Wait a second… you guys are going to Disney World, withOUT me?! First a cruise and now this… you pigs disgust me. Haha just kidding. About the cruise anyway. But whatevs, I’ll keep walking the dusty dirt roads everyday in extreme heat. That's a lot funner than Disney World anyways. Well another week... still no dollar. Which is rising by the way. Just in case you wanted to know.
Well, this week kind of stunk as far as the numbers went... everything is very carefully marked and organized and the numbers very well kept around here. We have to talk to our district leader 4 times a week now, so that the mission can keep tabs on all of us little twenty somethings, and make sure we’re actually working. But we lost a lot of time by going in to Asuncion for 2 whole days, so yeah, whatever. But while we were in Asuncion, we totally went out to eat at this really really nice, expensive restaurant, and we were all like this is soooo expensive... until we realized how much we were paying in dollars. Because here, the food is about the same ratio as it is in the states. Like, 1 dollar will buy the same amount of food as like 1 mil guarani here. So while it was a 50 mil dinner, it was only like, 10 bucks. So yeah, take that Paraguay!
Well, we had another baptism fall, so our animo is a little low, but were just wiping the slate new and starting again basically from scratch with our investigator pool. Its a little difficult, but no one was progressing, and they were just wasting our time that could have been spent with someone else. But yeah, we don’t have thanksgiving around these parts, so the Christmas decorations totally went up like two weeks ago around here... that was a little weird, not gonna lie. Oh yeah, I got the Christmas gift package by the way... I like the cute little note to the APs... who don’t see the package anyways. That was a little embarrassing... :-p But I still love ya.
Well that's about it for now... I can’t think of anything else to ramble on about. Love ya,
Elder Dennis
Monday, November 24, 2008
Wednesday, November 19, 2008
Nov 18, 2008
Hola, so right now I’m in Asuncion because my comp had to sign in to the country today, and then tomorrow we have our zone conference. Anyways, the bus in sucked, because we took the bus that left from Saltos at 10pm last night and got in to Asuncion at 5.30 this morning, where we took a taxi to the office where we crashed until my comp had to go to sign in at like 9. Then I just hung out at the office until about 12, when we took off and ate at Shangra-la, which is really good Chinese buffet. And now we’re just taking care of the internet use for the week. So yeah, it was like impossible to sleep on the bus but whatevs, I’m not about to fall asleep while writing this, I swear.
Well it sounds like yall are having a good time at home with all of the activities. I hope things keep going well for you all, and that you’re having a good time shopping today for Robyn’s birthday. And tell Cole he better keep that Spanish up!
Well let’s see if I can’t explain a little bit more about Saltos. It’s a tiny little branch that gets about 20 people to the Sacrament meetings on Sundays… the classes only pull in like 5-10 on a good day. But we’re working our best to try and activate the numerous inactive members that live here, and strengthen the ward with some strong new members. However, this past week we were lined up to have a baptism of this really awesome lady named Rosi. Anyways, we go over the baptismal interview questions with here on Thursday and we tell her we’ll be coming back tomorrow with our district leader to do the interview, but overnight she got cold feet and ‘’got out of Dodge’’ for the weekend… so yeah, we finally find her on Sunday night, and she had went to Brazil for the weekend, but we ask her if she still wanted to be baptized and she’s like I don’t know so we didn’t have a lot of time at the moment cause we were running late and we had to get home to rendir, so we told her we were coming back tomorrow to talk about it and she like skipped town on us again… so yeah, we’re a little down about that right now, but whatevs. We got a sweet lady lined up for next week, but what we really need is just a solid family to find.
Anyways, the town is very popular because its on the frontera of Brazil. So all the Brazilians come over because they get the stuff cheaper over here, especially electronics… (I don’t know what it is back home, but a 4GB Kingston memory chip is only 12 US dollars… its unreal!) Anyways, because of that there’s a ton of shops and that means a ton of jobs, so that brings a ton of people from both sides of the border, and its just growing like crazy. Well, I hope that that answers some questions that you’ve had. Its an awesome area, it just needs a kick start in the heart to get this place thumping… Its sooo close!
Well, I’m out. Loves ya,
Elder Dennis
Well it sounds like yall are having a good time at home with all of the activities. I hope things keep going well for you all, and that you’re having a good time shopping today for Robyn’s birthday. And tell Cole he better keep that Spanish up!
