Feliz Navidad!!!! and a happy new year :)

So last week we didn't do a whole lot. Tuesday was the Missionary Christmas activity ALL day. And Wednesday we had to enter the house early because everyone was gonna be drinking and setting off fireworks. 12:00am Christmas Day was SOO MANY FIREWORKS!!! Like the amount of fireworks I always hope for on the 4th of July, but never happen. (but I think the ones in the states are a lot prettier). Seriously, there literally wasn't even half a second between fireworks... just constant for like 15 or 20 minutes.
But Christmas Eve (before the fireworks) was really cool. The Hermanas from our District that live downstairs from us came up and we read Matthew 2 and sang Christmas songs and shared our testimonies our Christ. It was really cool actually.
Then Thursday I talked to you guys!!!!!!! Love you!!!!!
And Friday we stayed in most the day because there was lots of sun and we still don't know if I have a concussion or not (I don't think so honestly, just some headaches) but I`m gonna figure out for sure this week so don't worry!! All is well!!!
Yesterday was really sad, saying goodbye to Diana and her kids, Maura, and I didn't even get to see Mario to say goodbye. I`m really gonna miss them!!!!!! But the Lord sends us where we need to go. Which for the next 6 weeks is...................
........
...........
YTORORO!!!!!!!!!!! WHOOOO!!!!!!!!!!
(don't even try pronouncing it- its Guarani and I cant even say it right. Its like super nasaly and the "y" makes that wierd throat "oo" sound)
Its pretty close to Ita.. more or less... Its not super out there, but definitely not city like Villa Elisa! I got here about 5 hours ago and i already LOVE it!!!!!!!! I cant wait! Just gotta get to know the ward and the area super fast!!

And yeah that's about it for this week. Don't have anything super inspirational.. Just be good members. Help the missionaries do their job. Remember, we are here to serve the members and help them share the gospel with their friends and family. The Atonement is for everyone! Just share the gospel with everyone you meet!! And if you don't know where to start or how to do it, ask the missionaries!!! It`s why we`re here :)

Love you guys tons!!!! Espero que todo les vaya bien esta semana :)
Hermana Urie

Bug Week

Well, the last week was Catholic week, this week was bug week in our apartment.

In our house, we`ve got spiders, we`ve got mosquitos (luckily we dont have dengue from the mosquitos), cochroaches, other random small bugs. Yesterday we had a bee in our room. Also, yesterday we woke up to maggots EVERYWHERE (seriously there were a few hundred of them running around.. don't leave your garbage in the house overnight!... picture attached), the other companionship of Hermanas that live below us had an Ura in their apartment (I`ll explain that later), and this morning we killed a scorpian in our bathroom. And on the way here to write you guys we saw a huge worm/snake thing that they`ve got here in Paraguay (I`ll send a picture next time). SO, fun times in Paraguay.
Now to explain the Ura. I`ve seen about 5 of them in the last few weeks- usually in church. They are these huge black butterflies. They aren`t really that pretty, their wings are kinda tattered looking. And they apparently spit or pee (or something like that) some acid thing on your skin and you cant get it off. And then you get some parasite in your skin. I`m not really sure of the details, but that`s enough for me. Basically when people here see an Ura, they either kill it, or they leave the area.

Now on to more spiritual stuff...

I don't know if I`ve told you guys about Maria yet. So I will now. She`s awesome, kinda quiet and shy, so its hard to know what she`s thinking (if she likes church and stuff or not), but I think she`s starting to warm up to us. And she`s really seriously thinking about baptism. She`s just gotta keep reading and praying and going to church and she`ll know! Oh and she came to church yesterday by herself!! (well with her kids, but I mean no one had to pass by for her, she just came). And she`s basically just awesome, We love her! She`s hopefully going to get baptized the 27th of December (2 days before changes! fingers crossed!!)

Also, since it`s Christmas time, and we should all be seeing how we can personally come closer to Christ, this last week I started studying 3 Nefi 11 and onward. And starting making lists of: attributes of Christ, the mission and purpose of the Savior, ways to come unto Him, His commandments, etc, to better get to know Him and His love for all of us and His teachings. And I was going to bring and share the list I`ve made so far of the attributes of Christ that I`ve found, but I forgot, so I`ll do it next week if I remember. But off the top of my head some that I remember are:
obedient, humble, loving, peacemaker, comforter, leader, confident, direct, diligent, self-less, and a bunch more. I`ll give a better list next time. But basically I just want to testify of the Savior`s love for each of us. I know He came to the Earth to  willingly suffer and die for our sins, so that we may be saved, if we but accept Him. You can give someone a gift, but unless they accept it, open it, and use it, it does them no good. That`s how the Atonement is for each one of us. We must personally accept and use the Atonement that has already been given. We must increase our faith, repent, make covenants with God (such as baptism and confirmation) and then keep those covenants so we can have the guidance of the Spirit. And then we must stay loyal and firm to the very end. I know this church is true. I know Christ is my Savior and loves me and every single person on this earth and wants everyone to accept Him and His atonement, so that they can be happy and be saved. Let us all help Him and our Heavenly Father in their work, and share the gospel with at least one person this Christmas season.

I love you guys a lot and hope you enjoy your week!!!

Love, Hermana Urie

opening my Christmas package!!! (I opened it early to put
 the chocolate in the fridge, but I left the wrapped stuff till
next week)

maggots!!

scorpian!!

finally I found a baby bible!!

Catholic Week

Alright, so this might be short and to the point cuz I don't have a lot of time today. Want to know why? Okay I´ll tell ya. So today, December 8, is a national holiday here for the Virgen of Caacupe (a.k.a. the Virgen Mary- its a Catholic tradition) And today half of the nation (I might be exaggerating a little bit, but not much..) goes to the city Caacupe where the basilica thingy is and do the "pilgrimage." I don't actually know what it´s called. But basically they walk for miles to go to the basilica thing, and the most devoted people crawl the last kilometer there- or something like that. To show their devotion and fulfill their promises with the Virgen (if this isn't super accurate I´m sorry, I don't understand that much about Catholicism). So since half the world is there, our normal cyber is closed, and we are using the internet in a different cyber and it is a bit slower, so sorry if this is short.

