Hey There Peeps!
Well it sounds like you enjoyed the empanadas, and I gotta say, so do I, so do I. But my favorite is definitely these things called tortillas, but they're nothing like the tortillas from mexican food. I don't know how to describe them, but they're amazing. I've already picked up some recipes, so in 18 months, you'll be having a treat. But down here things are going alright, we're trying to keep things moving, and while things between us comps got really bad last week, they're starting to work out for the better.
I'm glad to hear things are going good, and that you're starting to settle down a little bit, I know thats all I want to do right now... we played a great game of futbol yesterday, and my body just aches haha. But I got the game winning goal, so it was worth it. But because of circumstances out of my control, we didn't have any time to do internet yesterday, so we got permission to do it this morning. Things are going to be pretty fun tonight though, cause we have a division with the Assistants! So yeah, that should be fun. One of the Assistants was here in Salado for the equivalent of a year, and he's finishing his mission this change, so I think he wants to visit some of the people and stuff.
But yeah, I'm doing my best to hold on, but things have been going crazy with our schedule this past week, so I feel all out of place right now. As for people to pray for, we don't really have any specific people right now, our pool of investigators is pretty low, and the people we find just drop after a visit or two, so we're doing our best to fix that right now. It was pretty fun this last week though, we did a division with our district leader, and he went with Elder Cameron in our area, and I took his little greenie, with only 2 weeks in the mission out into his area, and I had a lot of fun being the one guiding the lessons, and putting the commitments. It was a little harder, cause I didn't know they're area, but I put a fecha with one of their investigators, and it was just a good time. I learned a lot and it just felt good to stretch my wings.
I hope Grandma is doing alright, I'll be keeping her in my prayers. Oh yeah, I need the address of Grandma and Grandpa Dennis, cause I went to send them a letter and I don't have it... And as for the package, I dunno... whatever you feel like giving a poor missionary in Paraguay.
I hope you liked the one picture I was able to get off.
Love you lots,
Elder Dennis
Tuesday, July 29, 2008
Monday, July 21, 2008
July 21, 2008
Tranquilo, I figured something like that had happened, since I knew you had a crazy summer going, but wow, I didn't know just how crazy. And its absolutely loco that Haley is out of the house...
And no, I haven't gotten the birthday package yet, but I'm excited to get some more soundtracks. Last of the Mohicans is absolutely amazing. And I couldn't tell you what kind of things you sent me, it looked like they were just the cheapest ones you can find, but they were GOOD. I haven't used all of them yet, because I save them for special occassions, but right now I'm in Luque, about a half hour by colectivo from my house... entonces, no puedo decir.
Anyways, things with my companion are pretty much awful, he is a very special son of God, but I'm doing my best to help him out without going crazy, and right now I'm getting a ton of help from E. Moreira, but especially from his new companion, Elder Bischoff. He's so sweet, we just chill and talk, he's just real chill and a good kid, so I'm grateful the Lord knew what he was doing when he sent him to Salado. Right now we're also working on a song, and its legit.
On to some of the crazy stuff, so at like 4.30 am on thursday morning, I wake up to the sound of water running, and since the tap in the bathroom never stops, I figured we just forgot to turn off the water to the house like we normally do at night, and being ODD I cant sleep with it, so I go to put my feet down to find my sandals, and SPLASH...
There was a good half inch of water over the surface of the entire house! So I get up and I'm just like shoot, and that wakes up E. Cameron, and I run into the kitchen, were what happened was our water went out last night, and someone left the faucet on, so when it came on in the middle of the night and a plate was covering the drain, the water decided to fill up the sink and spill over onto the floor. But we spent like an hour cleaning it all up. That was fun. It still smells like a flood in our house.
Also, I gave a talk on Sunday... with 5 mins prep time! Yeah! It was awesome. Actually, I think it turned out to be a pretty good talk. It was about 10 or 12 minutes long, talking about baptism. I've realized that as missionaries, all we do all day long is give 20 minute talks to people, on all the different aspects of the gospel, so all you gotta do is get up and act like you're teaching a lesson. Its cool stuff, the orginization they have here in Paraguay. Oh, and this past week especially, I've come to realize on who all the responsibility of a standard Paraguayan ward relies. Number one, the Bishop, who is king. The people just don't get how the Presidents and 1st and 2nd counselor are supposed to do stuff too. Everything they need they go straight, and only, to the bishop. Number 2, the missionaries. We are the home teachers, visiting teachers, and any other kind of person that checks up on the members in their homes. But the Bishop, who is young and a returned missionary, is really trying to get things to work, but no one will support him. They're just stuck in their ways, and its really frustrating and sad when you have to explain slash argue with the members that the bishop is actually doing things right and that they shouldn't be mad at us cause its been 2 weeks since we've been able to visit them...
But anyways, I gotta go. Love you lots,
Elder Dennis
And no, I haven't gotten the birthday package yet, but I'm excited to get some more soundtracks. Last of the Mohicans is absolutely amazing. And I couldn't tell you what kind of things you sent me, it looked like they were just the cheapest ones you can find, but they were GOOD. I haven't used all of them yet, because I save them for special occassions, but right now I'm in Luque, about a half hour by colectivo from my house... entonces, no puedo decir.
Anyways, things with my companion are pretty much awful, he is a very special son of God, but I'm doing my best to help him out without going crazy, and right now I'm getting a ton of help from E. Moreira, but especially from his new companion, Elder Bischoff. He's so sweet, we just chill and talk, he's just real chill and a good kid, so I'm grateful the Lord knew what he was doing when he sent him to Salado. Right now we're also working on a song, and its legit.
On to some of the crazy stuff, so at like 4.30 am on thursday morning, I wake up to the sound of water running, and since the tap in the bathroom never stops, I figured we just forgot to turn off the water to the house like we normally do at night, and being ODD I cant sleep with it, so I go to put my feet down to find my sandals, and SPLASH...
There was a good half inch of water over the surface of the entire house! So I get up and I'm just like shoot, and that wakes up E. Cameron, and I run into the kitchen, were what happened was our water went out last night, and someone left the faucet on, so when it came on in the middle of the night and a plate was covering the drain, the water decided to fill up the sink and spill over onto the floor. But we spent like an hour cleaning it all up. That was fun. It still smells like a flood in our house.
Also, I gave a talk on Sunday... with 5 mins prep time! Yeah! It was awesome. Actually, I think it turned out to be a pretty good talk. It was about 10 or 12 minutes long, talking about baptism. I've realized that as missionaries, all we do all day long is give 20 minute talks to people, on all the different aspects of the gospel, so all you gotta do is get up and act like you're teaching a lesson. Its cool stuff, the orginization they have here in Paraguay. Oh, and this past week especially, I've come to realize on who all the responsibility of a standard Paraguayan ward relies. Number one, the Bishop, who is king. The people just don't get how the Presidents and 1st and 2nd counselor are supposed to do stuff too. Everything they need they go straight, and only, to the bishop. Number 2, the missionaries. We are the home teachers, visiting teachers, and any other kind of person that checks up on the members in their homes. But the Bishop, who is young and a returned missionary, is really trying to get things to work, but no one will support him. They're just stuck in their ways, and its really frustrating and sad when you have to explain slash argue with the members that the bishop is actually doing things right and that they shouldn't be mad at us cause its been 2 weeks since we've been able to visit them...
But anyways, I gotta go. Love you lots,
Elder Dennis
Tuesday, July 15, 2008
July 14, 2008
Well things are still chugging along… very, very slowly. These days with E. Cameron just drag on and on and on, and I feel like it’ll never end… I did get your package though, and that was just amazing, with like a full candy store of skittles and starbursts, so yeah, that was awesome. Also I finally have some decent music to listen to with the Last of the Mohicans and I really like one of those cd’s you sent me of hymns, the white one. Its really good. So thank you for that.
