12.20.2011

Happy Merry Jolly Christmas!!!! Almost
   

Thank you for the letters family, sounds like everything is going well! To answer your question they have Christmas lights and Christmas trees (nothing like the states due to the poorness) but it so cool to see the wooden 1 room houses everywhere with a huge radio blasting music with a Christmas tree and lights next to it! It’s about a 1000 degrees and I am half black right now so its kind of different but it is way cool. Here, Christmas is celebrated on the 24 at 12 o’clock at night. And yes dad I did open the box but the only thing that I touched was the candy.  I haven’t opened the boxes yet. I will be able to call through Skype on Sunday.  Thanks for making the accounts dad. 
    

This last week was full of little bit of everything. I had to travel a couple times to do divisions with some other Elders and so the week went very fast and it seems like I never get to sleep. Elder Paladines and I are finding many families here in our area but it seems that the other churches sent out a decree against Nephi. Every single family that we found on the second visit just mobbed us on Nephi and destroyed him because he is not in the Bible.  We got very good at defending Nephi, we are praying a lot to find people that will progress.  I don’t complain for the miracles that we see but we really need to work with members and find some new people.  My companion has been in this area for 7 months so he knows almost everybody ha! Some of the miracles that we saw this week were in the zone that is working hard.  We had a good number of people baptized and confirmed, which was fantastic we are very happy for that.  But we only have one person planned for this week in the zone.  She is really cool her name is Estela I don’t’ think she will ever go inactive!    

This last week my comp and I were going to a visit someone and as we were passing the house of prior investigator he told me that a 19 year old kid almost got baptized there a while back but his parents were going to kick him out of the house if he got baptized.  All of his friends stopped talking to him so he told the missionaries to go away! We decided to see what he was doing so we entered and his parents weren’t home and we shared with him and at first he was very cold and acted like he didn’t care and wanted us to go away but the spirit did work on him and he started crying and telling us how he keeps receiving answers about how the church is true.  He said it is just too hard to accept what will happen to him if he joins.  We talked it through and he decided to get baptized and probably right now as I type he is fighting with his parents.  He really is a good person and I know he will be a leader some day in the church!

This mission life is a time machine, the weeks fly by.
     I was thinking about it the other day and I think for the first time in my life I will be able to actually live the Christmas meaning.  I have the chance to not focus on myself not even a little but to completely serve others. I love you all and hope that you freeze your little tootsie off because I am being baked alive in this heat!
 Elder Shaw


12-12-2011

What’s up my fam.

Happy Merry almost Christmas. It is coming very fast!!! Thank you for the letters mom dad and Nicole.  It was great to hear from you! Dang mom you are all over the states, but your trip sounded very fun. I’m glad you enjoyed passing time with your brothers and sisters. Hey how is basketball going for Braiden and Caleb? Braiden what is happening let me in? I just got done playing with my companion elder paladines and he actually knows how to play a little the little Latin. That or i am very bad at basketball right now... which is very true. Everything is going very well here in Pilar. Our zone here in Pilar is awesome. It’s one of the smaller zones in the mission but we baptize just as much as any of the others cause the elders are so dang awesome. I have done divisions twice already to try and help prepare the baptismal candidates in the other areas for their baptism and it is looking very well. There is a missionary that is in his third change and is already training... very young, but an awesome missionary and we have many Latinos in our zone. It is so cool! Dad as for the answer to your question, ya we still have a lot of time to work just time to sleep is what is killing me ha. 5 nights in a row I got like 3 or 4 hours of sleep due to traveling to other areas, but we have bikes here so we can get to are appointments pretty fast! It is so cool, we are having a lot of success, and I have found that my prayers have gotten a lot longer now and more frequent due to all the people that i pray for now. This last week we found a great family that accepted a date on the first visit very willingly and are reading a lot!!! We didn’t have to much luck with amount of investigators in the church but this next week we are going to do better i know it! Another thing that i am learning here in Pilar is how to work with members. Everybody always told me you will never have real success if you don’t work with the members and thought thank you i already know but really it is all about the members. We spend all day every day teaching the Freidns cousins and family. It makes it so much better! I love this work it is so much fun.  A mission is hard, teaching, walking, eating, and baptizing tired but at the same time it is so much fun. You can laugh and love life living the law of consigaration. Braiden you are going to love the mission i hope you are preparing a lot because if you do i like me in... 6 months you could have your call!!!! YA BOY!ª!!! (Maybe he thinks Braiden is a senior)  Dad i took your advice and starting studying the bible dictionary... it is full of information. I don’t have much time to study it but i still study.
 Oh one story before i go! We were doing an activity where a family writes down the friends and family that are not members we do a kneeling prayer together and they ask God which of the people are ready to receive the gospel. This woman said one of the most powerful prayers i have heard! She had so much faith in her voice and then after the prayer sat there and with our looking at the paper said a name... Catolina. We then went out side and sat down and began to plan what we were going to do. Right when we finished guess who entered... ya Catolina and here family. It was one of the coolest most obvious answers to a prayer i have seen. We were all so surprised. We then talked to her and her family what we had planned and it went well. A little testimony that God answers prayers and to keep praying. I love you and am excited to talked next week. This is the true church and it is so awesome! 
love you elder shaw