Well let’s see if I can’t explain a little bit more about Saltos. It’s a tiny little branch that gets about 20 people to the Sacrament meetings on Sundays… the classes only pull in like 5-10 on a good day. But we’re working our best to try and activate the numerous inactive members that live here, and strengthen the ward with some strong new members. However, this past week we were lined up to have a baptism of this really awesome lady named Rosi. Anyways, we go over the baptismal interview questions with here on Thursday and we tell her we’ll be coming back tomorrow with our district leader to do the interview, but overnight she got cold feet and ‘’got out of Dodge’’ for the weekend… so yeah, we finally find her on Sunday night, and she had went to Brazil for the weekend, but we ask her if she still wanted to be baptized and she’s like I don’t know so we didn’t have a lot of time at the moment cause we were running late and we had to get home to rendir, so we told her we were coming back tomorrow to talk about it and she like skipped town on us again… so yeah, we’re a little down about that right now, but whatevs. We got a sweet lady lined up for next week, but what we really need is just a solid family to find.
Anyways, the town is very popular because its on the frontera of Brazil. So all the Brazilians come over because they get the stuff cheaper over here, especially electronics… (I don’t know what it is back home, but a 4GB Kingston memory chip is only 12 US dollars… its unreal!) Anyways, because of that there’s a ton of shops and that means a ton of jobs, so that brings a ton of people from both sides of the border, and its just growing like crazy. Well, I hope that that answers some questions that you’ve had. Its an awesome area, it just needs a kick start in the heart to get this place thumping… Its sooo close!
Well, I’m out. Loves ya,
Elder Dennis
Monday, November 10, 2008
Nov 10, 2008
Well we actually found out our changes on time this week. And it turns out that all of us out here lejos will be staying together. Surprise surprise. But that's okay with me, I like my comp a lot, he’s a good kid. Today we went as a district to check out this water fall and lake thing just a little ways off the main road in Puente Kyjha, the last area on the road out here. So we just took a ton of photos and actually had a pretty good time. I was a little bored after like 5 minutes, but whatevs, I keep the people happy. So you should be getting a decent amount of those sometime in the next 50 hours.
So I heard about the elections... Barak Obama, eh? I’m glad I still have a little while to go here in Paraguay, I’ll just say that.
Oh, and I totally just got your other package this week... so I currently have more candy in my possession than the entire United States eats in a year... but hey, Elder Peterson and I aren’t complaining. But to make up for that Dad, don’t worry, I brush after every meal and before I go to bed. But... I’m sorry to inform you that I do not, I repeat, do not have floss in my possession. But oh man am I scared of coming home with bad teeth, the way peoples’ teeth look here! But I totally forgot to mention the saweet Counting Crows shirt I got in the package last week! That thing is awesome. But after receiving the pictures in this new package, I feel quite left out without an OSU shirt out here. By the way, Cole is getting HUGE! Tell him to stop growning because I still want to play with my little guy when I get home!
So I was going to mention the lack of college football reports, but Dad came through for me this week, so I won’t... But his mention of demonstrating a certain photo on his PHONE doesn’t make me jealous... okay, TOO jealous... if that's what he was going for. So hah! At least I don’t have to drive a car to work with my tunes playing and relax all day while my assistants do all the work in chilly fall air and eat delicious american food like ya’ll. Viva la Paraguay, baby!
But yeah, last Monday night, we hit up a store and picked up some Raid, and we killed all those suckers! It actually sucked that night, because we just doused our house in it and cleaned it up quite a bit, but then we left for the night and came back in and there were this little gnat things that look like ants but have wings, anyways, there were these little harmless things just flying around all drunk like because they were dying from the spray, but we had no clue where all of them were coming from so we were just killing them as they fell to the floor. Anyways, I finally spot that they’re congregating around this hole in the wall and so I jump up and I’m like ‘There they are!’ and I jump up on Peterson’s bed cause its right above it and I pick up the spray can on the way and I just unleash on this hole and then like thousands of them start falling out and dying and we’re screaming like little girls and spraying everything in sight. Anyways, we had to run out to the store because we ran out of this huge bottle of stuff so we got another one, and we also bought this towel things and we hose that down with this spray and shove it up into the hole. But by that time everything was dead, so we just cleaned them up and long story short, we haven’t really had any problems since, we just spray that stuff every morning before we leave the house. We did make ourselves sick the next day though, because our house wasn’t very well ventilated but we’re doing good now so don’t worry.