Other than that, we had a good day today… we went to Pizza Hut! Which actually wasn’t like pizza hut at all, but at least it was better than most of the pizza one can find here in Paraguay. I’ve been taking some really cool pictures these last couple days, but this computer doesn’t read my USB thumb drive thing, so I can’t get any sent to you unfortunately. I was really hoping to get to organize my photos on the computer, because copying them over to my chip time after time gets things a little “busy” on the camera. And being ODD when it comes to organization, its really starting to bother me to have the photos like that.
But yeah, I’ve also decided that I don’t yet feel like I’m actually a missionary. I mean, I walk down the dirt paths, with a white shirt and tie and teach people who live in little cardboard and tin panel huts all day long, but the knowledge that I’m actually on that 2 year voyage that I’ve wanted to take for as long as I can remember hasn’t really set in. I’m just on a sweet vacation out in the jungle of Paraguay right now. At moments it comes to me, like when I’m playing with the little member children, and I have flashbacks to when the Elders used to play with me, and when I talk and look at this person who has changed their lives in a million ways because they met me, but the day to day moments just feel like this is just one big summer camp get away where I´m just having fun with my friends… most of whom can’t speak English. That part in itself is really weird. I think I might have mentioned it before, but I can’t remember. Just the fact that you guys back home couldn’t come here and join in on some of these amazing conversations with these amazing people, because you can’t understand them, while for me, I don’t even have to try to understand them anymore, I don’t even think as I switch from one language to the other. Its hard to remember the times when I didn’t understand what they were saying, but it was only 3 months ago. I don’t know how to really explain it, its just little thoughts like “oh mom and dad would get along so great with this family, but wait, they wouldn’t be able to talk to them, never mind.” Its crazy stuff let me tell ya.
But anyways, I hope all is going well at home, and I love you all,
Elder Dennis
Other than that, we had a good day today… we went to Pizza Hut! Which actually wasn’t like pizza hut at all, but at least it was better than most of the pizza one can find here in Paraguay. I’ve been taking some really cool pictures these last couple days, but this computer doesn’t read my USB thumb drive thing, so I can’t get any sent to you unfortunately. I was really hoping to get to organize my photos on the computer, because copying them over to my chip time after time gets things a little “busy” on the camera. And being ODD when it comes to organization, its really starting to bother me to have the photos like that.
But yeah, I’ve also decided that I don’t yet feel like I’m actually a missionary. I mean, I walk down the dirt paths, with a white shirt and tie and teach people who live in little cardboard and tin panel huts all day long, but the knowledge that I’m actually on that 2 year voyage that I’ve wanted to take for as long as I can remember hasn’t really set in. I’m just on a sweet vacation out in the jungle of Paraguay right now. At moments it comes to me, like when I’m playing with the little member children, and I have flashbacks to when the Elders used to play with me, and when I talk and look at this person who has changed their lives in a million ways because they met me, but the day to day moments just feel like this is just one big summer camp get away where I´m just having fun with my friends… most of whom can’t speak English. That part in itself is really weird. I think I might have mentioned it before, but I can’t remember. Just the fact that you guys back home couldn’t come here and join in on some of these amazing conversations with these amazing people, because you can’t understand them, while for me, I don’t even have to try to understand them anymore, I don’t even think as I switch from one language to the other. Its hard to remember the times when I didn’t understand what they were saying, but it was only 3 months ago. I don’t know how to really explain it, its just little thoughts like “oh mom and dad would get along so great with this family, but wait, they wouldn’t be able to talk to them, never mind.” Its crazy stuff let me tell ya.
But anyways, I hope all is going well at home, and I love you all,
Elder Dennis
Another letter from a Zone Leader
Hello Dennis family,
This is Elder Adams. I am his Zone leader. I just thought that I would write you to let you know how much we really appreciate your son. Me more than anyone else really. Except for the people he teaches. He has a wonderful spirit that just touches the people here. If you were here, you would really be surprised from his transformation from when he got here to where he is now.
In another note, I am supposed to tell you that your husband is supposed to get a crotch rocket, not a cruiser!! He told me that when we were playing video games last night at the arcade. Haha......yeah...not really.
Well ......I hope you enjoyed the little update about your son. I expect a letter back from you guys....(I hear he has sisters too, so maybe some letters from them... :D..... And I wont give anymore updates unless I do.
I hope you enjoyed this letter as much as your son enjoys his companion......I´ll write about that in the next letter.
Elder Adams
This is Elder Adams. I am his Zone leader. I just thought that I would write you to let you know how much we really appreciate your son. Me more than anyone else really. Except for the people he teaches. He has a wonderful spirit that just touches the people here. If you were here, you would really be surprised from his transformation from when he got here to where he is now.
In another note, I am supposed to tell you that your husband is supposed to get a crotch rocket, not a cruiser!! He told me that when we were playing video games last night at the arcade. Haha......yeah...not really.
Well ......I hope you enjoyed the little update about your son. I expect a letter back from you guys....(I hear he has sisters too, so maybe some letters from them... :D..... And I wont give anymore updates unless I do.
I hope you enjoyed this letter as much as your son enjoys his companion......I´ll write about that in the next letter.
Elder Adams
July 8, 2008
Hola,
Things are going pretty good here. Today we went to the Expo, which is like the big country fair thing, which is why we had our P-day on Tuesday again. It was pretty cool, I picked up a couple of the Indian bags that they had. I´ll wait until next year to pick up some of the cooler things though.
This past week we had another baptism, of a guy named Jose Luis, who is way awesome. He´s going to be a leader for sure in the church here. We´ve also been doing a lot of service this past week, and helping some members out in constructing a bathroom. haha. Its been a lot of fun. Also this week I had a lot of fun and I translated my patriarchal blessing into Spanish. But that’s about it for interesting stuff that really happened. Oh yeah, I got Haley´s graduation announcement today, so that was cool and weird at the same time…
Anyways, so cambios happened this week, but I´m just staying here again with E. Cameron. Its killing me, I wanna get out of here, but its all good. The Lord still needs me here for some reason, so hopefully I can take E. Cameron for another change. He´s definitely out there though, and he pushes me to my end everyday. But at the end of the day I know I will be able to talk with my best friend in the world, Elder Adams. Haha he just wrote that. He´s an awesome guy though, definitely my best buddy in the mission. He does keep me going though, and he says he´s going to write you guys, so be on the look out for an email from him.
I hope you guys enjoyed the few pictures I got sent to you last week. I´m in the same place today, but sadly I forgot my USB for my memory card, and I was sending on sending some more, but you´ll have to wait til next week. Oh, and as for me and a bike, definitely a crotch rocket. The Honda 600 that’s all black and you can see the engine, I forget the model number and all that stuff. But yeah, definitely not a fan of the cruisers, those are old folk bikes haha.
But things are keeping up down here. Love you all,
Elder Dennis
Things are going pretty good here. Today we went to the Expo, which is like the big country fair thing, which is why we had our P-day on Tuesday again. It was pretty cool, I picked up a couple of the Indian bags that they had. I´ll wait until next year to pick up some of the cooler things though.
This past week we had another baptism, of a guy named Jose Luis, who is way awesome. He´s going to be a leader for sure in the church here. We´ve also been doing a lot of service this past week, and helping some members out in constructing a bathroom. haha. Its been a lot of fun. Also this week I had a lot of fun and I translated my patriarchal blessing into Spanish. But that’s about it for interesting stuff that really happened. Oh yeah, I got Haley´s graduation announcement today, so that was cool and weird at the same time…
Anyways, so cambios happened this week, but I´m just staying here again with E. Cameron. Its killing me, I wanna get out of here, but its all good. The Lord still needs me here for some reason, so hopefully I can take E. Cameron for another change. He´s definitely out there though, and he pushes me to my end everyday. But at the end of the day I know I will be able to talk with my best friend in the world, Elder Adams. Haha he just wrote that. He´s an awesome guy though, definitely my best buddy in the mission. He does keep me going though, and he says he´s going to write you guys, so be on the look out for an email from him.