12-5-2011

Dear Familia

I love you family, and I really hope everything is going very well during this Christmas. I really can't tell you how much I love you and don't miss you haha.... just kidding but I have hit a new high for the love for this work.  My new comp is a Latin and his name is Elder Paladines he is really excited to talk to you during the Navidad.  This elder is amazing he is such a hard worker and baptizes so much.  He has already taught me so much, I feel like I am starting from scratch again he is so cool and its really the first comp that I have had that has a lot of charity and it's so nice cause we get along perfectly.  Not dissing on my other comps I love them but he is very cool.  My new assignment is really teaching me a lot, I'm learning to show love and be a better person.  Right now I'm having to gain the confidence of the other Elders in my zone right now but they are all so great.  We have the greatest zone in the mission!!!!!!  Ii don't have p'days anymore because we are always traveling.  I'm in Asuncion right now writing in-between a meeting and my 6 hour bus ride back to Pilar.  Oh ya i am now in Pilar (the capital of basketball in Paraguay and I can't even play it!!!!!) but it's a nice flat safe town and guess what!!!!!!  Me and my comp are 2 of the 4 elders in our mission that have bikes!!!  Man can I tell you that the first 2 days my butt hurt so bad, I couldn't sit down in the lessons to teach the people.  I had to prop myself up on my elbows! It was bad.  In our zone we have two district leaders that are new and a Elder with only 5 months in the mission that is already training another! So we have to help a lot of the leaders and work with them to improve the missionary work.  Dad thank you for the paragraph you sent me it really drives me to be a better example.

 

I dropped studying Guaraní cause now that I am with a Latin comp I feel like I have forgotten some of my Spanish.  H just dominates me ha.  So I need to better my Spanish.  The area where I am is so used to Latin's and perfect speakers that some of the members are are correcting my Spanish to make it perfect and it's kind of confidence stabbing me but I continue to work on it.  It's also weird having a companion that talks more than I do. I am so used to trying to save everything situation and trying to keep things under control in a lesson but this guy is a wizard!  I'm excited to be here and to have this calling! I understand that I'm nothing without the Lord and that I wasn't called for me but to help the others.  We have a couple baptisms planned for this week , and they will get baptized for sure!  We want to focus on families cause we are not teaching many families right now.  One thing that I have learned from my new comp (I'm now the junior comp) is to lose your fear, and talk with anybody without fear, inviting everyone to get baptized the first date. I pray for you.  Feel free to pray for  some of our investigators (Else, Aniceto). I don't remember very well but I think it is in Helaman 10 it talks about trusting in God to the point where he had all power. I am sure Nephi gained that confidence from the Lord from many years of obedience and faith. Follow his example my fellow brethren and sisters.   As for the Christmas here. We are planning an activity in the church.  A talent show for everybody to come and tour the church and then watch a talent show.  And me and elder Paladines we are going to cut watermelon up and cups of milk and drink it in front of all of them..... I'm pretty sure the last time was in my head but I will be really funny cause people like dye at the thought of it. but I love you and hope to hear from you

chou

elder shaw

november 28, 2011

Whats Up Family, I’m really sorry but i don’t have any time to write a email with great detail but many great things have happened. Thank you for the letters that you sent me! I’ll send you some fotos. 
Last night my comp and I were getting reading for bed and we were waiting the call of our district leader to find out the changes and president called and told me that i was going to be  zone leader.....  it is a test of my faith. It doesn’t usually happen where you skip being district leader to zone but I’ll write more next week. 
love you all
 elder shaw