Yes mom, I did receive the package from Peter a few weeks ago, and also our zone leaders told me yesterday that I´ve got my Christmas package, so probably tomorrow I´ll get it? Thank you soo much!!! Love the skirt, and the T-shirts will be wonderful for the summer!!

I am eating a TON of mangos!!! Like 2 or 3 a day. They are soo good, and just laying all over the streets, so you can just pick ´em up and eat ´em. Last summer, my area had like two mangos trees (but seriously- and that is super strange for Paraguay cuz there are mango trees err´where!!) so I only ate a couple last year. But this year we´ve got plenty!!

So we don't have a lot of progressing investigators right now. We[re teaching a few really great people, but no one will come to church! They say they will, but then they don't show up. So we are just trying to work through that little snag. But we are starting to work a lot more with the members in the ward and really trying to strengthen and activate a lot of people, because about 12% of members here in our ward are actually active. So we are working on that, and we are praying and fasting a ton! The Lord will guide us. Paciencia no mas!

And the last fun thing of the week. Rezamos!!! (a.k.a. we prayed... Catholic style) Okay, so we didn't actually join in because that would be super not okay. But we were at a big lunch because it was the anniversary of a death and someone in the neighborhood invited us and we thought, alright plan of salvation. So we were there and then suddenly an older woman invited us to pray and said that they always share with us so we should share with them,etc. so if we left it would've been super offensive. So we just sat in the back and listened while they recited the Rosario (don't know what it's called in English). The Rosario is longer than I expected it to be.. and very repetitive. I[m pretty sure I've got it memorized now. Anyway, that was my week. Hope you guys are all doing awesomely!!

Love you!!!!

Love, Hermana Urie

Huge fruit thingy

David, Yessica, Derliz, and Hna. Rios (and pig)

Mario and his daughters (and me and Rios)

Awesome grasshopper thing

My district last change!!

Hna. Walker, Hna. Rios, me (and random man in the terminal).. the almost
trio (we were all comps with each other, just at different times, and we're
all super close, so we'll just say that we are a trio)

In honor of Catholic Week... this is a Catholic Chapel in
 La Floresta (my 2nd area)

Maura's baptism!!

Our Zone!!

Él es la Dádiva

Well welcome to December everyone! I`m glad to hear that everyone is doing good! I can`t believe Mathias is already 8 years old! Send me pics of the baptism! Baptism is awesome! 

We`re all pretty excited here for the Christmas season. This week we had a Zone Training Meeting (i think that`s what it`s called in English?) and they told us about the new iniciative that the Church is doing this month. There is a video called "He is the Gift" and it is AMAZING. Seriously, I`ve seen it about 30 times already and I`m obsessed. Anyway, its a short video that the Church made and it`s gonna be big. Like New York Time Square big. Also, next Sunday (Dec. 7) its gonna be the first page of Youtube- so tell everyone ya know to get onto Youtube next Sunday. Anyway if you haven`t seen it yet, you can go to navidad.mormon.org .... or I guess if you want it in English you should probably go to Christmas.mormon.org... haha oops

So that`s really what I want to share this week. The invitation from this video is 1. Discover the Gift, 2. Embrace the Gift, 3. Share the Gift. 

We`ve been thinking a lot about how we as missionaries can help others discover, embrace, and share the Gift (our Savior Jesus Christ). And I invite all of you to meditate and think this month about how you can discover and learn more about Christ and feel God`s love in your life. Then take the steps to accept/embrace Christ in your life and draw closer unto Him this Christmas season. And then my favorite part- share it with everyone you know. The gospel becomes so much more real and important and personal when we share it with those that we love. So this Christmas season, invite everyone to remember the true meaning of La Navidad. Which is Christ our Lord.

Also, just a really quick story that my comp shared with me this week that I loved. She heard it from some General Conference talk or something. So there once was a guy walking on the beach. And on the beach there were a ton of starfish that had washed up. Then the guy saw a little kid further down on the beach, picking up starfish and throwing them back into the ocean. So the guy asked the kid, "why are you doing that? There are a million starfish here, it`s not going to make any difference." And the little kid just smiled, picked up a starfish, and threw it into the ocean. Then turned to the man and said.. "made a difference to that one."

Sometimes we feel that our efforts are so small. That our simple actions to a few people don't really make a difference in the grand scheme of things, so why even try. But it makes a grand difference to those people. And it makes a grand difference to our Heavenly Father. "The worth of a soul is great in the sight of God." (D&C 18:10.. and 15 and 16 are pretty good too :).. )

So this week, share Christ with someone. Share the Gift. Make a difference....

Wow I sound super cheesy and cliche, sorry bout that-not a fan of cheesy or cliches. But you get the idea.

Love you guys a ton!!!!!!!! Have a wonderful week!!!

Hermana Urie

baptism, the mission, running, investigators, and rain...

MAURA GOT BAPTIZED!!!!!!!!!! WHOOOO!!!!!!! It was a beautiful baptism! She was so excited and there were lots of members there to support her and they shared their testimonies and the young man that baptized her did it perfectly- like it was literally a beautiful baptism! haha :) but the best part was right after she got out of the font and she was dripping wet and she said to me and my comp, "I felt something. When I was in the water I felt something in my heart. I think I`ve really just been cleansed of all my sins." And the Spirit was just so strong. I love baptism.