I hope you guys enjoyed the few pictures I got sent to you last week. I´m in the same place today, but sadly I forgot my USB for my memory card, and I was sending on sending some more, but you´ll have to wait til next week. Oh, and as for me and a bike, definitely a crotch rocket. The Honda 600 that’s all black and you can see the engine, I forget the model number and all that stuff. But yeah, definitely not a fan of the cruisers, those are old folk bikes haha.
But things are keeping up down here. Love you all,
Elder Dennis
Translations - thanks to Sister Greco!
Here are the translations of the first and last paragraphs from his June 30th email -
Hello, my family and my friends,
Everything is great here in Paraguay, and this past week was nothing less. First, we had a baptism of Valeria Centurion, the daughter of the leader of missionary work here in Salado. We had a dress and everything for her. We were going to baptize her sister too, but she was sick, so we are going to baptize her this week. Also, we have a little girl who is 9 years old that we're going to baptize this Thursday. They both are named Norma.
Guarani is an incan dialect in Peru.
Other than that, everything is cool. I don't have many problems here except for my companion. He is just crazy, but I haven't killed him yet. I am very excited because this next week we are going to receive our futbol (soccer) shirts (uniforms) for the zone, and these will be quality. I bought a ball (soccer ball) last week and I am practicing. Futbol (Soccer) is very fun, I love it, but we need jerseys. They are cheap, one only needs to buy one, that's all. But I don't have anything else to share.....
I Love you a lot.
Hello, my family and my friends,
Everything is great here in Paraguay, and this past week was nothing less. First, we had a baptism of Valeria Centurion, the daughter of the leader of missionary work here in Salado. We had a dress and everything for her. We were going to baptize her sister too, but she was sick, so we are going to baptize her this week. Also, we have a little girl who is 9 years old that we're going to baptize this Thursday. They both are named Norma.
Guarani is an incan dialect in Peru.
Other than that, everything is cool. I don't have many problems here except for my companion. He is just crazy, but I haven't killed him yet. I am very excited because this next week we are going to receive our futbol (soccer) shirts (uniforms) for the zone, and these will be quality. I bought a ball (soccer ball) last week and I am practicing. Futbol (Soccer) is very fun, I love it, but we need jerseys. They are cheap, one only needs to buy one, that's all. But I don't have anything else to share.....
I Love you a lot.
Monday, June 30, 2008
Pictures from Paraguay!
Josh was able to send photos this week - check them out in my Picasa Web Album :
http://picasaweb.google.com/traciedennis
http://picasaweb.google.com/traciedennis
June 30, 2008
¿Mba’e chapa che ra’a?
Todo bien aquí. This past week was just awesome. We had two baptisms, both named Norma, so we were excited, and then it was my birthday and we were just working hard and find people and achieving our goals, so yeah, it was just a good week. My birthday was awesome, except for it rained all day, but we had a couple great lessons, and then some members gave us some good food and yeah, it was awesome. My zone leaders, E. Pavon and E. Adams, woke me up at 6.30 with a phone call, and then yeah, I don´t know, it was just a good day. I ate all of the airheads you sent me that day as well… I saved them just for that. The night before, I also got all of my letters for this week, cause the zone leaders pick them up on Thursdays, its just that they don’t normally pass them out until Monday. It was just because it was my birthday, so after our baptism we went and got some food and they gave me my letters. I got a card from grandma Karen, and from elder Fiala, so that was pretty sweet. I sent you a photo of me standing on one of the streets in the rain on that day as well. (I hope you enjoy these photos, I actually got it to work this time.)
We also got some amazing jerseys today that are awesome, that we had custom made as a zone. So we wore those today as we played against another zone, and totally creamed them. It was the power of the jersey, I’m telling ya. They’re white with a red and black stripe down the right side of the front, with a custom insignia and then our names and numbers (27) on the back. We also got shorts, which are black with a white and red stripe and the insignia and number as well… very very nice. I’m a fan.
Also, I got to say, that marinara sauce that you sent me is sooooo good. I made it for the first time on Saturday, and it was like heaven in my mouth, after only having had a salsa kind of sauce for forever, the actual bursting Italian flavour was incredible. But yeah, its definitely weird to think that I already have 5 months in my mission (if you count by 4 weeks as a month). Next week is changes again, and I’m excited to see what happens. With that I’ll hit 3 months in Paraguay. The time is just flying by.
Well I´m going to just work on getting some more pictures sent before time is up. I love you all, and hope all is well out there. And hey, you still haven’t told me about Dad’s motorcycle! Did he get it did he get it?! Love ya,
E. Dennis
Todo bien aquí. This past week was just awesome. We had two baptisms, both named Norma, so we were excited, and then it was my birthday and we were just working hard and find people and achieving our goals, so yeah, it was just a good week. My birthday was awesome, except for it rained all day, but we had a couple great lessons, and then some members gave us some good food and yeah, it was awesome. My zone leaders, E. Pavon and E. Adams, woke me up at 6.30 with a phone call, and then yeah, I don´t know, it was just a good day. I ate all of the airheads you sent me that day as well… I saved them just for that. The night before, I also got all of my letters for this week, cause the zone leaders pick them up on Thursdays, its just that they don’t normally pass them out until Monday. It was just because it was my birthday, so after our baptism we went and got some food and they gave me my letters. I got a card from grandma Karen, and from elder Fiala, so that was pretty sweet. I sent you a photo of me standing on one of the streets in the rain on that day as well. (I hope you enjoy these photos, I actually got it to work this time.)
We also got some amazing jerseys today that are awesome, that we had custom made as a zone. So we wore those today as we played against another zone, and totally creamed them. It was the power of the jersey, I’m telling ya. They’re white with a red and black stripe down the right side of the front, with a custom insignia and then our names and numbers (27) on the back. We also got shorts, which are black with a white and red stripe and the insignia and number as well… very very nice. I’m a fan.
Also, I got to say, that marinara sauce that you sent me is sooooo good. I made it for the first time on Saturday, and it was like heaven in my mouth, after only having had a salsa kind of sauce for forever, the actual bursting Italian flavour was incredible. But yeah, its definitely weird to think that I already have 5 months in my mission (if you count by 4 weeks as a month). Next week is changes again, and I’m excited to see what happens. With that I’ll hit 3 months in Paraguay. The time is just flying by.
Well I´m going to just work on getting some more pictures sent before time is up. I love you all, and hope all is well out there. And hey, you still haven’t told me about Dad’s motorcycle! Did he get it did he get it?! Love ya,
E. Dennis
Wednesday, June 25, 2008
June 24, 2008
Hola mi familia y mis amigos,
Toda está bien aquí en Paraguay, y esta semana pasada fue bien no mas. Primero, nosotros tuvimos un bautismo, de Valeria Centurión, la hija del líder de la obra misional aquí en Salado. Tuvimos una torta y todo para ella. Fuimos a bautizar su hermana tambien, pero ella estaba enferma, entonces, vamos a bautizarle esta semana. Tambien, tenemos una niña de 9 años que vamos a bautizar también este jueves. Los dos se llaman Norma.
