I'm Headed to Paraguay!

Written Nov. 12, 2007

Well the letter came, I opened, and now I know! I’m going to be serving in the Paraguay Asuncion North Mission! I will be enter the MTC on Cole’s birthday, February 13th, 2008. It was the weirdest feeling when I opened the letter and read where the Lord would be sending me. It was just this feeling of “of course, Paraguay is perfect for me,” even though I’d never looked into Paraguay or knew hardly anything about it other than where it was on a map. But I have three whole months to kill before I get to go, so hopefully I will be plenty prepared when I finally get to leave. I will be learning, or refreshing my knowledge of the Spanish language. However, the Republic of Paraguay has two official languages.

The first is Spanish, which only about 75% of all Paraguayans can speak. The other language is the Guarani language, left by the indigenous tribe of Guarani Indians. About 95% of Paraguayans speak the Guarani language. About 80% of Paraguayans can speak both of the official languages, but naturally, a majority of the population speak a hybrid of the two, known as Jopara. So I’ll be learning Spanish in the MTC, but will probably be thrust into an environment where I’ll basically be learning a whole new language when I get there.

All the researching and reading about Paraguay I’ve been doing just cements the initial feelings I had when I found out where I would be going. I know with a certainty that Paraguay is the most perfect place for me to be going. Reading about the people and the culture and the foods that they eat, it all just goes with who I am and what I’m going to be doing there and I just have the feeling like it will make it the most comfortable for me to get thrust out of my comfort zone and grow as a person and as a son of God.

There are two missions in Paraguay: mine, and the Asuncion mission. The Asuncion mission deals with the large city of Asuncion, while the Asuncion North Mission basically takes up the rest of Paraguay, so I’ll be tracking the middle of nowhere while I’m there. I’m so excited, and just can’t wait to get out there and serve and teach and share the gospel with everyone I come in contact with! Thank you so much for supporting and reading up on me. Until next time,

Josh