Also, last week was cambios! Hna. Rios, Hna. Walker, and Hna. Murguia (3 of my comps) all finished up their missions and went home. It was really sad saying goodbye to Hna. Rios- I really felt like she was like my sister, (she reminds me a lot of Catherine and a little bit of Teresa mixed together) and I`m gonna miss her a lot! BUT I now have a beautiful new companion who is also great! Her name is Hna. Johnson, she`s from Riverton, Utah. She`s the oldest in her family. She`s got 5 months in the mission and her Spanish is AMAZING!! Like at the end of the change it very well may be better than mine. This is her second area, and she`s super excited to work! So we are just going to work like crazy this change!! I love the mission.

We also go running every morning. I`ve really come to love running. Catherine, when I come home you should train me so we can run a marathon or something (something= a 5K. Let`s get real. well... maybe one day, in a few years... vamos a ver...)

On Friday there was a huge storm. It starting raining really hard in like 5 seconds (I am NOT exaggerating) and we didn't have umbrellas because when we left the house in the morning the sky was clear and we were already sweating it was so hot. Welcome to Paraguay! So we found refuge in an investigator`s house. Her name is Nancy. She`s adorable, she`s 15, we found her like 2 weeks ago, and she`s probably going to get baptized the 6th of December. She`s already talking about how she wants to share the gospel with everyone and she brought her older sister to church with her yesterday. And she applied Lehi`s vision to an experience she had a school. We love her, she`s awesome. And she always gives us yummy food (she`s the one the taught us to make chipa). So we shared with her until the storm died down and then we left... and then the storm came back even stronger. So we hid under the edge of a little roof thing (you know when the roof of the house hangs over/ sticks out a couple feet- yeah that was it) and we got pretty wet anyway. And my comp was freaking out because the thunder was super loud and the lightning was pretty close. I told her "don`t worry we`ll be fine, it`s in the Elders` area!!" She didn't seem to find much comfort in that (the elders`area is right next to ours..) haha-but really, we weren`t in any danger. I just love the rain.

And you know what else I love in addition to baptism, the mission, running, investigators, and rain... THANKSGIVING!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! FELIZ DIA DE ACCION DE GRACIAS!!!!!!!!!!! (if you cant tell, I`m just really happy today, and also really tired so sorry if I sound a little nuts. I`m gonna sleep today for P-day. I love sleeping!) Anyway, back to Thanksgiving... To answer Kristi`s question, it will just be a regular day here, but I am thankful to be able to serve the Lord and my brothers and sisters here in Paraguay, entonces esta bien! And thank you dad for the thankful list :)

Which reminds me of a scripture in (I really hope I get the reference right, or that would just be super awkward..) Alma 26:1-2 when Ammon esta hablando con sus hermanos.... Yeah, I don't remember the gospel in English.. sorry.. When Ammon is talking with his brothers and the other missionaries with them and says more or less (I`m translating from memory so sorry if its not very exact): Could we have imagined the blessings we would see when we first started out on this journey? What great blessings have we seen? and then Ammon makes an invitation: "¿Podèis decirlo?" (Can ye say them?) So that is my invitation to all.. What great blessings has the Lord given us. Can we say them?

Love you guys so much!! Hope you have a wonderful thanksgiving and eat lots of mashed potatoes and turkey!!!!

Love, Hermana Urie

Moving

So not much to say this week. We moved, in the rain. It was beautiful. We love living above the other hermanas, because we get to run with them in the morning and eat cookies and lomitos at night (so its a good thing we run every day!)

Don't know if you remember Maura, but she`s getting baptized this Saturday!!!! She`s super excited and awesome. We hadn't really been able to share with her at all last week because she had lots of work and she was a bit busy with a process of telling her other congregation (Catholic) that she wasn't going to go anymore. They were getting upset at her for sharing with "the Mormons" so they basically put her on church trial, and she said she wasn't going to stop sharing or coming to church and that she was planning on getting baptized so they kicked her out. So we finally found her on Saturday and she told us all of this. Also, she was a little mad at us because the last time we told her we were going to leave her a talk by President Monson so she could listen to him and pray to see if he`s really a prophet of God and we forgot so she couldn't for the whole week and she got a bit upset- haha she`s soo cute! So we found one online on Saturday and listened to it and she loved it!

We`ve got lots of other amazing people we are sharing with right now, but they`re all just having trouble progressing because for one reason or another they aren't coming to church. So that`s basically all the big news for the week.

Changes are this week! Hermana Rios is finishing up her mission and going back to Montana- so sad I`m gonna miss her!!! But I`m pretty sure I`m going to stay here another change (4 whole changes in an area- that will be new! but I love it here so I`m happy!). So I`ll let you know next week what happened! Love you all!! Have a great week!!!

Love, Hermana Urie

Bautismo!!

So this week...

MARIO GOT BAPTIZED!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! WHOOOO BAUTISMO!!!!!!!!!

So we are pretty excited about that. We also had an open house on Thursday that was amazing! We as missionaries planned it and did the tours and stuff. It was so spiritual and we got lots of references from the members, and best of all, Mario came and he loved it! It was the first time he got to see the baptismal font and the elders explained how the baptism would be and everything and so he wasn't scared anymore and decided to get baptized! So Saturday we had his baptism! It was beautiful and one of his daughters came! and yesterday we visited them and there is already a big difference in their home. The Spirit is there and they are all so happy and getting along and loving each other. It`s awesome.

We also made chipa yesterday. It was delicious. I will make it for you when I come home. But we`ve just gotta make sure we can find the ingredients. So if you just wanna keep an eye out for where we can buy cornflour and mandioka starch (like corn starch, but of mandioka instead of corn). I`m not sure what mandioka is called in the states, but one of my comps from Utah said her mom buys it a lot, so apparently it exists there. Just google it or something.

Oh and we are moving tomorrow. Yay!! Just a few blocks, but we are excited. Its a lot closer to the church (just a 10 minute walk instead of 20) and its in the same building as the other sisters in our district, so we are pretty excited for that!

Well that`s it for this week! Love you all!
Love,
Hermana Urie

Storms..

Esta semana fue... oops sorry.. This week was great! But really quite normal.. So I`ll just let ya know the fun stuff.