So i got a second more to write you. There is a holiday today and nothing is open so it was hard to find an internet place. Also our assistant to the president is Durant. He is way cool and my friend he also called me last night. This last week was great we had another baptism of a girl named Johana. There was a great turn out at the baptism with lots of members. I’m very very sad that i have to leave this area because of the familia de la cruz.  I love them so much. They still have such a great testimony and are reading every single day. They just are not home that much and he works alot so we can never share but they are committed to coming to church next Sunday and all the Sundays...... i know they will get baptized. It’s sadening that i will not be able to see that baptism and be part of that special day but its okay i was praying for them one night and received a very strong answer to my prayer. They will be baptized sometime and it was very comforting. Its so important that we as members of the church also receive answers to our prayers. We preach it all day every day telling people to pray if they wanna know but if we don’t put it in practice as members.... kinda stupid. Thank you for your prayers for this familia. I really know that i am going to have a completely turn around, and have to adapt all the attributes of Christ in my life now... not that i wasn’t trying before to be a great person as a trainer but now i feel a very big responsibility.  At first i thought, well that was stupid i wasn’t even district leader but now i am very grateful for the trust the Lord has in me. I really love you all, family and want you to know that i may not be thinking about you much during this holiday seasons but I’ll pray for you. Oh and i already got your package for the Christmas. .... I’ll try not to open it dad but it got here a month early!!! I’m going to send a few more pictures. Please pass my love on to Braydon Lee and let him now that i love him alot and hope to be in contact sometime soon.

elder shaw

November 21, 2011

Hola familia,
I’m really happy to have heard from all of you. Sounds like everything is going real well and dang i got some cute nieces and nephews! Thanks for the pictures. They are fantastic. Tiffany your baby is like a blob of gushy awesomeness and Brynlee is huge!!!! and Nicole, congratulations on the new creature! I totally feel you on the cold thing dad. As i write it is raining pitchforks outside. Saturday, Sunday, and today it rained.... Once again, rain on the weekend only. How is it with mom back in house? Well i feel like i have left this week a better person. This last week was difficult I’m not going to lie. It was hard and i was pretty disanimated by Thursday. We lost over half of our investigators. The familia de la cruz seem a little disanimated too. This last week we didn’t have the chance to share with them... not once. The father is working till 9 every night and the wife seems to be leaving house alot more and then Saturday came and her brother got in a moto accident and they have been in the hospital all weekend so they did not go to church again. I love them i really do, and my comp and I have been trying everything with them.  It just isn’t working out! Satan is doing more work against this familia then almost any other that i have had in my mission. I was very sad Sunday night, and then we went to a members house to drop of our dirty clothes, and we sat down and started talking with the dad for a second and i was telling what was happening with them.  He told me something that really hit me hard. He told me´´elder shaw if you are following the rules and doing everything you can for this familia and it still not working out it is because it is a trail of your faith.  God is trying you too (mosiah 23 god sees fit to chastise to try our faith). I was really struggling with that and then it made sense. It’s me that has the little faith. This last week was zone conference and the president talk alot on applying the attributes of Christ.  That day after we left i came out with a better determination to do better, I now follow the rules more closely. It’s so easy to justify something but we need to accept the commandments like they are. We are working very hard with the familia de la cruz and they will get baptized i know that much it’s just a matter if i will be able to the see the baptism or not. This last week we were blessed with a baptism also. Her name is bienvendia. She is wicked awesome! She is the sister of member. She has about 30 years with one kid but doesn’t have a husband. She received an answer about baptism through a dream, and is very faithful. She has a great desire to share the gospel with everybody! Her brother in law baptized her and when she went under he slipped and fell in a little and then he grabbed her by the neck and lifter her out. It was very funny and i had to try so hard not to laugh cause i was a witness at the door. A funny note a crazy man chased us for about 3 minutes. We were walking very fast and realized that he started to chase us. He eventually caught up to us which surprised me but then continued to give us candy that he had made... it was very funny. I almost ate it but my comp advised me otherwise. Keep going strong and thank for the letters. i love you all
 elder shaw

11/16/2011

What's up family
   Thanks for the letter Caleb and dad, and wow that is so cool for Braydon Lee, I'm stoked for him! Is he in the same mission as Gunnar or a different? That surprised me and about the assistant coaches with Seifert. Sounds pretty good. Who are the main players this year? That is crazy that you have snow, every time I talk about snow down here the people laugh at me and ask me how the people can survive in it! THE DUNNS ARE 16! That is crazy. Does that mean they are driving?!
   

This week was fantastic and very sad at the same time, the scripture that you sent me dad perfectly applies to my week.  Proverbs 3:5-6. Sometimes things happen and I have to think to myself, which side is the Lord on haha! We had a lot of success this week, we were blessed with many new investigators and families that we are teaching.  I  am so very grateful for these families but for the last 4 Sundays and only the Sundays the Lord has tested our faith and patience (Mosiah 23) and made it rain every Sunday.  The people do not leave their houses here when it rains so we have very few if any people in church.  The reason why it has to rain I don't know, but it is taking a lot of faith and confidence on my part to trust that the Lord knows what he is doing.  All I desire now is that the family De la Cruz gets baptized but they can't decide not to go to church when it rains.  They were preparing to get baptized this Saturday and all they had to do was go to church, I love them so much. I know everything has its time and purpose and even though we work so hard, we have to trust in the will of God.  Not only in missionary work but in life. If something isn't going as we hope, take that learning opportunity and become better and stronger.  I was listening to a talk from Elder Eyring, about accepting the trials, humbling ourselves and being stronger. Ether 12:27, God gives us weakness' (trails) but if we trust in him he will make these weakness' strong.  I don't believe that god will abandon  us for doing his will.  I also believe my patience is growing... but I am not a fan of the rain here. 
One of the families that we found almost put a baptismal date for themselves, the spirit was in the lesson and they asked lots of great questions and as D&C promises that we won't be confounded; we could answer them. They were very excited.