Ok, I´ll stop using Spanish, and let you try and figure out what I said there. But man, with the baptism last week, we showed up about an hour and a half early for the baptism, and the font was filled but was completely dirty. So we had to empty it out, and the make it go faster, we were also emptying it by hand with buckets, so we were getting all soaked and sweaty, and then we finally got it drained, and they were both there and ready to go, but the stupid water was taking soooooooo slooooowwww. So we ended up just having to put it off for the next morning, and then the one sister, Norma, got sick, so we only got to baptize Valeria, but this week we’re going to baptize her, along with a little girl who’s family is all members. So we’re excited to have those. This week we also held a Talent show night and stressed the use of our talents to share the gospel, but hardly anyone showed up and only we did stuff. I played the guitar while we sang “Praise to the Man,” a verse in Spanish, Guaraní and English. That was pretty fun. Afterwards we just played a game with everyone.
Its still pretty cold here, but its warming up a bit. I think we cold just be getting used to it as well, but yeah, you don’t need to worry about sending anything more, I’m staying warm just fine. But I also got all my cards and letters today, but no package, but no worries, the zone leaders (two of my best friends) are saying they’re going to throw some sort of party or something with cake and whatnot, so don’t worry. It should be a pretty good day, because we have to baptisms lined up for the night before. But coming from the cards, what’s the turtles name? Is it still up in the air? AND! Totally not fair, the itouch is the exact same thing as an iphone, minus the phone! Not that it matters to me for the next two years, but still, way jealous down here. Oh oh oh! And does dad have a motorcycle yet?! And if not, what’s the hold up?! Haha I’m a fan of the Honda bikes myself.
Other than that, todo tranquilo. No tengo muchas problemas aquí, menos el compañero. Él es loco no mas, pero no le maté todavía. Tengo animado porque esta semana proxima, vamos a recibir nuestras camisetas de fútbol de la zona, y estas van a ser calidad. Yo compré una pelota la semana pasada, y estoy practicando. Fútbol es muy divertido, me lo encanta, pero necesito camisetas (jerseys). Están borato, solamente necesito comprarlo no mas. Pero, no tengo mucho mas…
Les amo muchísimo,
Elder Dennis (Day - niece)
P.s. Sorry I didn’t write yesterday, our P-Day got switched up because of a leaders meeting that took place yesterday.
Toda está bien aquí en Paraguay, y esta semana pasada fue bien no mas. Primero, nosotros tuvimos un bautismo, de Valeria Centurión, la hija del líder de la obra misional aquí en Salado. Tuvimos una torta y todo para ella. Fuimos a bautizar su hermana tambien, pero ella estaba enferma, entonces, vamos a bautizarle esta semana. Tambien, tenemos una niña de 9 años que vamos a bautizar también este jueves. Los dos se llaman Norma.
Ok, I´ll stop using Spanish, and let you try and figure out what I said there. But man, with the baptism last week, we showed up about an hour and a half early for the baptism, and the font was filled but was completely dirty. So we had to empty it out, and the make it go faster, we were also emptying it by hand with buckets, so we were getting all soaked and sweaty, and then we finally got it drained, and they were both there and ready to go, but the stupid water was taking soooooooo slooooowwww. So we ended up just having to put it off for the next morning, and then the one sister, Norma, got sick, so we only got to baptize Valeria, but this week we’re going to baptize her, along with a little girl who’s family is all members. So we’re excited to have those. This week we also held a Talent show night and stressed the use of our talents to share the gospel, but hardly anyone showed up and only we did stuff. I played the guitar while we sang “Praise to the Man,” a verse in Spanish, Guaraní and English. That was pretty fun. Afterwards we just played a game with everyone.
Its still pretty cold here, but its warming up a bit. I think we cold just be getting used to it as well, but yeah, you don’t need to worry about sending anything more, I’m staying warm just fine. But I also got all my cards and letters today, but no package, but no worries, the zone leaders (two of my best friends) are saying they’re going to throw some sort of party or something with cake and whatnot, so don’t worry. It should be a pretty good day, because we have to baptisms lined up for the night before. But coming from the cards, what’s the turtles name? Is it still up in the air? AND! Totally not fair, the itouch is the exact same thing as an iphone, minus the phone! Not that it matters to me for the next two years, but still, way jealous down here. Oh oh oh! And does dad have a motorcycle yet?! And if not, what’s the hold up?! Haha I’m a fan of the Honda bikes myself.
Other than that, todo tranquilo. No tengo muchas problemas aquí, menos el compañero. Él es loco no mas, pero no le maté todavía. Tengo animado porque esta semana proxima, vamos a recibir nuestras camisetas de fútbol de la zona, y estas van a ser calidad. Yo compré una pelota la semana pasada, y estoy practicando. Fútbol es muy divertido, me lo encanta, pero necesito camisetas (jerseys). Están borato, solamente necesito comprarlo no mas. Pero, no tengo mucho mas…
Les amo muchísimo,
Elder Dennis (Day - niece)
P.s. Sorry I didn’t write yesterday, our P-Day got switched up because of a leaders meeting that took place yesterday.
Monday, June 16, 2008
June 16, 2008
¿Mba’e chapa? ¿Todo bien? Tranquilo.
Life is moving along. Like you said, its crazy to think that I´ve been gone for so long already, I´m not even noticing the time moving. What’s even more crazy, is that next week, I have to start using a “2” at the front of my age… that’s just weird. And Happy Birthday to Papason! I hope he enjoyed the rest yesterday, and especially his chicken picata... not fare! But what is this about money coming out of my account?! I haven’t been able to get it out yet… haha chiste no mas (or in English, just kidding… I got you, didn’t I? :-p ) Yeah, I got my money out just fine once I dipped below the two hundred mark. So now I got my guitar (HOORAY!) and I also got my cases for my scriptures today! So I´m stoked about that, they’re absolutely awesome.
As for the life down here, its freakin cold! I´m not liking this. Its usually not that bad in the middle of the day, but in the morning and as soon as the sun goes down its horrible. The funny part is that its probably not really all that cold, I just got used to the heat of the end of fall here and now that we’re getting into winter, I´m already accustomed to the weather down here. Other than that things are going pretty good. E’ Cameron is still a little tough to really get along with, he’s quite out there, but I´m doing my best, and we’re trying to work hard and get some people to progress. But really cool today, Pte. Wade and his wife and son stopped in at our District Meeting this morning, and visited with us a bit, so that was really sweet, they’re so awesome.
At home, it sounds like Robyn is doing awesome in here new school and friends and all that, so that’s great to hear. Okay, so I have some way exciting news that I forgot to mention. First I’ll say that whenever I write anything anymore in English, I’m totally translating it from Spanish to English to write it down. Its so weird, some things are just so much easier to say in Spanish. And that leads me to my bit of news: this week I had my first dream (that I remember) in Spanish! So that was a really exciting morning, I was just kind of laying there, and I was like “Woah, that was in Spanish.” So yeah, the language is coming along well. I don´t have to really try to understand anymore, I still have to focus on what they’re saying, and I can’t have too many distractions, but for the most part I don’t have to strain anymore to understand these people.
As for E’ Fiala, it sounds like he’s doing good. And just a tidbit of random information, Joe Weeks from Olentangy hockey is at school in Elmira right now. Just thought I could share that. And as for the package, some more velveeta and shells sounds good, as well as some skittles or nerds or something like that… you know what I like. Also, you should definitely include some CDs, like all the ones you bought me, but more than anything, I could go for some nice soundtracks, like Last of the Mohicans and Lord of the Rings, things like that… :D
Haha, and yeah, E’ Pavon is awesome. He’s one of my Zone Leaders, and he’s one of the best latins here at English. He’s really cool, I love getting to hang out with him. My other Zone leader is E’ Adams, and he’s one of my best friends here on the mission so far. He’s really into music, and he’s a professional drummer, so we’re totally planning on jamming when we get back. But yeah, life is great. I love the work and the people.