-It rained. Like a lot. The storms here in Paraguay are pretty awesome. So Friday night, before bed we watched a little bit of lightning. The cool thing about lightning here is that it may or may not be accompanied by thunder. Don`t ask me how, I have no idea. I know that`s like against the laws of physics, but I`ve seen it, so it`s real. It`s super cool because the lightning is kinda far and it`s behind a lot of clouds, so most the time you just see the clouds lighting up, you don't actually see the lightning, except a few times when its really big and stretches across the sky. And it flashes basically every second. And it`s silent. So basically awesome. And then Friday night, in the middle of the night, the storm made it to us. And it rains really hard and then you can hear the thunder- quite well. Anyway, the next morning we saw the results of the storm. Some streets caved in a little, a couple small wooden bridges that we always use are no longer there.. Not TOO crazy bad, but considering that a fair amount of people here in Paraguay live in small shack-like houses made with pieces of wood thrown together and their floor is literally the dirt ground, storms are a bit difficult for them. Diana`s family for example. They are really trying to get their house (their room actually) put together so that all their stuff doesn't get soaked every time it rains. It just really humbles me to see some of these situations. These people are amazing.

Mario did not get baptized this week. Friday he was feeling really nervous and decided he wanted to wait longer, so we`ll see what happens with that.

We taught a woman that is apparently some famous woman. The wife of the best soccer player in Paraguay (a few years ago- he doesn't play anymore). So that was fun!

And last P-day we went souvenir shopping! Hna. Rios is going home in 2 weeks, so she`s buying lots of stuff. Which reminds me... If anyone has anything specific that they want, let me know-soon. I know you don't really know what`s here, but even like a category (do you want something decorative, something you can actually use, clothing, food, pictures, bags, tableclothes, whatever. Just if you have any idea of something, let me know. If not, I will just pick something out for you anyway!!)

Well that`s it for this week!! Love you guys a lot!! Have a wonderful week!!

Hermana Urie

AMAZING!!

So this week was AMAZING!!

First of all- Maura. I don't remember if I`ve told you guys about her yet, But she is one of our investigators that is just basically amazing! She`s married with 3 kids, the oldest is 30 and lives with them. He drinks and smokes and stresses her out a lot, but we`re gonna see what we can do to help. So we`ve been teaching her for about a month now and she told us this week that since she`s been sharing with us she`s putting her trust in the Lord more concerning her family, so she feels a lot calmer and is feeling a lot healthier because of that. Also, before she would always compare "her congregation" (Catholic) with "our congregation" and say how she likes a lot of things about our congregtion more than hers (basically everything). So yesterday she came to church for the second time and in the afternoon we went to teach her and she was comparing the churches again. And she said "...your guys`congregation-- well I guess my congregation now!..." And she just loves church and everything we teach her. And she wants to go visit some of the sisters, one that's sick and another one that is her friend but is inactive. She wants to go visit her and tell her to come to church with her! Haha I love it! She`s basically a member already!

Also Diana. SHe is adorable. So we haven't been able to teach Danny yet, but it appears that while he is completely fine with Diana and their kids going to church and getting baptized, he doesn't really want to join them. And he doesn't want to get married either... but we`re working on that! And Diana is doing everything she can think of to help her family. She`s trying to read a couple verses of the Book of Mormon with him in the morning before work, writing scriptures on sticky notes to put around where he`ll see them, etc etc. Also, she really wants her kids to be able to go to church. So she worked to be able to buy a motorcycle to take her kids to church. And we just assumed that she knew how to drive a motorcycle... well, we were wrong. Saturday she was trying to figure it out and teach herself and she got in a little accident and hurt her leg, so she couldn't come to church Sunday- poor thing!! She`s literally doing everything she can think of to get her family to church and together. So we`re basically just praying and fasting a ton for a miracle.

Anyway, the work is amazing. We might have a baptism this Saturday. His name is Mario. He`s hilarious- always crackin jokes. And he wants to get baptized so bad! He`s so excited! And he always prays that his teenage daughters will come to church and get baptized too. He`s awesome. There are lots of new people we are finding as well that are just amazing! This is like the best time in my mission so far- so many people that are just so prepared and excited to receive the gospel! It`s a lot of work, but we are loving it! Just always work with the missionaries because members are seriously SOO key to missionary work!! Love you guys a lot and hope all is well!!

Hermana Urie

Baptism

David got baptized!!!!!!!!! (Jessica`s 10 year old brother). And the two of them were confirmed yesterday!!!! and Diana came with all the kids for the confirmations. The baptism was great! though a little crazy... Me and Hna. Rios thought that the font would only take about 2 hours to fill up, because that's how our other areas have been. But it actually takes 4. So its just a good thing that everything in Paraguay always starts at least half an hour late (perfect Urie family time.. haha). And we kept the font filling up literally until David and the elder were getting into the font to do the baptism. Next time, we are cleaning and filling the font up Friday! hahah

Oh, and we did NOT change this transfer! Yay!! I love Hna. Rios to death, I`m so excited to have another cambio with her! And it`s her last cambio before she goes home, so I`m killing her off! (when you are someone`s last comp in the mission, you `kill them` from their mission life.) So we are gonna work like crazy this cambio!!

Well, that's basically all that happened this week. Just lots of walking, teaching, finding, confirmations, etc. etc. Normal missionary life. It super hot here, we sweat all the time. And summer doesn't even start for another 2 and a half months. Since it wasn't really cold this winter, everyone says we are going to die of heat this summer. So I`m pretty excited for that!

Well, Love you all!! Here`s some pictures!!

Hermana Urie

David y Jessica

La familia y nosotras!!

General Conference... enough said.

Conference was AMAZING!!!