On a little more funny note, granted I don't say this because I am a bad person or because I have not changed, but this week with my Guaraní screw-up's, I managed to tell a married 65 year oldish couple to go shower themselves together, I swore at two members (not knowing they were swear words), and asked someone if they had a ``part of the female body I probably shouldn't write``.  But surprisingly enough I still believe I am doing more good than bad with the knowledge of the language I have haha.  Saturday my comp managed to get sick and get the double dragon, referring to the throw up and shivivi.  A sickness no man wants.  So for the whole day while he was sick and sleeping I studied Guaraní, Book of Mormon, bible and preach my gospel, from 8 in the morning to 9 o'clock at night with only a lunch and dinner break... I feared getting blood clots in my legs.

We have one person that is preparing for baptism this Saturday, her name is Bienvenida (funny because Bienvenido means welcome), but I am really grateful for her, she really really wants to get baptized, and lives with a member.  She was married and has a kid but left him because he was abusive, and came to live with her sister and loved how the church focuses on families  No other church really focuses on families.  Everybody just guess and supposes what will happen to them but, it's nice having sound doctrine on them.

I love you all and want you to know of my testimony, that I know this church is true and that this is work of the Lord.  Continue doing your part back there in the states.  There a lot of people Braiden and Caleb that need your example and help.  Don't be afraid to invite and talk about the church

elder Shaw

October 31, 2011

HAPPY HALLOWEEN, I didn’t even remember it was Halloween till i read the letters. I had forgotten about it. They don’t celebrate it here, but sounds awesome. Is it cold there yet? Cause let me tell ya it is stinkin hot here!!! Congratulations Nicole!!!!!! did you pick one of the names i suggested? Ha. This week was awesome and hard. Lots of funny stuff happened. I will start off by letting Devin now... that you read my mind about the watermelon and milk. Holy cow! So this last Sunday one of our members told us that we couldn’t drink milk and eat watermelon at the same time cause it would give you bad stomach problems and then kill you... well me and my comp found that rather funny and decided to try it out. So we bought a watermelon and a liter of milk each and went and sat out on the road while the people drove by so they could have their minds blown at the sight of 2 gringos eating ´´death´´. Well it was very funny there faces as they drove by and we got a good kick out of it. We then continued to play soccer after and about 10 minutes in i just about had an accident it hit me so fast. I took off running for the church in the middle of the game and didn’t not enjoy my time in the bathroom (forgive me for the descriptiveness) I AM A FIRM BELIEVER IN MILK AND WATERMELON. I will never eat those to again in my life and for all those that read this i invite you to do the same. My comp the next day also received his punishment and we couldn’t leave more then 15 minutes from the house cause we had to return on a quick notice. It was so funny. That’s my funny story. As for success this last week we found multiple new families to teach, and we are way excited to see who is going to progress and what’s going to happen with them. The family of 7 that was going to get baptized this week well she had her baby Saturday and had it through cesaria (that’s Spanish not sure how it is in English it when they cut them open) she is really weak and not going to be able to get baptized for a while. It was so sad when that hit us, we were really happy for her and then realized she can’t get baptized for a while.... we are not sure what to do, cause sátanas works really hard when there is down time. They are ready and we need to act soon or sátanas is going to mess every thing up. There is no such thing as a smooth baptism. I love this family so much, and i really really want this blessing for them in their lives but there is always a trial. We will keep working with them. 
Couple other updates, i have started to gain weight i can see it and feel it, maybe one day I’ll be a really big fat man. (I don’t think so.) i have also started the Book of Mormon in gaurani... don’t kid yourself i am very slow at it and alot of dictionary but it really cool!!!. i also gave a talk yesterday on the Book of Mormon in church, there was a time on my mission where i got caught up in learning about the bible but i really now understand better the importance of that book. I’m with Elder Holland on this one, but, no man can come to the knowledge of the importance and the truthfulness of the work and this church with out a testimony of the Book of Mormon. If you don’t read it then you don’t understand the importance of the restored gospel. Women, men, kid ,teenager, old fogie. everybody should read it. Our president committed every missionary in the last interviews, for the rest of our lives, to read at least one verse or line or anything, but pick up the Book of Mormon at least once a day. I love it. thanks for the letters and enjoy your Halloween.! love you 
elder shaw

