfortunately, it is impossible to achieve in other various territories for several reasons, either because they are very small countries with very few population, either because they are countries at war, either because they are countries with extreme poverty or because for whatever reason the postal system is not functioning properly.
For all this, I would ask you one small favor:
Would you be so kind as to send me a letter by traditional mail from Paraguay? I understand perfectly that you think that your blog is not the appropriate place to ask this, and even, is very probably that you ignore my letter, but I would call your attention to the difficulty involved in getting a letter from that country, and also I don’t know anyone neither where to write in Paraguay in order to increase my collection. a letter for me is like a little souvenir, like if I have had visited that territory with my imagination and at same time, the arrival of the letters from a country is a sign of peace and normality and an original way to promote a country in the world. My postal address is the following one:
Emilio Fernandez Esteban
Calle Valencia, 39
28903 Getafe (Madrid)
Spain
If you wish, you can visit my blog www.cartasenmibuzon.blogspot.com where you can see the pictures of all the letters that I have received from whole World.
Finally, I would like to thank the attention given to this letter, and whether you can help me or not, I send my best wishes for peace, health and happiness for you, your family and all your dear beings.
Yours Sincerely
Emilio Fernandez