July 16, 2012

¡Hola!

Wooohooo! Another great week here in Paraguay!

Well to start off this past week we did not have any water. When I say no water I mean no water! We had to go downstairs to fill up bottles of water (2L) every morning! WEEEE!!!! The old-fashioned cup and boiling pot of water bathing method isnt one of my favorites but it gets the job done. My poor, smelly, stinky companion didnt want to do the method I chose so he just didnt bathe. I finally told him we need to go to the other missionaries apartment to bathe, not so that I could shower but so he could. YIKES! It was a like a green smelly fog was floating around his sockless feet at night, and his face seemed 100 times closer when talking to me with unbrushed decaying animal breath. I love the guy but its ugly when one doesnt bathe!

Other than that everything else is well. It is still pretty cold but the temperatures arent freezing like they were awhile ago. We are approaching spring this next month (August) and the members keep telling us that we are in for a fun ride this next summer! YEAH! I cant wait! I have learned to love the heat more than the cold. I hope that I will be able to bare the cold temperatures that Utah has, if not I might have to move somewhere warmer....Just kidding, no but really it will take some time to adjust.

All of our investigators are progressing well. We just have to get them to go to church! We had a few come yesterday but if we want to complete with some of our goals for this month we have to make sure that everyone is coming! EVERYONE! Other than that, everything is well! I love to hear about the crazy experiences that people say they have with the Holy Ghost! We have had some crazy stories of Satan attacking one investigator during the night from choking (which Im pretty sure is from his obesity issue and asthma) a lady saying that the Virgen Mary was trying to kill her swinging her roseary beeds around her neck, a member in Gospel Principles class ask why we dont drink wine for the Sacrament (she has 35+ years of membership in the Church and was trying to convince our investigators which didnt have a question about it) and plenty of other which is just a barrel of laughs. HEEEEHHEEEHHEEE!! You have to have a sense of humor! I dont think I have laughed or cried as much as I have out here! Funny!

Spiritual Thought!

I was reading in Enos and I love the way that he describes his change of heart and of attitude through the process of repentance. It says in verse 12

"And now after I had prayed and exterted with all diligence, the Lord said unto me: For your faith, I will consider your desires."

If we do all we can and it is just and noble the Lord will make up the rest. If we have any kind of problem first it calls for our part (our diligence and prayers and actions), and then it is the part of the Lord to "consider our desires". I know the Lord answers us when we do all we can to make it right! Just do it, and the Lord will help us understand the way He wants us to understand- simple. JUST DO IT!

Love you and hope you are happy and healthy!

¡Chao!

Elder Martinez

July 9, 2012

BURRRR!!!!WEEEEEE!!!!!!!AHHHHHHH!!!!!WOOOOOOHHOOOO!!!!!!!

are just some of the sounds of the amazing times we are having here in PARAGUAY!

Hope all is well and warm wherever you are! I swear the mission just gets better and better as time goes by!

This past week we got to meet our new mission president and his wife Pres. Agazanni and Sister Agazanni. They are so cool and fun loving! They are young as well! We had a meeting with our zone to just get to know him. He wanted us to ask him any questions that we had for him and he is hilarious! I love them! They are going to be great here for the mission! President and Sister Callan did an amazing job in preparing for their arrival and now it is time to explode the mission with success!

We had a little bit of cold here this last week but igual we found TONS of people and are teaching them alot! We found some amazing families and I testify that the Lord prepares people everywhere for every missionary. We do the harvesting and the planting of the gospel! I love it!

Scripture thought for the week is based off a General Conference talk that Elder Oaks gave in May 2012 about Sacrifice

There is a conversation that happened between a Christian minister and Pres. Hinckley when he was asked by the minister why we dont put a cross on our churches and temples. President Hinckley told him that the symbols of our religion are the lives of our members. The sacrifices they make the choices they make and everything that they do to further the work. It truly is amazing. A religion that doesnt ask its members to sacrifice doesnt provide the faith necessary to provide for salvation and eternal life.

I know this to be true and that each one of us can further the work of the Lord in our everyday lives. Every member a missionary!

I love you all and hope you´re all happy and healthy!

Con cariño,

Elder Martinez

July 2, 2012

¡Hola Amigos!

What a great week we had and great times we have ahead of us! I love the mission and every little detail that our Heavenly Father helps us learn. Whether it is little things like knowing how to cook rice or huge gospel principles that take time to learn- patience, God knows and places us in situations and circumstances to help us in the long-run of our journey here on Earth. I know that the Lord knows me personally and although Im not perfect I know that His gospel is perfect and that He sent His perfect Son to save us from the mistakes we make in our lives. For this I am extremely grateful and will do my best to serve Him all my life! How blessed we are!