october 27, 2011

Mba´a te copio che familia,

Sounded like a pretty boring week for you all.  Also with lots of sickness, that can’t be fun. Is it cold or hot there? Dang i remember the ACT, i know mom wants me to speak positively about the wonderful test for like 7 hours of my Saturday so that Braiden has a good attitude about it if he has to take it again but.... wow that test is... something else. What did you get last time Braiden? As for ideas of an eagle project you can build bird houses that seemed to be a popular one in our ward. This last week was good. There were some sad a great things that happened, like always its a rollercoaster but you just love it all the time anyways. First i let you know about the sad one which really mad me cry. We have a convert in the area that got baptized about 1 month before i got here. Her name is Vacilia.  When i got we started to teach her uncle that lives with her. Back in August she was so strong. When we taught she would give her testimony in the middle of the lessons on her own.  She just wanted people to accept the gospel like she had done. She read all the time and never missed a day at church. Well over the past two weeks i guess she had decided to research a little bit more about the church because her uncle refused to get baptized.  He started talking to her and telling her lies about the church. She then got on the Internet and read alot of stuff the anti-Mormon had posted.  This whole last week i spent lesson after lesson trying to answer her question about the deepest doctrine. 2 days ago i finally gave up and told her the only answer you need is to know that Joseph Smith was a prophet and that the Book of Mormon and the rest of this is true. i asked her to tell me her conversion story and why she got baptized and she denied everything. She completely denied the holy ghost and ever feeling the spirit with us or while reading the Book of Mormon.  I began to cry.. she said she will not be going to church anymore.  I don’t understand how anybody could deny the spirit after feeling it so strongly. It’s amazing how stupid man kind can be. They receive their answer and feel the holy ghost but the moment Satan comes in they turn chicken and run away from God. I could never in my life deny the spirit that i have felt on my mission. And will never give up the gospel for all the money in the world. This is the truth, and any person that doesn’t have the guts to fight past peer pressure, to stand up for this gospel, is denying Christ. It probably sounds like I’m angry, I’m not i just have strong thoughts and feelings about this subject. Stand up for the truth! 


Now for the awesome part. Well not awesome but we had to postpone the baptism of the family of 7 because of the baby coming this week. But that’s alright they are still amazing! i love them! Their names are the family De La Cruz and I pray that they keep feeling the spirit.

This last little while i have begun to try and teach in Guarani more so that the people understand in their native language. As with everyone you make some mistakes when you first start a language and i said two things very very funny this week in lessons. first i called some a horrible swear word instead of saying ´´you have´´ and the second i was trying to tell someone that god will bless them for getting baptized i told them (referring to myself as god) that i would bless her personally. haha it was very funny watch their faces after and realize i messed up.
 I also fed a monkey a tortilla with my mouth! i bit the corner of it so that it could grab it and it ate it! it was so cool i was so scared cause this thing was yelling and screaming! but i did it.
Oh and guess what i lent my camera to a member for a night cause they had to use it at a birthday party and the accidentally deleted every picture on my camera!!!! but i had already saved them on a pindrive.  And about the shaver I can buy that one here (cd players i cant but i got one from another missionary so we are all good)
thanks mom and dad for the letters its good to hear from you. i love you all. chou!