It has also come to my attention that certain children who shall remain nameless are taking away from the very precious ‘Write Josh’ time available to the parents. So in order to make up for it, each child is hereby commanded to write Josh an email for next week, and at least once every month proceeding hereafter. Also, mom, you better not be embarrassing me by posting way too many photos of yours truly on the bulletin board at church... because that is wayyy not humble girl. You are only allowed to put up as many as the other mothers have put up. Capish? Totally don’t know how to spell that...
Anyways, things are going good, I’m exhausted and want to sleep but the Lord doesn’t feel like letting me so I just keep on going. Loves ya,
Elder Dennis
So I heard about the elections... Barak Obama, eh? I’m glad I still have a little while to go here in Paraguay, I’ll just say that.
Oh, and I totally just got your other package this week... so I currently have more candy in my possession than the entire United States eats in a year... but hey, Elder Peterson and I aren’t complaining. But to make up for that Dad, don’t worry, I brush after every meal and before I go to bed. But... I’m sorry to inform you that I do not, I repeat, do not have floss in my possession. But oh man am I scared of coming home with bad teeth, the way peoples’ teeth look here! But I totally forgot to mention the saweet Counting Crows shirt I got in the package last week! That thing is awesome. But after receiving the pictures in this new package, I feel quite left out without an OSU shirt out here. By the way, Cole is getting HUGE! Tell him to stop growning because I still want to play with my little guy when I get home!
So I was going to mention the lack of college football reports, but Dad came through for me this week, so I won’t... But his mention of demonstrating a certain photo on his PHONE doesn’t make me jealous... okay, TOO jealous... if that's what he was going for. So hah! At least I don’t have to drive a car to work with my tunes playing and relax all day while my assistants do all the work in chilly fall air and eat delicious american food like ya’ll. Viva la Paraguay, baby!
But yeah, last Monday night, we hit up a store and picked up some Raid, and we killed all those suckers! It actually sucked that night, because we just doused our house in it and cleaned it up quite a bit, but then we left for the night and came back in and there were this little gnat things that look like ants but have wings, anyways, there were these little harmless things just flying around all drunk like because they were dying from the spray, but we had no clue where all of them were coming from so we were just killing them as they fell to the floor. Anyways, I finally spot that they’re congregating around this hole in the wall and so I jump up and I’m like ‘There they are!’ and I jump up on Peterson’s bed cause its right above it and I pick up the spray can on the way and I just unleash on this hole and then like thousands of them start falling out and dying and we’re screaming like little girls and spraying everything in sight. Anyways, we had to run out to the store because we ran out of this huge bottle of stuff so we got another one, and we also bought this towel things and we hose that down with this spray and shove it up into the hole. But by that time everything was dead, so we just cleaned them up and long story short, we haven’t really had any problems since, we just spray that stuff every morning before we leave the house. We did make ourselves sick the next day though, because our house wasn’t very well ventilated but we’re doing good now so don’t worry.
It has also come to my attention that certain children who shall remain nameless are taking away from the very precious ‘Write Josh’ time available to the parents. So in order to make up for it, each child is hereby commanded to write Josh an email for next week, and at least once every month proceeding hereafter. Also, mom, you better not be embarrassing me by posting way too many photos of yours truly on the bulletin board at church... because that is wayyy not humble girl. You are only allowed to put up as many as the other mothers have put up. Capish? Totally don’t know how to spell that...
Anyways, things are going good, I’m exhausted and want to sleep but the Lord doesn’t feel like letting me so I just keep on going. Loves ya,
Elder Dennis
Wednesday, November 5, 2008
The Bug
The bug that is literally from h.e.double hockey sticks that I had to kill last night while we were both screaming and whining like little school girls. We bought Raid today...
Nov 3, 2008
Tracie here - I have no idea why it took over 48 hours for this email to come through - he sent it @ 1:48 EST on Monday and I got it today @ 2:44 -
Hola,
Well, don’t you worry mom, the Pres was here a week before I came out, and he knows exactly what we’re living in. But don’t you worry, we’re already in full out exploring mode for finding a new house. The only problem is that this is a very touristy town, much like Saratoga, and prices are ridiculous... so we’re having some problems. Most places are at like 1.5 million, and we only have up to 600 thousand guaranies monthly to spend on a place... and all the reasonable places are already full. And its not that bad, really. The Salado house was one of the best you’ll find out in the mission... (may I remind you, we’re not in the states anymore Toto). But things are going pretty good, we’re still tearing things up. I hate rain. So the rainy season is starting I think, or something, because we’ve gotten dumped on just about every day this week.