So I just absolutely loved general conference!! It was amazing!! I love the talk in the Sunday Morning session that talked about personal revelation. There was one by Pres. Eyring and then another one after that. Don't remember who the second guy was, but I do remember that I loved his talk. I was thinking about what he said about learning more about the love that God and Christ have for each other. As we come to understand that love better, we will also understand better the love that they have for us, and that will make our love for them grow. And that love will help us improve our personal relationship that we each have individually with God. And as with any relationship, as our relationship with our Father improves and grows, our communication with him will also improve and grow, and we will begin to receive, recognize, and better understand more personal revelation and instrucction from our loving Father in Heaven.

The Saturday afternoon session was also perfect because Diana came to that session and it was talking a lot about raising your family in the gospel and she loved it! And then after the session, JESSICA GOT BAPTIZED!!!! (Diana's 8 year old daughter). It was beautiful! She was so happy. And afterward she told one of the members that she was so happy that she was about to stand up and give her testimony at the end, but we didn't know that so the elder stood up and told everyone thanks for coming and that it was over, so she didn't. It like broke my heart, she is so cute! So since she didn't get the chance this time in her baptism, we're going to let her share her testimony in her brother's baptism this Saturday!! So excited! and then they'll get confirmed together on Sunday. This has just been too amazing of a change with Hna. Rios!! So changes are this week, BUT I highly doubt I'm going to change. Pretty sure we're going to stay together another cambio. I'm not ready to leave Villa Elisa yet!! I love it here!!

And then today we cleaned the temple!! (the reason I'm emailing so late today.. sorry bout that) It was beautiful!! I love the temple!!

Well that's it for this week!! Love you all y espero que tengan una semana maravillosa!!!!
Love,
Hermana Urie

Diana and her kids!!

goats

classic Paraguay

Jessica's baptism!! (Diana's daughter)

Me and Hna. Rios. We cleaned the temple today!!

ONLY 5 MORE DAYS!!!

We are so excited for general conference it's not even funny. But seriously. So every just prepare and read talks and scriptures and stuff because its gonna be amazing i can feel it!
Daddy! I hope you had a wonderful birthday! I`m glad to hear things are going well with Elizabeth and the twins! Hope everyone else is great as well!

And now, this week in Paraguay...

hahaha sometimes I can`t get over the fact that I`m in Paraguay. Its like the most random place ever and I love it!!

So this week, we turned into gardeners. One day we met a lady planting bushes, so we offered to help and my hands got really dirty (remember how I don't like plants and outdoors because I hate getting my hands all dirty- yeah I think I`ve gotten over that here) and then taught her about the gospel of Christ and invited her to get baptized. She said no, but was super sweet and it was fun to serve her. 
Then the next day, we passed by a former investigator and they were pulling weeds out of their yard, so we went and helped them. And while we were there, I PET THEIR PIG!! pigs are so cute!! (small ones, I`ve seen some huge ones, and they`re not quite as pretty.) When my comp tried to pet it, it was freaking out and jumping around and wouldn't let her. So that was fun. Service! I feel like we dont get that many oportunities to serve.

Now that said... Last Tuesday we had a service project!! (so this week we did serve a lot, but usually not as much as we would like). We went and helped out with Operation Smile! It was fun. We basically just unloaded trucks and moved boxes and stuff, but it was nice to serve, and there were lots of missionaries there, so I got to see a lot of friends and former comps (picture attached of me and 4 of my comps). And for lunch they gave us Mcdonald`s. Funny how Mcdonald`s is chuchi here (like expensive/fancy).

Thursday was... alright. We got rejected a lot that day. We started the day off with one lesson, and then spent the rest of the day walking, looking for people to teach because all of our plans and back up plans fell through and no one wanted to let us in. And finally at the end of the day, and young mother let us in. But after about 2 minutes her dad came out and told her that her son was crying, so she left. And then he told us he didn't want us there and kicked us out. So I was just sitting there, thinking how it was dad`s birthday and I could be home eating cake. But I pushed that thought out and we kept going....

And Friday was amazing! We found new people. EVERYONE let us in (that may be an exaggeration.. but not really!) And basically we were just loving life and the mission and teaching about the gospel. The whole weekend really has been great! So moral of the story... we always receive the blessings AFTER the trial of our faith (and diligence and patience) (Ether 12:6? i think..)

So yesterday was great as well!! Jessica and David (Diana`s two oldest kids- 8 and 10 years old, respectively) came to church!! Diana couldnt because she just got a new job where she works from 5pm to 5am, so she was super tired Sunday. But she worked it out so she only works every other Saturday night, so she`ll be coming to Conference this week, and trying to figure something out to be able to keep coming to church. But her kids, Jessica and David, ARE GETTING BAPTIZED THIS WEEKEND!!!!!!!!!! So I`ll send you pictures next week!!!!

Also, we are finding so many prepared people and I am seriously just loving the mission right now!!! This is basically the best part of my mission so far!! I hope it just keeps getting better and better!!!

Well, that`s it!! I hope everyone is great and loving life!!
Love you all dearly!
Hermana Urie

me and some of my comps: Hna. Mills (MTC), Hna. Thacker (MTC), Me!,
Hna. Walker (Ita), Hna. Rios (current comp-Villa Elisa)

om! Look how healthy I`m eating! You would be proud. Hna.
 Rios makes me eat lots of fruits and veggies, so this cambio
 our fridge has looked really strange to me. Very... fresh... and
green.. and very lacking in chocolate (but I am gaining a
testimony of the Word of Wisdom, so thats nice)

12 DIAS!!!!!!!!!!

..............HASTA LA CONFERENCIA GENERAL!!!!