elder shaw

October 17, 2011

Dear familia,

Thanks for the letters that you sent me. It’s always fun reading about what is happening in the lives of the Shaw family and beloveds. Ha dad sounds like a lot of things broke down. Hope everything is working now. Hey dad if your ever in charge of talking to the missionaries of your stake tell them to work with the members better. Now that i look back on it a missionary never ever has asked us for a reference. I still wish i would do better about that here. 
This week for us was fantastic! I have made so changes in my studies this last week. I was always afraid to study Gaurani really well cause it jacks up your Spanish so I’ve just learned it in the streets but this last week i convinced myself to start studying but just for a couple months or maybe even 2 and then straight back to Spanish. I have only been studying one week and it is so much fun to talk to the members and people. It is such an easy language, although my comp gets a little angry when i speak for a while cause he thinks that we are talking about him ha! Speaking of my comp, we have changes today and neither of us have changes we are both staying here. I am learning how to get along with all types of people. I love the elder to death. He’s my son, but we are perfectly different in every way. So we have both grown alot together. I’m learning to swallow my pride.  The president has really been focusing on the missionaries lately in his letters and interviews about how we as people can be better and apply these Christ like characteristics to us. I hope I’m doing it a little. This last week we had a baptism, his name is richard sanabria, he is 15 years old. He made a complete life turn around when he first moved here from Asuncion.  He we a rebel, mean with earrings everywhere but it just goes to show the power of repentance! Alma 36! He was a little scared to get baptized but he was ready and it went really well! The chapels here in Paraguay don’t’ have water heating so every baptism the people come out of the water sucking for air like they are about to die and red! It was funny but hey i think it still counts. The thing i am most excited about is our familia!!!!!!!!!!! i love the family De La Cruz!!!!!!!1 They are a family of 7 and have fecha for the 29th. I have a crush on a girl of theirs, named Raquel, she is so cute and she always takes my agenda and draws pictures for me when we teach,... she’s 5 years old! It keeps her quite. They came to church yesterday for the first time. There are 4 of them that are of the age of baptism, miriun roberto arturo and julieta. I love them and this women is so huge i can’t believe her stomach just doesn’t break at her belly button and everything fall out, she is a huge pregnant women. She should give birth this week. One funny story is one time this week we were teaching a drunk man at the house of an investigator named jose luis, and this drunk man stumbled up to his gate to call the Mormons devils, and that the king of the united states sends us to rob the sweet water of Paraguay, I really caught a kick out that one and laughed pretty hard and the guy picked up a brick and tried to throw it us but missed completely. It was to heavy, then jose had to escort him out. I love this work and am really happy with the area that i am in! I can’t wait for the baptism of this family, they deserve this blessing in their lives! 
Right now my studies personal are focused on the doctrina y convenios and i have learned a lot, especially about the 2nd coming of Cristo, there is a lot of hidden in that subject that not a lot of people know. I think its d and c 46 or somewhere around there. I hope your studies are going well, especially caleb and braiden! Don’t forget to read... read to understand.

love you all
edler shaw

October 11, 2011

HOLY COW BRAIDEN WHAT A STUD!"!!"!!!! that is so cool sounds like a``journal moment experience`` (ha yep from a missionary, actually I’m not doing that well with my journal right now but trying) waiting 4 years doesn’t that put grandpa at like 109 years old or something like that. Any way how are you family? Glad to hear that everybody seams to be doing good back home, but i didn’t hear much about Caleb? What’s up with Caleb?! Lovin life? My life is great this last week was fantastic! A lot of blessing we received! We had interviews with president this last week and it was amazing, he is such a powerful man, although when you are training all he really wanted to do was talk about my newbie and see how he is doing and i kept trying to take it off and on me so he could receive some heaven sent revelation for me to and not only for my comp, ha but it all went over good. My comp is progressing very well elder keller. Changes were not this week, they are next week and i will be with my newbie again. You are always with a newbie for two changes. But I’m fine with that. He is improving my vocabulary but as you can see my spelling is horrible!!! But remember that family i wrote about last week the familia D La Cruz. Well they are progressing so well. They feel the spirit and are a little shy but awesome. i love them so much. We are now talking with the kids to and 2 of kids have fecha for the 29th as well. Yesterday we passed by there house to accompany them to church and we got there and the dad came out and said my wife doesn’t feel good and we are going to go to the doctor.... i don’t know she gave birth yesterday or what happened but the didn’t go to church which was really sad but we had some other people in church that are progressing to. We shared with the family De La Cruz the age of responsibility showing that some of their children good baptized and at the end the said i know Joseph Smith was a profeta and if he said it then its true i trust you. It was so cool. I’m really excited for them! Also we had a really funny experience happen ha! 2 days ago we had a investigador that more or less cares and i drilling the importance of the Book of Mormon and how much value it has for me in my life and for us and right in that moment my comp dropped the guys Book of Mormon in the mud and it was completely dirty and it went silent for a while and then i couldn’t help it but it was so perfect timing and funny that i died laughing right in the lesson and the guy didn’t know how to react but we gave him another one and left.... we will see if he reads it haha! 
It was a really good week. i have been trying to put something to the test. My comp he can be a little down and pessimistic and like that so when ever he complains i try and be really happy about something else and always be grateful or happy about something in place of getting down and sometimes its really annoying but most the time it works really well and it makes you a lot more happier about the situation. Try it, its works. So I’ve almost hit a year in my mission, but for this first full years i have only worn one pair of shoes the whole time and i need to take a picture of them... they are completely destroyed and my shocks are visible in like 3 parts of both shoes. 
I’m reading in secciòn 40`s of Doctrine and Covenants and wow i have learned a lot of stuff about the millennium my guess is that its coming soon! i have grown a love for doctrine, it probably wont help me but i like to learn all the small things. I love you all and am thankful for the letters. o and by they way i sent home some letter like 5 so if you could please pass them off it’s a lot cheaper this way. it costs me like 2 and half dollars to send one letter. ha don’t worry about who they are going to either! elder shaw