I love you all,
E. Dennis
Life is moving along. Like you said, its crazy to think that I´ve been gone for so long already, I´m not even noticing the time moving. What’s even more crazy, is that next week, I have to start using a “2” at the front of my age… that’s just weird. And Happy Birthday to Papason! I hope he enjoyed the rest yesterday, and especially his chicken picata... not fare! But what is this about money coming out of my account?! I haven’t been able to get it out yet… haha chiste no mas (or in English, just kidding… I got you, didn’t I? :-p ) Yeah, I got my money out just fine once I dipped below the two hundred mark. So now I got my guitar (HOORAY!) and I also got my cases for my scriptures today! So I´m stoked about that, they’re absolutely awesome.
As for the life down here, its freakin cold! I´m not liking this. Its usually not that bad in the middle of the day, but in the morning and as soon as the sun goes down its horrible. The funny part is that its probably not really all that cold, I just got used to the heat of the end of fall here and now that we’re getting into winter, I´m already accustomed to the weather down here. Other than that things are going pretty good. E’ Cameron is still a little tough to really get along with, he’s quite out there, but I´m doing my best, and we’re trying to work hard and get some people to progress. But really cool today, Pte. Wade and his wife and son stopped in at our District Meeting this morning, and visited with us a bit, so that was really sweet, they’re so awesome.
At home, it sounds like Robyn is doing awesome in here new school and friends and all that, so that’s great to hear. Okay, so I have some way exciting news that I forgot to mention. First I’ll say that whenever I write anything anymore in English, I’m totally translating it from Spanish to English to write it down. Its so weird, some things are just so much easier to say in Spanish. And that leads me to my bit of news: this week I had my first dream (that I remember) in Spanish! So that was a really exciting morning, I was just kind of laying there, and I was like “Woah, that was in Spanish.” So yeah, the language is coming along well. I don´t have to really try to understand anymore, I still have to focus on what they’re saying, and I can’t have too many distractions, but for the most part I don’t have to strain anymore to understand these people.
As for E’ Fiala, it sounds like he’s doing good. And just a tidbit of random information, Joe Weeks from Olentangy hockey is at school in Elmira right now. Just thought I could share that. And as for the package, some more velveeta and shells sounds good, as well as some skittles or nerds or something like that… you know what I like. Also, you should definitely include some CDs, like all the ones you bought me, but more than anything, I could go for some nice soundtracks, like Last of the Mohicans and Lord of the Rings, things like that… :D
Haha, and yeah, E’ Pavon is awesome. He’s one of my Zone Leaders, and he’s one of the best latins here at English. He’s really cool, I love getting to hang out with him. My other Zone leader is E’ Adams, and he’s one of my best friends here on the mission so far. He’s really into music, and he’s a professional drummer, so we’re totally planning on jamming when we get back. But yeah, life is great. I love the work and the people.
I love you all,
E. Dennis
Wednesday, June 11, 2008
Surprise Email
Along with Joshua's regular letter this week, we got this messsage from one of his zone leaders:
Hi Dennis Family! I'm Elder Pavon from Argentina. I'm serving in the same zone your son/brother E' Dennis is, here in Paraguay. He's such a great pal, we're having a great fun with him.
Just wanted to tell you that he's a good example to all the zone; he works hard and that he takes full responsability in his call. I'm glad to share this time with him. I'm sure you all are nice people as him. Keep encourage him! Thank you for everything you do for him and all of us.
Hope you're doing great there in New York. Take care! See you!
ELDER PAVON
Paraguay Asuncion North MIssion
Hi Dennis Family! I'm Elder Pavon from Argentina. I'm serving in the same zone your son/brother E' Dennis is, here in Paraguay. He's such a great pal, we're having a great fun with him.
Just wanted to tell you that he's a good example to all the zone; he works hard and that he takes full responsability in his call. I'm glad to share this time with him. I'm sure you all are nice people as him. Keep encourage him! Thank you for everything you do for him and all of us.
Hope you're doing great there in New York. Take care! See you!
ELDER PAVON
Paraguay Asuncion North MIssion
Monday, June 9, 2008
June 9, 2008
Hola otra vez,
So first things first… the card still doesn’t work. It tells me how much I have on the card, but it won’t let me take the money out from the card, it just denies me. So I don’t know if there’s some sort of permissions thing that has to be changed or what. I also tried calling the house and your cell a couple times today, if you find a weird number on there. Well it wasn’t me, but the guys I was with at the office since I can’t talk to family. I also tried calling the Customer Service number on the back of the card, but the computer system asked for the last 4 digits of my SSN, and it wouldn’t take it. So I don’t know what the deal is with that. But that’s Paraguay for ya.
Things are going pretty good. E’ Cameron is alright, but we were having pretty big tension moments about once a day and that was really zapping my energy and desire to work. But the past day or two things have gotten a lot better, and we started to have some success and get used to one another, and there’s been a couple things that have really given me my animo back. We’re starting to have some success and find some people who can really progress, so we’re pretty excited for that. E’ Cameron was also sick last week, so it made things quite interesting. I think in the past week I’ve gone on more divisions than the entire rest of my mission. There was only one day where E’ Cameron just stayed in bed, so I didn’t get to go out and work until about 4, when we got some members to come and stay with him, and then I had to go out with E’ Ralon, who got here the same time I did, so that was kind of interesting, but I really enjoyed it. I understand just about everything, and he’s only slightly beneath me, but our teaching level is about the same, so we really learned a lot and taught really well together, and we gained a ton of experience as we had to put a baptismal fecha and things like that. So I really learned a lot this past week.
Thanks for the candy from the packages, I’m loving it. I’m making it last, and only eating a little when I really get the craving for just some good sugar. I haven’t made use of the sauces yet, but the Velveta and Shells is amazing. Today though, a couple of us went into Asuncion, and went to this fancy Chinese buffet, and oh, it was amazing. It was definitely a relief from the same flavor all the time from the Paraguayan cooking. Don’t get me wrong, I love it, but it felt good to have some different types of spices on my tongue. So yeah, that was sweet.
Um, what else… I don’t think anything too exciting other than what I’ve mentioned really happened this week, just chuggin along as always. Your summer sounds crazy, but they’re always better that way. Haley is actually graduating—that’s scary! But she’s going to have a great time out in Idaho this summer, and all that stuff. Its so good to get out on your own. I’ve been thinking about that a lot this past week for some reason. How I’m 19 years old, and living in a foreign country away from family and a language I know and just immersing myself into the culture and environment. When you think of it as just a mission, its just like oh, its just a mission. But when you really think about it for what it is, its pretty crazy! I absolutely LOVE it! I’m really fitting into the way of life around here. I know how to get around, what colectivos to take and I can communicate and ask questions and teach and I’m just starting to feel comfortable here.
But yeah, I can’t really think of anything else to talk about, other than saying that I’m having a great time. So I love you all, and til next week…
E. Dennis
So first things first… the card still doesn’t work. It tells me how much I have on the card, but it won’t let me take the money out from the card, it just denies me. So I don’t know if there’s some sort of permissions thing that has to be changed or what. I also tried calling the house and your cell a couple times today, if you find a weird number on there. Well it wasn’t me, but the guys I was with at the office since I can’t talk to family. I also tried calling the Customer Service number on the back of the card, but the computer system asked for the last 4 digits of my SSN, and it wouldn’t take it. So I don’t know what the deal is with that. But that’s Paraguay for ya.
Things are going pretty good. E’ Cameron is alright, but we were having pretty big tension moments about once a day and that was really zapping my energy and desire to work. But the past day or two things have gotten a lot better, and we started to have some success and get used to one another, and there’s been a couple things that have really given me my animo back. We’re starting to have some success and find some people who can really progress, so we’re pretty excited for that. E’ Cameron was also sick last week, so it made things quite interesting. I think in the past week I’ve gone on more divisions than the entire rest of my mission. There was only one day where E’ Cameron just stayed in bed, so I didn’t get to go out and work until about 4, when we got some members to come and stay with him, and then I had to go out with E’ Ralon, who got here the same time I did, so that was kind of interesting, but I really enjoyed it. I understand just about everything, and he’s only slightly beneath me, but our teaching level is about the same, so we really learned a lot and taught really well together, and we gained a ton of experience as we had to put a baptismal fecha and things like that. So I really learned a lot this past week.