I am so excited. But seriously, its gonna be amazing. Invite your family, invite your friends, because we`re gonna go listen to the prophet! We`re telling our investigators about it and trying to get them excited to come! And we are also probably going to have a baptism that day!
So remember Diana and her family? Well She came to church again yesterday, this time with all 6 of her kids! And her soon to be husband is planning on coming with them next week! Last Monday, we taught Diana about family prayer and how important it is, and the next time we passed by to see her, all her kids knew how to pray and were super excited to pray for the lesson. They are so adorable! I just love how whenever we teach Diana something, she`s so diligent and quick to put it into practice and learn. She has a strong testimony of prayer, and she loves to read the Book of Mormon, and she loves church! and her family really is already receiving so many blessing from the gospel, and we just found her 2 weeks ago! Its a miracle!! Now we`ve just gotta teach the guy! We already taught Diana about how they need to get married before they can get baptized, so we`ve just gotta set a date and plan a wedding! My first wedding in the mission!!! and my companion`s first as well, so we don't really know what to do, but that's okay, we`ll figure it out and send ya pictures! Tonight we`re planning to have FHE with them- no bake cookies and mormon messages! They are just adorable!

Also this week, we had a big Zone Conference in Asuncion with a couple other zones. It was fun. We sang the words of "Oh my Father" (in Spanish) to the tune of Come Thou Fount. And me and Hna. Mills and an elder did a fun trio thing for one verse, and the rest of the zone for the rest of the song, and it turned out really pretty. One thing that I loved that we talked about was the talk by Elder Utchdorf last general conference about gratitude- being grateful in any circumstance, and I just love that talk! Gratitude really is the key to happiness and peace in our lives, especially when we are going through hard times. And something that I love that he says is that gratitude is the catalyst to all Christ-like attributes. It helps us to be humble and love others, and to have hope and faith. And there are too many to list, but those are some of my favorites.

So I hope everything is going well with Elizabeth and the babies!! I know I`m super far away and I feel practically in a different world from you guys, but I`m still fasting and praying with the rest of you! I love you all and hope everything goes well!! Keep me updated on the twins!!

I think that`s about it for this week!! Love you!! Talk to you next week!!
Love, Hermana Urie

The view from our front door (beautiful foggy morning after raining all night long)

the view from our balcony (same morning)

Me, Hna. Rios, Hna. Kimball, and Hna. Tanner (yay, divisiones with Sister training leaders- super fun)

Liver, Heart & Intestines

Hey fam!

So this week was great!

Diana came to church yesterday!!!!!!! and 4 of her kids!! (if you don't remember who Diana is, look at last weeks email.) Her husband couldn't come because he had to stay and watch the house, BUT this week they are going to make arrangements so that the whole family can come to church! they are amazing and super excited! Diana is reading the Book of Mormon and receiving answers to her prayers and just loving it all! We`re planning to do a Family Home Evening with them this week, so they are basically just adorable and we love them.

So this week we`ve been working a lot with a new investigator. Her name is Patricia. The first time we found her and taught her she was a bit.. not really drunk, but she had been drinking a fair amount. She`s an alcoholic (but super calm, not dangerous or mean or anything.) But she was really nice and said she wanted to improve her life and stuff, and afterward my comp was like, "she`s really good, we`ve gotta come back for her!" so we did. And she was right-  Patricia is amazing. So we taught her about the word of wisdom and repentance and baptism and stuff, so she`s started quitting drinking. She went 3 whole days without drinking ANYTHING!! Yesterday she did have a slight relapse, but we`re gonna go back tonight and help her keep going and setting goals and stuff. She has enough faith and love in God, and is so ready for the gospel in her life. It`s gonna be hard, but we know that she has the strength and the will to do it!!

We also decided, to try and understand a little more, we`re going to make sacrifices of our own. We are giving up chocolate. Yes, I did just say that. We decided Friday. So Friday for lunch, we ate tons of chocolate and finished the s`mores that mom sent (amazingly delicious by the way, thanks!) and now nothin more until Patricia gets baptized! Its been 3 days so far. only.... at least 3 weeks (maybe longer) to go!!

Other random fun things:
Last Thursday, Patricia invited us to eat lunch with her and we had rice, potatoes, and liver. So far here in Paraguay I`ve eaten: liver twice, heart of something (chicken maybe? don't remember), cow intestines, and I`m not even sure what else.
Also this week we have a big multi zone conference, and our zone is doing the special music number, so the zone leaders put me and Hna. Mills in charge (one of my comps from the MTC, sings really good, is in my old area La Floresta, same zone as Villa Elisa). So we had lots of fun with that! I love singing, I miss music!

And thats it for this week!! Well I love you all! Hope you are doing great!! Have a great week!
Love, Hermana Urie

New Family

Hola familia!

so this week was pretty awesome! We found a new family (almost-we haven't met the father yet but we`re planning to this week). And they are amazing! The mom is Diana and she has 6 kids. They are super ready for the gospel! they will need to get married to get baptized, but she said they`re thinking about it anyway, so we totally might have a wedding this month! I really hope so-- I haven't had a wedding yet in the mish. The only thing is, they did not come to church this week. They said they definitely were going to come, but then they didn't :( Her doubt about coming to church is that they are kinda scared to leave their house unattended for very long, becuase they live in an asentamiento (...no idea what that means in English because we don't really have them in the states... it`s basically the poorer areas of Paraguay that aren't an official "neighboorhood or community" yet. There are lots of small wooden "houses/shacks" and the streets aren't legit streets so they dont have names or anything. At some point I will take a picture and send it to you because asentamientos are like my favorite part of Paraguay! I just haven't done it yet because I`m a little nervous about taking my camera there because if someone sees it we may get robbed...). So yeah, they live there and there house isn't very secure- its pretty open, so they think if they leave it alone someone will go in and rob them... which is quite possible in an asentamiento... or Paraguay in general.. but we taught her about faith in God and told her that God would protect her house while she went to church. So we`re gonna work on that this week. (don't worry mom, I have not yet been robbed on my mission, God protects his missionaries! :)

We are also working a lot with another family, Alcides and Elida (and their 2 kids) who are amazing!! Alcides already has his answer and wants to get baptized! They also were going to come to church this week but didn't because when Elida told her super catholic sister that they were sharing with us and planning on going to church, her sister kinda freaked and almost disowned her from the family... So we`re workin on that... pray for them.