October 2, 2011

Dear family,
Conference was amazing!!!!! I got to listen to it in English cause our investigators chose put into practice 2 Nephi 2;27 there free agency between liberty or.. not coming to church. So we didn’t have to sit with them in the Spanish and we watched all of it in English. I agree with you dad Elder Holland’s talk was amazing and very powerful. He does bring up a good point. It kind of seems like the youth are hitting there teenage years and then stepping away from the gospel and then deciding when they turn 19 to fix themselves up and try and get out on a mission. The church would be so much stronger if the youth would see the importance of the gospel in their young lives. (I’m not a teenager anymore i don’t think i now pertain to that category). There were two things that really stuck out to me. 1) The importance of a testimonio. With investigators they really have Satan fighting against them, and their neighbors and family fight against them in becoming a [Mormon] and so when they receive their answer from God and recognize it the next lesson is automatically trusting in the Lord and the feeling that you get from the holy spirit. 1 Juan 5:9 I think, says in trusting God’s testimony over that of the men. Its so important to trust in the promptings that you receive. As a kid i don’t remember receiving many promptings so i think it would also be important in listening to the spirit as to strengthen your testimony. Somebody can and will fight against doctrine but no man can fight against a firm testimony. 2) The importance of temple work and genealogy, doesn’t apply to me much here but i found it interesting. Its really fun and has put a new perspective on conference when you testify of these men all day and then you finally have the chance to here them speak. This last week we had some success and some lesson learning ha. First off i got a funny story, so we were walking back to conference Saturday night and walking pretty fast, we were crossing the street to get to the church and, i have no idea what tripped him or if it was just his shoe but my comp. tripped and had his backpack on and it kind of carried him forward a little and he tried to catch him self by speeding up, and couldn’t get it and i don’t’ know why he didn’t use his hands but went straight face first into the street. I have never honestly seen a face first trip like what he did. It looked so funny, almost like he didn’t have hands and tried to catch himself with his face. He is pretty scratched up. I laughed and he got mad at me for laughing, he is kind of defensive. o ya and about 3 hours before that we were doing contacts and we were in a hurry so we went over to a group of 4 men that were drinking and laughing, we introduced ourselves and the continued to invite them to church. One of them half drunk started preaching about there is no second coming and the life is just going to end so why should he care. Never in my life have i actually called someone to repentance till then, i pulled like a Alma Amulek type speech.  2 of them shut up and the others kept making fun of us and threw their empty beer can at us but it was very fun. Lastly we found a family named roberto y mirium de la cruz. They are amazing!!!!! We told them to read and they read, we told them pray and they prayed. and the next lesson said they received their answer and want to get baptized!! It was such a powerful lesson. I am so excited for them. The only problem is that she is huge pregnant and she might not be able to go to church...
but i love you and thank you for those that sent letters they are always fun to read. I finished the Book of Mormon yesterday, love it
 edler shaw

September 28, 2011 and pictures!

Dear family, well that is a great thing the house didn’t burn down while you were gone! The difference in the letters of mom, dad, and Caleb about the house was funny. Guess what, we just about burnt down our house this morning. We made the German pancakes today and the oven here had a gas leak or something and we were studying and it started to smell like gas while the oven was on. We had to open every door and turn on every fan! But wow Alaska sounds.... cold and really fun, I can always imagine what kind of stuff happens when you put all the Ray family together in one room especially with mom and Noreen! Thank you for the letters and ya mom i got the package. I actually opened it a little early cause i was dying for what ever was in side and thanks for it all it was great! This week was awesome!!!! Well.... it had its ups and downs. There was a family that got baptized this last week and it did not go well or according to plan but it happened and i am very grateful for that blessing. Really this family was a blessing at first they were not progressing and not going to church. They told us that they did have a testimony and knew it was true so we kind of moved on to the rest the lessons and we couldn’t figure out why they would not go. During one lesson we felt like we should talk about their testimonies, we did a kneeling prayer and the spirit was so strong. It’s amazing how much the Lord helps us if you just pay attention. I’m really excited for this family... I’m not going to lie sometimes you fight for lessons and baptisms and good stuff for the numbers but really you know your doing your job when your thinking *finally the familia caballero is getting baptized. They really need and deserve this and not thinking that YES we have baptism this week. 
This last week i saw a lot of improvement in my comp too. He is talking very well and teaching very well. He knows the scriptures well also. He is a great person and helps me in some ways because he is a clean and manner freak and i lack in those areas. He is very susceptible to correction and very smart. (he spelled that last big word i used, he makes me feel stupid sometimes haha) We get along and i can have fun and love him. I’m really grateful for that lesson i have learned in my mission. I think i am still improving in being able to show my love to others that are close to me. I’m so grateful you people family every one of you, sorry for not showing it so much before my mission. I’m so very grateful for the hope that brings this message. Really it’s all about happiness, family.  Don’t get caught up in the worldly stuff, that’s why it’s called the plan of happiness. Show it in your (rostro) no idea how to say that in English, have to translate it. 
I love you all and am grateful for you, 
elder shaw