Thanks for the candy from the packages, I’m loving it. I’m making it last, and only eating a little when I really get the craving for just some good sugar. I haven’t made use of the sauces yet, but the Velveta and Shells is amazing. Today though, a couple of us went into Asuncion, and went to this fancy Chinese buffet, and oh, it was amazing. It was definitely a relief from the same flavor all the time from the Paraguayan cooking. Don’t get me wrong, I love it, but it felt good to have some different types of spices on my tongue. So yeah, that was sweet.
Um, what else… I don’t think anything too exciting other than what I’ve mentioned really happened this week, just chuggin along as always. Your summer sounds crazy, but they’re always better that way. Haley is actually graduating—that’s scary! But she’s going to have a great time out in Idaho this summer, and all that stuff. Its so good to get out on your own. I’ve been thinking about that a lot this past week for some reason. How I’m 19 years old, and living in a foreign country away from family and a language I know and just immersing myself into the culture and environment. When you think of it as just a mission, its just like oh, its just a mission. But when you really think about it for what it is, its pretty crazy! I absolutely LOVE it! I’m really fitting into the way of life around here. I know how to get around, what colectivos to take and I can communicate and ask questions and teach and I’m just starting to feel comfortable here.
But yeah, I can’t really think of anything else to talk about, other than saying that I’m having a great time. So I love you all, and til next week…
E. Dennis
Monday, June 2, 2008
June 2, 2008
Mba’e Chapa!
Or translated from Guaraní, How are ya? First of all, thank you so much for dealing with my card, that was just a headache. Pero tengo una pregunta. Should I keep my card that I have now or just cut it up? But I´d also like to thank you for the packages, they were both amazing. I got my second on Thursday, when I had to go into Asuncion and sign in to the country, and they picked up the mail in the same trip, and lo and behold, a package for me was there! Haha, I’m making the wonderful delicious candy last as long as I can, because they don’t have any of the good sugary goodness down here, its all just pastries. But I also have another item for the next time you send a package, the Gillete Fusion razor blades. They don’t have those down here, and I’m thinking in advance. I have a cartridge full left, so I don’t want you to panic and send a package right away, but just for the next time you put one together, I’m just letting ya know.
The mission activities sounded like fun, and I’m sure E. Parkin is loving having a family that really looks out for him, I know from personal experience. There’s a couple people here in the Salado ward that really look after us missionaries, and I love them so much. Oh, and I guess I just gave away a little about my cambio, or change, so I guess I’ll talk about what I know you’re dying to read about. As I just gave away, I stayed here in Salado, and I´m taking care of a new companion right now… And when I say taking care of, I mean it haha. My new comp’s name is E. Cameron, and he’s from Canada. He’s also 10 times weirder than my comp from the MTC… but that’s okay. I´m training him to be a senior comp, which means this is his first time in control. However, he doesn´t know the area, and is definitely out of touch with the people, so I’m basically senior comp right now as we plan and when it comes to reading the people and concerning their needs. I’m learning so much right now about myself, and seeing just how much the Lord is preparing me. I can see in myself right now a lot more of a leader than I ever thought I was, and I´ve really been impressing myself as I communicate with the people. The Lord is helping me, because he knows I need to be able to have that ability to communicate, and since the second I became comps with E. Cameron, I´ve understood everything anyone has said to me. But we’ve already had a couple little disagreements so far, and I´m definitely learning patience working with him. Oh, and to answer you’re question, I miss E. NIlsen so much, that guy was a stud, and he knew what was going on.
I’m also very excited, because this change I received a calling in the Zone. I´m the “hombrero”, which is the person who tracks the ordinations to the Priesthood of all the men who have been baptized, to help make sure that they all get it. So every week I get to call each companionship and talk with them about what they´re doing to make sure everyone gets the priesthood. I´m really excited about it, even though in reality its not that great. But it shows that the Zone Leaders trust me with that responsibility, and that reminds me, my zone leaders are just awesome. They are E. Adams and E. Pavon, and they´re both sweet. E. Adams is one of my better friends here in the mission so far, along with E. Moreira, who I´m still living with. E. Vasquez went to a different area this change, but he´d been in Salado for 9 months, so even though E. Moreira and I miss him, we’re also happy for him. Now E. Moreira has E. Ralon for a companion, and he came to Paraguay with me. Its weird to be living in a house with only one latino now.
Anyways, I think that just about covers everything for now. All is well, and I´m having a blast.
Love,
E. Dennis
Or translated from Guaraní, How are ya? First of all, thank you so much for dealing with my card, that was just a headache. Pero tengo una pregunta. Should I keep my card that I have now or just cut it up? But I´d also like to thank you for the packages, they were both amazing. I got my second on Thursday, when I had to go into Asuncion and sign in to the country, and they picked up the mail in the same trip, and lo and behold, a package for me was there! Haha, I’m making the wonderful delicious candy last as long as I can, because they don’t have any of the good sugary goodness down here, its all just pastries. But I also have another item for the next time you send a package, the Gillete Fusion razor blades. They don’t have those down here, and I’m thinking in advance. I have a cartridge full left, so I don’t want you to panic and send a package right away, but just for the next time you put one together, I’m just letting ya know.
The mission activities sounded like fun, and I’m sure E. Parkin is loving having a family that really looks out for him, I know from personal experience. There’s a couple people here in the Salado ward that really look after us missionaries, and I love them so much. Oh, and I guess I just gave away a little about my cambio, or change, so I guess I’ll talk about what I know you’re dying to read about. As I just gave away, I stayed here in Salado, and I´m taking care of a new companion right now… And when I say taking care of, I mean it haha. My new comp’s name is E. Cameron, and he’s from Canada. He’s also 10 times weirder than my comp from the MTC… but that’s okay. I´m training him to be a senior comp, which means this is his first time in control. However, he doesn´t know the area, and is definitely out of touch with the people, so I’m basically senior comp right now as we plan and when it comes to reading the people and concerning their needs. I’m learning so much right now about myself, and seeing just how much the Lord is preparing me. I can see in myself right now a lot more of a leader than I ever thought I was, and I´ve really been impressing myself as I communicate with the people. The Lord is helping me, because he knows I need to be able to have that ability to communicate, and since the second I became comps with E. Cameron, I´ve understood everything anyone has said to me. But we’ve already had a couple little disagreements so far, and I´m definitely learning patience working with him. Oh, and to answer you’re question, I miss E. NIlsen so much, that guy was a stud, and he knew what was going on.
I’m also very excited, because this change I received a calling in the Zone. I´m the “hombrero”, which is the person who tracks the ordinations to the Priesthood of all the men who have been baptized, to help make sure that they all get it. So every week I get to call each companionship and talk with them about what they´re doing to make sure everyone gets the priesthood. I´m really excited about it, even though in reality its not that great. But it shows that the Zone Leaders trust me with that responsibility, and that reminds me, my zone leaders are just awesome. They are E. Adams and E. Pavon, and they´re both sweet. E. Adams is one of my better friends here in the mission so far, along with E. Moreira, who I´m still living with. E. Vasquez went to a different area this change, but he´d been in Salado for 9 months, so even though E. Moreira and I miss him, we’re also happy for him. Now E. Moreira has E. Ralon for a companion, and he came to Paraguay with me. Its weird to be living in a house with only one latino now.
Anyways, I think that just about covers everything for now. All is well, and I´m having a blast.