Nothing else besides that. Random, out of nowhere, super hard rainstorm on Thursday morning. By the afternoon it was nice and hot again. You gotta love the weather here in Paraguay (by the way we had like 1 month of cold, and its already super hot again. This summer is gonna kill me.)

Love you all!! Have a good week :) and read the scriptures! err`day!
Hermana Urie

Me and my new comp.! Hna. Rios!

My district (last cambio)

The Flocks

So this week was basically amazing! We had changes! I`m still in Villa Elisa, but I have a new companion, Hermana Rios. She is from Montana, but her dad is from Puerto Rico, so technically she`s half Latina, but she`s super blonde so you`d never guess! She is basically amazing. Seriously, I`m pretty sure I`ve got the best comp in the mission, no joke! She loves missionary work, she loves the people, she works hard, she teaches well and the spirit is always so strong when she testifies. Basically she`s like super missionary. She`s only got 3 months left of her mission (2 changes), and I am hoping and praying that we stay together both of those changes! (if not, that would mean I go to my FIFTH area... I would really like to have more than 2 changes in an area sometime!) But igual no mas, I will go wherever the Lord wants me to go! Oh, and also, Hermana Rios and I had the same mom/trainer!! (Hna. Espinoza trained her right before she trained me)

So missionary work basically exploded this week. We are working hard and finding a ton of people that are super prepared and ready for the gospel! All we need now is lots and lots of help from the members and err`one here`s gonna get baptized!!


So I don't have lots of time this week, but I wanna share a scripture. It`s Alma 17:31 (and 32-33). I don't have my scriptures with me, but its when the flocks of the King Lamoni (?) are scattered and Ammon and the servants...recogerles.... gather them (sorry forget how to say that in English for a second). So I was thinking about how the sheep/flocks are like less actives (and basically all of God`s children), who are scattered and lost for a bit when temptations and struggles and trials (or the Lamanites) come along. And we are like the servants of the king whose responsibility it is to go get them and bring them back and protect them. I`ve also been thinking a lot about home teaching and visiting teaching lately and basically decided that it is the KEY to continued activity and excitement for missionary work in church members. So everyone do your visiting and home teaching because it really does exist with the purpose of saving souls and strengthen each other!! So if you do not yet have a testimony of this inspired program, I invite you to spend some personal time this week to study the doctrine and principle and application of it (why do we do it, what is it, and how should we do it), and pray about it, and then apply it in your life.

So the fun story of this week... We taught a pastor!! of an evangelica church! We had set up an appointment with a contact, so we were going back to teach him and we walk in on the guy and his wife sharing with a pastor and a missionary. So we totally crashed that party- awkward!! and at the end they did a blessing of health with vinegar or something... even more awkward... But we taught the Restoration and invited them to church.


Well out of time, but love you guys!! talk to you next week!!
Love, Hermana Urie

Fire Overreaction

Hey, got the package thanks!!! I am so super stoked for smores you have no idea!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

So funny story. This week we were teaching a lesson to some kids (super cute kids- they are getting baptized si o si). And we were trying to draw out the Plan of Salvacion with them, but there was lots of smoke (we usually teach lessons outside in the yard because inside is way too hot). So we look and there is a fire in the field across the street. Then a tree caught on fire and we were like "oh my gosh! should we do something?" But all the neighbors were just standing there super chill and a couple guys throwing buckets of water on the fire. And we`re like "isn't someone going to call the fire department?" so we called. And by the time they arrived the neighbors had already put out the fire. Haha oops... sorry if we overreacted a little bit..

So this week we had a Regional Conference and Elder Bednar spoke which was super amazing. He talked about repentance. And it was interesting because in another one of his talks that we read recently he said that someone can do all the steps of repentance (recognize, confess, ask forgiveness, not do it again, etc) without actually repenting. If in the process of repentance we forget that we have to come unto CHRIST, then our repentance wasn't real. And yesterday he was saying how the most important part of repentance is just that-- come unto Christ. Repentance has two parts: 1. Come unto Christ, and 2. Leave behind your sins. And many times, we think we have to leave behind our sins BEFORE we can come unto Christ, before we can come back to church, before we can read our scriptures or say our prayers. But thats backwards. We have to FIRST come unto Christ. And then he gives us the STRENGTH to overcome our weaknesses.

Sorry out of time! I love you all!! I think you are amazing!! Keep sharing the gospel and serving others!!!

Love,
Hermana Urie

Great People

So we are finding some great people here in Villa Elisa!! We`ve started teaching these 2 teenage sisters that are super chulina!! (I means cute, but I think it's just a Paraguay word, not a regular Spanish thing). They couldn't come to church yesterday because they were traveling out to the campaña (middle of nowhere) for their grandfathers birthday, but this week si o si!! Also we have another investigator, Rosa, that is super interested. She`s not sure yet if the church is true but she understands super well and wants to learn more, so we`re helping her out.
Oh and Cristian.. Well he came to church yesterday. He seems to like coming to church, but he`s got a LOT of opposition from his family and he doesn't quite seem to understand the apostacy and restoration, so he doesn't understand why he needs to be baptized again or how our church is different from all the rest. We`ve taught him that like 3 times already, so now we`re looking for a different approach to teach him (if we can ever find a woman to go with us, because we cant teach guys alone)... we`re basically just putting him into the Lord`s hands and praying that everything will work out..

Well that`s about it for this week! Hope you all had fun in Cali and the cousin sleepover! Happy first birthday Emma!!!
Love you!
Hermana Urie

p.s. mom asked about changes, it's true they are coming up! in 9 days, so I`ll let you know in 2 weeks what happened!!

One Year in the Mission!!

