Rainy Sundays...​.

Monday, July 18, 2011

Hello to all!
I had a great week, I can't wait to be able to share a little of it with you guys. After writing the family last week, we showed up at our house to see some members in our ward cleaning out all the huge bushes in our yard... It was so awesome to see the love of the members here for their missionaries, we didn't even ask them, nor did we know, but they showed up and cleaned out the entire yard. And next week they said they are going to come help with the inside. They are great, I am so thankful for the members.
This week we had lunch at a members house, and we had this delicious milanesa looking thing that I loved. Little did I know, it was Alligator meat...I know it sounds lame, but it really did taste like chicken.
Another random fun fact, as a mission we have a monthly newsletter, where there is a message from the mission president and his wife, nurse, assistants, and other news from the mission. Also, 4 or 5 letters that missionaries write to the president get published on there, and one of my letters from last change went on there, which was kinda funny because I always joked that it was my mission goal, to make it on the "Stripling Warrior", and that day surprisingly came. I just found it really funny.
Well I completed 8 months in the mission yesterday...6 here in Paraguay...I know I always say it, but times surely does fly by here.
This letter is filled with random fun facts. A primary teacher in our ward was looking at the Liahona (Ensign) magazine, and said how she always notices that the primary kids from the USA all seemed perfect, with their suits on, smiling, well behaved, and how the kids here are crazy. She asked me for the explanation, and I told her "photo shop", and I couldn't believe her reaction. She laughed so hard for at least 5 minutes, and called all her family in to hear the joke, and they all were dying laughing. It was a funny/awkward moment from the week.
I officially hate the rain on Sundays here. 2 straight Sundays, it rained, and therefore made it really hard for even the super active members to come, let alone the investigators. Right when we said the closing prayer, this thunderous boom came and the fastest hardest rain storm came, and made it so that not even the members could walk outside or leave. We live right behind the chapel, and the whole street flooded, so I had to run out in the rain, climb our fence in my church clothes (because of the flooded ground), and go into our house to but on my big boots and bring back all my stuff from the church. In addition to that, Paraguay played Brazil last night in the Copa America, and that made the streets absolutely dead. We would try to make visits, but of course everyone was busy, even the members. We finally found a really old lady in our ward that let us in, because she doesn't like soccer. I knew that the game went into penalty kicks, just by reading the peoples reactions while looking in houses walking down the street. Paraguay won, which was cool because the country was happy, but kinda lame because now we still have to try to battle through the work with the big tournament. But the work goes on.
This week I wanted to testify on work. I love the quote by Pres. Benson, which says "I love this work...and it is work." That perfectly describes my feelings with the mission...yes its hard, and yes its hard, but I honestly do love it more than anything. I hope all is well back at home, remember me and the people here in your prayers.
FUERZA PARAGUAY! hasta luego,
-Elder Babcock