Love,
E. Dennis
Tuesday, May 27, 2008
May 26, 2008
Hola,
Well, my first change is just about over. But… I can´t tell you the details of the transfers cause, well, we don´t have them yet. But wow, our Zone Leaders played a GREAT trick on us this morning in District Meeting. Of course everyone was all excited to hear about where people are headed and who´ll be their comps and all that, and we had to wait until the end of the meeting to find out. Then we put all of our name tags into a hat, and as we drew out two at a time, we had to arm wrestle each other, and the winner got to hear where he was headed and who his companion would be... so it was all very fun, and I was the last to do the wrestling, which I won, and found out that I would be staying in Salado (which is in actuality most likely), and that my companion would be an E. Markus… and then a free for all wrestling match occurred as we were told it was all made up and that we wouldn´t be finding out until tonight, because the President is still working on them. But we all had a good laugh, and then we went and played a match of futbol. So it won´t be until next week that I get to tell you where I´m headed and who my new companion is. Sorry. I´m still with E. Nilsen until Wednesday morning. This first change went so fast, and people always say the first change goes the slowest, so I´m afraid to find out how fast the mission passes me by.
As for my card, its just because it’s a Mastercard… apparently they don´t work down here. It even didn´t work in the ATM at the HSBC. I could have gotten money from there though, but I needed my actual passport, and the have that in the safe at the office, and I just carry around a photocopy. So that would be a bit of a hassle to go through. But I was wondering if there is a way you could get a visa card for my account and get that sent down here like you did my other card… that would be awesome, and the best way to take care of the problem for the rest of my mission rather than having to try and obtain my passport and go into Asuncion every time I want to take out money.
Today I got the pictures that Cole drew of his hermit crab, so I understood what you were talking about when you mentioned the pet store in your letter. Haha I remember our hermit crab days when we were younger. I hope he´s having fun with them. I also got my package today… I haven´t opened it yet but it doesn´t appear tampered with, but man it sure sucks to have to lug it around all day. Plus I got my shoes and clothes for playing soccer, and I have to go get my groceries after this… I just love P-days.
We had an awesome opportunity this week though. The President of this part of South America, Paraguay, Uruguay, and Argentina, came and spent a week here. He had a Fireside for investigators and recent converts, and then we had a Zone Conference with him. They were both just spectacular. You can see him in the Presidency chart in the May Ensign, Elder Robbins. It was some great stuff, and he explained things so clearly and simply.
Anyways, a little more about Paraguay to wrap up my letter. Primero, Dad would be going crazy here haha, its very rare to see a mouth with all their teeth… and even rarer to not have their teeth decaying. Its quite disgusting… the Lord definitely helps me out, because at any other time I would probably be really queezy, but it doesn´t really bother me right now. Also, the Paraguayans like to play a lot of volleyball… but its more of a “slapball.” They just set the ball and then slap at it… they don´t play an actual game of how its supposed to be played. Its pretty funny to watch. They also like to play a lot of futbol, but in this they´re actually good. But most of the time in the evenings, everyone is out in their local soccer or volleyball field or sandpatch, drinking and playing and yeah, that’s Paraguay.
Anyways, I´m gonna use up the rest of the time I have and try and get some pictures over this stupid machine. Love you all,
E. Dennis
Well, my first change is just about over. But… I can´t tell you the details of the transfers cause, well, we don´t have them yet. But wow, our Zone Leaders played a GREAT trick on us this morning in District Meeting. Of course everyone was all excited to hear about where people are headed and who´ll be their comps and all that, and we had to wait until the end of the meeting to find out. Then we put all of our name tags into a hat, and as we drew out two at a time, we had to arm wrestle each other, and the winner got to hear where he was headed and who his companion would be... so it was all very fun, and I was the last to do the wrestling, which I won, and found out that I would be staying in Salado (which is in actuality most likely), and that my companion would be an E. Markus… and then a free for all wrestling match occurred as we were told it was all made up and that we wouldn´t be finding out until tonight, because the President is still working on them. But we all had a good laugh, and then we went and played a match of futbol. So it won´t be until next week that I get to tell you where I´m headed and who my new companion is. Sorry. I´m still with E. Nilsen until Wednesday morning. This first change went so fast, and people always say the first change goes the slowest, so I´m afraid to find out how fast the mission passes me by.
As for my card, its just because it’s a Mastercard… apparently they don´t work down here. It even didn´t work in the ATM at the HSBC. I could have gotten money from there though, but I needed my actual passport, and the have that in the safe at the office, and I just carry around a photocopy. So that would be a bit of a hassle to go through. But I was wondering if there is a way you could get a visa card for my account and get that sent down here like you did my other card… that would be awesome, and the best way to take care of the problem for the rest of my mission rather than having to try and obtain my passport and go into Asuncion every time I want to take out money.
Today I got the pictures that Cole drew of his hermit crab, so I understood what you were talking about when you mentioned the pet store in your letter. Haha I remember our hermit crab days when we were younger. I hope he´s having fun with them. I also got my package today… I haven´t opened it yet but it doesn´t appear tampered with, but man it sure sucks to have to lug it around all day. Plus I got my shoes and clothes for playing soccer, and I have to go get my groceries after this… I just love P-days.
We had an awesome opportunity this week though. The President of this part of South America, Paraguay, Uruguay, and Argentina, came and spent a week here. He had a Fireside for investigators and recent converts, and then we had a Zone Conference with him. They were both just spectacular. You can see him in the Presidency chart in the May Ensign, Elder Robbins. It was some great stuff, and he explained things so clearly and simply.
Anyways, a little more about Paraguay to wrap up my letter. Primero, Dad would be going crazy here haha, its very rare to see a mouth with all their teeth… and even rarer to not have their teeth decaying. Its quite disgusting… the Lord definitely helps me out, because at any other time I would probably be really queezy, but it doesn´t really bother me right now. Also, the Paraguayans like to play a lot of volleyball… but its more of a “slapball.” They just set the ball and then slap at it… they don´t play an actual game of how its supposed to be played. Its pretty funny to watch. They also like to play a lot of futbol, but in this they´re actually good. But most of the time in the evenings, everyone is out in their local soccer or volleyball field or sandpatch, drinking and playing and yeah, that’s Paraguay.
Anyways, I´m gonna use up the rest of the time I have and try and get some pictures over this stupid machine. Love you all,
E. Dennis
Monday, May 19, 2008
May 19, 2008
Dear familia y amigos,
Well I’ve passed my one month point here in Paraguay, which is just absolutely crazy. It definitely still feels like I just got here yesterday, despite the fact that I’m getting used to the wierd surroundings and culture. Things are going pretty good, and the work is moving along quite well, the Lord blessed us tremendously this week. But first I have a problem that needs solved quickly…
My card doesn’t work. We tried 3 different ATMs today. The first one, the nicest, told me I had no money in my account, and then the other two just said that they didn’t take it there. The reason for that is probably because its mastercard, I guess there’s big problems with that down here, Visa is apparently the way to go. But another thing that some of the Elders who are more experienced with this say that they don’t think the card is activated. I know you said you went in there and activated it with the Branch Manager, so I don’t know what the deal is. There’s a HSBC close to the temple in Asunción though, and this Thursday we have a Zone Conference down there, so we’re going to go and see if they can’t help me out or something. But if you could try and find out what’s going on with that as well, it would help a bunch if I could get to my money.
On to happier things: We had a sweet Family Home Evening with one of the members, Amada, and we made impanadas and tortillas, and they were just amazing. I love impanadas, they’re so good. And then tortillas are like the funnel cake dough without the sugar topped on it, also way good. I got plenty of pictures, and I was going to try and send them home but once again we’re using the place that doesn’t have USB drives, so no luck this week. We kind of just walk along the street and the first internet place we come to that has open computers is where we go.
