Monday, August 29, 2011

Changed to Aregua A! (but still in Luque)

Monday, August 21, 2011
Hello to all!
So, the biggest and craziest news of the week was that when we received changes last Monday, my companion Elder Hatch got called to be a trainer in Laurelty, and so I got changed to a new area. Its crazy to think that I was in Bella Vista for 6 months, and Laurelty for 6 weeks. I was a little sad because we had some great investigators that were at the point of being baptized, and after a hard 6 weeks of work, I was changed. I loved Laurelty, learned a lot, and know that the Lord needed me in another place...and that place would be Aregua A. My companion is Elder Patterson from Canada, and he is awesome. He just recently completed a year in the mission, and so its been great working with somebody pretty new as well. Right of the bat we gained a great friendship and things got off great. I am in the ward in Aregua, the same ward where Elder Colligan started, which is pretty awesome. He was in a different part of Aregua, but its been cool to tell ward members about our friendship before the mission, and the people here really loved him.
On Tuesday we went around and said goodbye to all the great people I had gotten to know in my short time in Laurelty, and it was sad to say goodbye. There are some great people there, I will make sure to send pictures next week because i forgot my camera. On Wednesday, we went into Asuncion for changes, and right from the start Elder Patterson went out and taught 10 lessons in our first day! We teach really well together, and have good chemistry working with each other. The change before, there were a bunch of weird things that happened in Aregua, so we are basically reopening the area and starting from scratch. We brought a few investigators church and have a few people progressing towards baptism in September.
My companion and I were talking, and we realized that because of our great attitudes and sheer hard work, we saw more success in one week in terms of numbers than either of us have realized in our missions. It isn't that we hadn't been working hard before, but it was our positivity when approaching houses and lessons. I have a really strong testimony on the power of a strong, unified companionship, and I feel like we will do many great things in this great area.
I had a really different week, with changes and all, but I am loving the mission more than ever (I feel like I say that a lot, but its true). It feels so good to see the Spirit working through us, and to see the changes my Paraguayan brothers and sisters start to make in their humble lives. I love missionary work, and even though things crazy happen in the mission (like being changed after being in an area for a short time), I know they happen for a reason. I know that Jesus Christ is at the head of missionary work, and the Church itself. Its a great day to be alive and to be in the world in these latter-days.
Since I am still in Luque (as in the Luque zone), we have stake conference this next Sunday. And, Christian and Cristhian, who were baptized with me in Bella Vista, will be receiving the Melchizedek (?? I never wanted to admit this, but Spanish is killing my English memory) Priesthood, and I got changed back into the same stake, so I will be able to see them there. And they don't know I will be there, so its going to be an awesome surprise. I am really excited.
Well, thanks for everything, keep me and my companion in your prayers and the people here. Love you guys!
Until next week!
Elder Babcock

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