Oh, and a little bit of good news now. The new cartero... or umm... mail guy... in the office is a lot better at his job, and he actually shipped my package out to me, so I got that on Friday (we pick up the folder the office sends out here to our little sector of the mission at the bus terminal usually around Friday). So I gotta say, cookie dough pop tarts are absolutely amazing!
So... I don’t really have anything else to really say. I don’t have any sweet hero stories like last week. I’m just settling in, and doing what I do best... putting a really confused look on my face as people try to speak to me in languages that I don’t know and then somehow convincing them that they need to go to church... I love it!
Loves ya,
Elder Dennis
Hola,
Well, don’t you worry mom, the Pres was here a week before I came out, and he knows exactly what we’re living in. But don’t you worry, we’re already in full out exploring mode for finding a new house. The only problem is that this is a very touristy town, much like Saratoga, and prices are ridiculous... so we’re having some problems. Most places are at like 1.5 million, and we only have up to 600 thousand guaranies monthly to spend on a place... and all the reasonable places are already full. And its not that bad, really. The Salado house was one of the best you’ll find out in the mission... (may I remind you, we’re not in the states anymore Toto). But things are going pretty good, we’re still tearing things up. I hate rain. So the rainy season is starting I think, or something, because we’ve gotten dumped on just about every day this week.
Oh, and a little bit of good news now. The new cartero... or umm... mail guy... in the office is a lot better at his job, and he actually shipped my package out to me, so I got that on Friday (we pick up the folder the office sends out here to our little sector of the mission at the bus terminal usually around Friday). So I gotta say, cookie dough pop tarts are absolutely amazing!
So... I don’t really have anything else to really say. I don’t have any sweet hero stories like last week. I’m just settling in, and doing what I do best... putting a really confused look on my face as people try to speak to me in languages that I don’t know and then somehow convincing them that they need to go to church... I love it!
Loves ya,
Elder Dennis
Tuesday, November 4, 2008
Nov 3, 2008
Editor's note: I don't know why, but we did not get an email from Josh this week. Haley was so kind as to share hers for posting:
Hey girly girl,
So yeah, I'm picking up the portuguese a little bit, but man it is a language on drugs, not gonna lie! And don't you worry, your big bro is doing all he can to make you proud of him, and he's doing a pretty good job, if I do say so myself. Okay, as for the remedy: its like this tea thing that you cook up, and what it does is sort of like what happened to me with chocolate... it fills them up so much with nicotine and tobacco that they puke or get really sick, and then the next time they go to smoke or even just think about smoking it just makes them go into the gag reflex. It works really really good, I was surprised that I'd never heard of it before and more people don't use it.
Dude...ette, I totally got a letter from my boy Fiala the other day too, did he send you the photo of the mountain dew salt lake temple? That's the one I got, its totally legit. I can't wait to get back and hit that kid up. Anyways, remember to keep your head in the game, but have fun out there. Have you, do you, see anyone out there that I know? If so, that's awesome, say hi for me. Well, I don't have any cool stories really this week...
Love ya,
Elder Dennis
Hey girly girl,
So yeah, I'm picking up the portuguese a little bit, but man it is a language on drugs, not gonna lie! And don't you worry, your big bro is doing all he can to make you proud of him, and he's doing a pretty good job, if I do say so myself. Okay, as for the remedy: its like this tea thing that you cook up, and what it does is sort of like what happened to me with chocolate... it fills them up so much with nicotine and tobacco that they puke or get really sick, and then the next time they go to smoke or even just think about smoking it just makes them go into the gag reflex. It works really really good, I was surprised that I'd never heard of it before and more people don't use it.
Dude...ette, I totally got a letter from my boy Fiala the other day too, did he send you the photo of the mountain dew salt lake temple? That's the one I got, its totally legit. I can't wait to get back and hit that kid up. Anyways, remember to keep your head in the game, but have fun out there. Have you, do you, see anyone out there that I know? If so, that's awesome, say hi for me. Well, I don't have any cool stories really this week...
Love ya,
Elder Dennis
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