So not much new stuff this week. We`re still working with investigators, trying to help them progress. So Christian (our investigator that was coming to church) has stopped coming to church but comes to the activities on Wednesday and the baptisms on Saturday, so we aren`t quite sure what is going on there, but we`ll figure it out! And we`re finding some new people, but really not much to report in the way of investigators this week. Probably because this week has been a bit crazy and we haven't had tons of time out teaching..

Tuesday and Friday were great because we had the whole day to work and we worked hard! but Wednesday we had a Zone Training Meeting in the morning. And then in the afternoon we had to go to Asuncion because my back is having issues. So we talked to the doctor about going to a chiropractor and adjusting my back, but he said he wanted me to try some exercises first... so that's what I`ve been doing for the last week, but my back has started hurting more since I started the exercises, so we`ll see! I have a check up appointment this week so hopefully this time he will send me to a chiropractor! haha

And then Thursday we had divisions and I went to Fernando de la Mora for the day! They had a baptismal interview for a super awesome investigator who got baptized Saturday!

And Saturday the other Hermanas in our district had a baptism and we brought our investigator (Christian) to that. And then Sunday we weren't feeling well, so basically a week of craziness.

Sorry it`s so short but that`s about it for this week!! Love you all!!! (even though you went to California without me... haha just kidding! :)

Have a great week!!!

Love,

Hermana Urie

Back in Zona 4!

In the same zone as Hermana Mills!!! (one of my comps from the MTC)

Me and my current companion (Hna. Valle).. and our zone leaders

Kind of Whitewashing

Hello mi familia!!

So I realize I haven`t updated much on the new area, sorry about that, this change started out a bit rough and things have been a little crazy!

So I got here to Villa Elisa and we basically had no investigators whatsoever. The investigators the missionaries were working with before weren't progressing or going to church or anything, so it was like we were whitewashing the area (when both the companions are new to the area) and starting from scratch when I got here, but with the advantage that my comp already knows the streets and the members, so that's nice. So the first couple weeks were a bit hard trying to find new people to teach, but we have some great investigators now that we are working with.

One of our investigators, Christian (15 years old), we contacted my second day here and he came to church that Sunday- miracle! The problem is it is super difficult to teach him because we cant teach guys if there isn't a woman, and we cant find anyone to go with us during the week in the night (which is when he is home). So he`s come to church and the elder`s baptism and everything, but we`ve only taught him twice. And both times were interesting... the first time he was super ADD and we couldn't get him to focus and understand what we were teaching. Aaand afterward we figured out that the father of the young woman that we chose to bring with us had an affair with our investigator`s mom a couple years back.... what are the chances?! oops... awkward...

And the second lesson wasn't much better. We brought a member (a sister from relief society this time), but I think she got a little excited and started talking a little bit about everything in the church. We were going to focus on baptism and the priesthood, but we went a little off into Joseph Smith, the plan of salvation, temples, the spirit world, bugs nibbling at the spirits of those who didn't get baptized in this life (don't ask, just... don't ask), baptisms for the dead, callings in the church... etc.etc. I think we left him with more questions than we answered. Just remember, when you share the gospel, it`s "line upon line, precept upon precept"-- basically little by little, be super simple, don't scare them. But he came back to church the next day, so I guess the Lord is taking care of him.

We also have some other new investigators. They haven't been able to come to church yet, but this next week we are hoping that they will. One is a mother, Liz, and her daughter, Janny. They are super prepared! Every time we share with them from the first time we clapped at their house (remember we don't knock, we clap here in Paraguay), the Spirit has been so strong. We can tell Liz has had a lot of trials in her life that have brought her closer to Christ. And after we shared the story of the Restoration, I asked her how she felt as she heard it, and she said she felt hope. They are amazing and totally going to come to church this week (pray!) and going to get baptized and go to the celestial kingdom!! Well thats what I`m hoping for anyway.

Well that's about it for this week. Love you all and I hope everything is going great!!! Chao!

Love,

Hermana Urie

Villa Elisa

So, I had changes- I am no longer in Ita and I`m a little (a lot) heart broken. I love Ita it is the most amazing area ever and I just saw so many miracles there and there are so many people there that I love so much that I am gonna miss!! but, asi es la mision. (that`s the mission).

So when we have changes, all the missionaries that are going to change go to the terminal (basically a big collectivo station- like train station but for buses). And that's always a really fun hour finding past companions and friends and such. Well these last changes I ran into Hermana Murguia (my companion for 2 cambios in La Floresta), and she told me that Lety se bautizo!!!!! (umm.. got baptized, sorry this English thing is really hard for me today). (Leticia is the investigator that worked in the ice cream shop and I left before she got baptized). I am super super excited about that!!!!!! Also, I heard that Hna. Mills (one of my comps from the MTC) is now in La Floresta! Which is in our zone so I`ll get to see her at some point- I`m going to tell her that she better take care of my convert! haha :)

Now, I am in Villa Elisa (super close to my second area- La Floresta, its the same zone) So that's fun. The ward here is super great. Really friendly and happy, just not super involved in missionary work yet, but we`re going to work with the sisters a lot to have them come do divisiones with us and accompany us in lessons and such. There is one sister here that is AMAZING. Her name is Jazmin, she`s 18 years old, and she`s preparing to go on a mission. She is going to be the most amazing missionary ever-- una capa`ite!! She leaves with us every weekend and studies Preach my gospel and basically knows everything about the mission already (rules, how we work, the lessons, she even has a missionary agenda that she uses when she`s with us)-- she`s adorable.

I also have a new companion named Hermana Valle. She`s from Bolivia.

So we have a couple of good investigators, one of which will hopefully get baptized August 9 (pray!!!)- his name is Cristian. He`s already come to church a couple times and we`re teaching him. The problem is that it`s hard to find a woman to accompany us during the week because everyone here works, goes to school, or has kids and the house and everything. But we`re figuring it out.

Well that`s about it for this week! Hope everything is going great!!

Love you all!! Good luck with the mission and internships and tests and Singapore and everything!!! Love you tons!!!

Hermana Urie