In my personal study, I finished the Gospels in the New Testiment on Saturday, so that was exciting. We get an hour of personal study everyday, and so this is what I do. I start out with a chapter from the Book of Mormon, where I go into semi in depth study and take notes and stuff, because I’ve already read through it once on my mission so far, and now I’m going through again much more slowly. Right now I’m at the very end of 2 Nephi. Alter I do that, right now we’re reading through Preach My Gospel to finish it by this Thursday—the reason we’re going down to Asunción is for the visit of a 70 Area Authority, and we have to have it completely read by then. So I have my little timeline of what I need to read each day and I just follow that. Then I use the rest of the time, usually about half an hour or so, and just read from the New Testiment. I’m just reading through pretty fast right now, just to get through it. After the NT, I’ll probable move to the Old Testament, and so on with the other books of scripture. And then after I get it all done, I plan to do it all again in Spanish. I try to read a chapter a day from the Book of Mormon in Spanish, but mostly just to practice pronunciation. Thanks for the scripture sugestión, its an awesome one, they love to use it in district meetings and zone conferences alot.
Ok. Now let me just say that Guarani just kicks our trash. It is such a HUGE barrier when it comes to teaching people. Most people are pretty good with being able to understand and communicate at least in Spanish, but 2 of the families we’re teaching right now don’t understand or speak hardly any spanish whatsoever… and wow is it tough. We’re doing really good right now working with the members, and its so much better when members become involved. We’re seeing so much more success this week because of it. Also let me just say right now that if any words are in spanish or just funny, its because this stupid program is trying to correct everything I say. I’m catching most of it, but if I miss anything, just letting you know.
Haley, ¡Feliz Cumpleaños! I hope you have fun, and how does it feel to be old? You’re officially an adult, and how I wish I were just a little kid again haha. Oh well, at least you’re not entering the 20s yet, thats just weird. In another month I won’t start my age with a 1 anymore. Haha And mom, as for her computer, the 1 or 2 gigs is for the RAM, not the hard drive, and I wouldn’t think its really worth it to put in an extra gig, the one will be just fine, thats what I have.
Its hot down here, and really humid. Its probably going to rain tomorrow, but it hasn’t rained in almost 2 weeks now, so I guess its alright. Also I need one last favor from Haley. Haley, I need Katelyn’s Idaho address. So go onto Facebook today and tell her to email me her address here so that I can write her, cause it won’t be until mid June that my letter would get there and I’m pretty sure she won’t still be at school. And tell her pronto. Thanks a bunch hermana!
Alright, thats about all I got folks. I’m really tan…on my foresarms and face to halfway down my neck…so thats exciting. Oh and I’m beefing up my physique, with my daily excersizes… it feels good to be getting muscules back. I also got my scripture cases ordered today, so I’m stoked for those. I got one for my BofM and one for my Bible. The Bof M has the Picture of the vision of the Tree of Life on the front, and the one of Christ descending into the Americas on the back. The Bible has a Picture of Christ as a sheperd by Simon Dewey (don’t know how else to describe it) on the front, and then the Picture, also by Dewey, of Christ at the well with the Samaritan woman on the back. So those are going to be awesome. I’ll take pictures.
Yeah. Um. I love you all. And I can’t think of anything else.
Elder Dennis
Well I’ve passed my one month point here in Paraguay, which is just absolutely crazy. It definitely still feels like I just got here yesterday, despite the fact that I’m getting used to the wierd surroundings and culture. Things are going pretty good, and the work is moving along quite well, the Lord blessed us tremendously this week. But first I have a problem that needs solved quickly…
My card doesn’t work. We tried 3 different ATMs today. The first one, the nicest, told me I had no money in my account, and then the other two just said that they didn’t take it there. The reason for that is probably because its mastercard, I guess there’s big problems with that down here, Visa is apparently the way to go. But another thing that some of the Elders who are more experienced with this say that they don’t think the card is activated. I know you said you went in there and activated it with the Branch Manager, so I don’t know what the deal is. There’s a HSBC close to the temple in Asunción though, and this Thursday we have a Zone Conference down there, so we’re going to go and see if they can’t help me out or something. But if you could try and find out what’s going on with that as well, it would help a bunch if I could get to my money.
On to happier things: We had a sweet Family Home Evening with one of the members, Amada, and we made impanadas and tortillas, and they were just amazing. I love impanadas, they’re so good. And then tortillas are like the funnel cake dough without the sugar topped on it, also way good. I got plenty of pictures, and I was going to try and send them home but once again we’re using the place that doesn’t have USB drives, so no luck this week. We kind of just walk along the street and the first internet place we come to that has open computers is where we go.
In my personal study, I finished the Gospels in the New Testiment on Saturday, so that was exciting. We get an hour of personal study everyday, and so this is what I do. I start out with a chapter from the Book of Mormon, where I go into semi in depth study and take notes and stuff, because I’ve already read through it once on my mission so far, and now I’m going through again much more slowly. Right now I’m at the very end of 2 Nephi. Alter I do that, right now we’re reading through Preach My Gospel to finish it by this Thursday—the reason we’re going down to Asunción is for the visit of a 70 Area Authority, and we have to have it completely read by then. So I have my little timeline of what I need to read each day and I just follow that. Then I use the rest of the time, usually about half an hour or so, and just read from the New Testiment. I’m just reading through pretty fast right now, just to get through it. After the NT, I’ll probable move to the Old Testament, and so on with the other books of scripture. And then after I get it all done, I plan to do it all again in Spanish. I try to read a chapter a day from the Book of Mormon in Spanish, but mostly just to practice pronunciation. Thanks for the scripture sugestión, its an awesome one, they love to use it in district meetings and zone conferences alot.
Ok. Now let me just say that Guarani just kicks our trash. It is such a HUGE barrier when it comes to teaching people. Most people are pretty good with being able to understand and communicate at least in Spanish, but 2 of the families we’re teaching right now don’t understand or speak hardly any spanish whatsoever… and wow is it tough. We’re doing really good right now working with the members, and its so much better when members become involved. We’re seeing so much more success this week because of it. Also let me just say right now that if any words are in spanish or just funny, its because this stupid program is trying to correct everything I say. I’m catching most of it, but if I miss anything, just letting you know.
Haley, ¡Feliz Cumpleaños! I hope you have fun, and how does it feel to be old? You’re officially an adult, and how I wish I were just a little kid again haha. Oh well, at least you’re not entering the 20s yet, thats just weird. In another month I won’t start my age with a 1 anymore. Haha And mom, as for her computer, the 1 or 2 gigs is for the RAM, not the hard drive, and I wouldn’t think its really worth it to put in an extra gig, the one will be just fine, thats what I have.
Its hot down here, and really humid. Its probably going to rain tomorrow, but it hasn’t rained in almost 2 weeks now, so I guess its alright. Also I need one last favor from Haley. Haley, I need Katelyn’s Idaho address. So go onto Facebook today and tell her to email me her address here so that I can write her, cause it won’t be until mid June that my letter would get there and I’m pretty sure she won’t still be at school. And tell her pronto. Thanks a bunch hermana!
Alright, thats about all I got folks. I’m really tan…on my foresarms and face to halfway down my neck…so thats exciting. Oh and I’m beefing up my physique, with my daily excersizes… it feels good to be getting muscules back. I also got my scripture cases ordered today, so I’m stoked for those. I got one for my BofM and one for my Bible. The Bof M has the Picture of the vision of the Tree of Life on the front, and the one of Christ descending into the Americas on the back. The Bible has a Picture of Christ as a sheperd by Simon Dewey (don’t know how else to describe it) on the front, and then the Picture, also by Dewey, of Christ at the well with the Samaritan woman on the back. So those are going to be awesome. I’ll take pictures.
Yeah. Um. I love you all. And I can’t think of anything else.
Elder Dennis
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