I am so grateful for my new companion! We get along so well and teach with such ease, and I know that God placed him with me at this moment to have a lot of success. I know this because we have begun to see the fruits of our labors and the progress that the people we are teaching are making. God has His timing and own plan for our benefit and I know that He is so merciful and patient with us! Think about it- sending young men and women throughout the world in places before unknown, languages before unspoken, and cultures before thought of as strange and bizzare. I know that with God all things are possible that these places become known, languages are spoken, and cultures are loved for the differences and similarities. God is so merciful and I know that we can have the Spirit with us always when we keep our promises and are obedient! The Lord places commandments and teaches us covenants to help us understand a purpose greater than we understand. I love to guide and teach others to help them understand this great concept as well.

1 Nephi 2:15 Is a scripture that many would think "Why is this scripture?" but from its short but powerful meaning we learn a many great life concepts- 

Obedience, Sacrifice, and Consegration

"And my Father dwelt in a tent."

Lehi left behind all of his riches, everything he held dear because he was obedient to the Lord. He sacrificed his life and all of his wealth to follow the command that the Lord had given him. Finally he consegrated everything that he loved all for the progression of those he loved. His life was at the service of God. What a great example and profound passage of scripture!

I love you all and hope that the Lord blesses you for all you need! I love the missionary work! I love the mission! I love the Gospel of Jesus Christ! My life will always be at the service of God.

¡Les quiero!

Elder Martinez

June 23, 2012

¡HOLA de PaRaGuAy!

This past week has been amazing! We had changes/transfers with my companion and I, which was sad, but I stayed with an amazing Elder Gayoso from Buenos Aires, Argentina! He is amazing and together we are going to destroy this area with the amount of baptisms we´ll have! He is a blessing and I know that we will have a lot of success together!

Everything is going great down here in the Great Mission Paraguay Asuncion! Our Mission President and his wife will leave the end of this week to complete their mission here together and Presidente Agazzani and his wife will come from Cordova, Argentina. They will bring their 5 children and will be amazing! Can´t wait to meet them in person!

All is well!

Spiritual Thought for today is based off of Elder Oaks talk from this past General Conference about Sacrifice. Being members of the only true Church we sacrifice a lot but through the sacrifices we have the Lord blesses us. There was an interesting statistic that he used that in all Christians in the United States Latter Day Saints were in the upper 20% to those who devote more time and money than others. This statistic isnt used to brag or boast but to show that the true Church of Jesus Christ follows His teachings, not just believes or says the actions which faith requires. I know that Sacrifice is something we can all use to bring us closer to the Lord and his Spirit!

Sorry this is super short but I have to sacrifice my time to be obedient to the rules of the mission and be the best missionary I can!

I love you all and pray for your success and safety!

Love you,

Elder Martinez

June 18, 2012

¡HOLA!

All is well down here in Paraguay! The freezing cold weather has left us for awhile and now it went back this week to super hot. Right now in the ciber it is really cold. Hot and cold, hot and cold, never is the same! The weather is CRAZY!

We had another baptism of the brother of Roy. His name is Vladimir Carballo. He is 16 and will receive the priesthood this next Sunday! Him and his brother will both help with the Sacrament Sundays! Sooo cool!

This week is transfers or changes! Crazy how fast the time flew by with my companion! We have been together for these past 3 months and now with this new program it is pretty certain that he or I will leave this Wednesday. We shall see!

My companion and I have probably eaten more than we ever have so far in our missions this past week. We had a lunch appointment every day with Sunday filled with even more food! Really it was a HUGE blessing to have the members help us out with that this past week! They are so great! Yesterday for example, which this usually never happens ever, we were invited to 2 BBQs, a birthday party, 2 family nights, and in random appointments people were just offering us food. I dont know what was up yesterday but it was super nice. We only went to have lunch with an active family and had a family night to end the week with a recent convert and their family, but all the members that offered to have us over gave us food to take home anyways! Whoohoo! MIRACLE! I LOVE PARAGUAY!

Besides the blessings of yummy delicious food, we also had the opportunity to have another bapitsm! How great it is to see people change their whole life to meet the requirements that the Lord has put here on the Earth. It really is remarkable to see the desire of one who changes 180 degrees because they know from experience the difference that the gospel can make in their life! INCREDIBLE! Needless to say this past week was FANTASTIC!

Spiritual Thought for the WEEK:

We are in Moroni 7: 40-42 which says (that I can translate, bare with me)

40. And now, my dear brotheren, I would speak unto you concerning hope. How can we develop the faith, if we do not have hope?

41. And what is it that we hope for? And now, I tell you that you should have hope, through the atonement of Christ and the power of his resurrection, in which we shall be resurected to eternal life, and this because of our faith in Him, which is is according to the promise.

42. In which if a man has faith, it is necessary that he have hope; because without faith there is no hope.

In Preach My Gospel there is a section on the atributes of Christ and what each of them is and how we can develop them. Faith and hope are so intertwined that it is so important to have a hope for all things that they will end up fine. Remembering that there is an atonement, eternal life, and Christ who is at the center of it all is so important. I know that if we work on having the sufficient faith in our Savior our desire and growth of hope will develop as well.

I love this gospel and know that it is soooo true! Every day out here is another step in building my own testimony of the Savior. My life is dedicated to this work!

¡Les quiero!

Elder Martinez