Sept 13, 2011

What's up Fam

How is school coming along brothers?  So my comp got a change and went to Santa Rita with my last comp.  I felt so bad cause I loved my prior companion and all but my greenie is going to have to get used to him and all he is just hard to get along with. But hey it's all good.  I received a comp from Brigham Utah that now has been in Paraguay for 6 days.... yes I'm training again.  It's really fun to see the shock on the face of the newbie's when everything happens. For example his first ¨Paraguayan experience¨ was is a women breast feeding in lessons at church.  It was the without shame type of feeding. It happens all the time.  The other funny one was his first contact or drunk man.  My new comps name is Elder Keller, and he is very smart, glasses, shorter, kind of the exact opposite of me but we get along really well.  He never laughs at my jokes when I make them so I feel stupid but then he laughs at something I do which is not suppose to be funny so it all works out!  We get along very well actually.  His Spanish is very good for a newbie, better then my last newbie.  But he struggles understanding so he gets lost in the lessons some times.  I didn't take any fotos but I will for the next week. My new comp and I have already had so many great experience together.   Last week we had a couple baptisms planned for this last Saturday but all of them fell through the day before.... so we will try again later.   More Faith.  President called to figure out what happened with the baptisms and it was kind of embarrassing to tell him that they fell through.   Right now we are teaching some great people but they don't really want to go to church and their baptismal dates always fall because they will not go to church.   Last Saturday night we met with a family and we are teaching them and there was a drunk man that came in the house and started pushing the kids around it was really scary not going to lie.  My comp and I had to ¨escort him out very forcefully¨ in front of the investigators.  The man would not leave and kept calling the wife his woman, we pretty much told him that if he wanted to follow God that he would leave and read a Word of Wisdom booklet, but if he stayed that God would curse him. He definitely chased the spirit out.... but I think the family trusts us now haha.


OH YA BRAIDEN HAPPY BIRTHDAY (sorry for forgetting the other birthdays family, but his is close to mine) YOUR OLD!!!!!!!!! Guess what I turn 20 in one week..... I'm old and not a teenager!  It amazes me the amount of energy a fresh out of the MTC Elder has, my comp does not have any pride.  It really helps me out.  He takes correction and accepts it with a thanks. I really feel like I have changed in that aspect... I was and still am kind of bit prideful.  I need to take correction better. I am really focusing on that right now always trying to accept it.  It's a lot easier to get along with people if you just swallow your pride.  It is impossible to teach with the spirit if you do not get along with your comp and if there is contention. There are some different people out there but swallow your pride and you'll get along!  The spirit will dwell with you.  I really like my comp, I get along with him very well and he is teaching me probably more then I could teach him.   Hey Caleb and Braiden sorry for being prideful and boring before.  But we will party another time.... church is true, read your scriptures, search for the spirit in your life.  I’m going to go, take luck! Chou i love you family


Elder shaw

Sept 6, 2011

Dear family,

NO WAY Braydons got a mission call! That is so awesome!!!! Mexico, he always talked about going somewhere Spanish speaking. Is it the same mission as Gunner or an other? That’s awesome, but a little far away. Wow ha school started, I’m so glad that i don’t have to study, sorry Braiden and Caleb but i have a better life. Tomorrow is transfers. We find out today if one of us is going. I feel like we both are going to stay but they still haven’t called us so we will see. I wouldn’t mind if we both stayed that would be great. This next change we are going to have a lot of success i can feel it in my bones!!! Thank you for the letters, they were awesome i always like reading more then writing. I read a lot now in Spanish. This last week was absolutely amazing! I have never thank the Lord for so much in my life. Every single one of my prayers I just want to thank the Lord for the success that we had. This last week we found a lot of families to teach and people that are really interested. We found a family who all got baptized in the church but never got confirmed and they want to continue with the church now. Yesterday in church we had 9 investigators with three familias. I was just praying the whole time thank for the people that came to church, finally! I read in the scriptures and hear that when the people are humbled they become obedient and faithful but i think it is the opposite for me, when I’m blessed i have so much more of a desire to be obedient in all the things. I can see the difference. We were blessed with so many miracles this last week. There is a recent convert here that is really faithful but we went to her house one day to see how she was and we were teaching her and her dad, she said i got baptized blindly not knowing about your church and hearts just sunk... we couldn’t figure out what happened and then she began to tell us how she got a little curious and looked on the internet about Mormons and this internet is the devil!  She got all kinds of bad stuff and said she felt like she had been lied to. We asked her if we could say a prayer to invite the spirit before starting the lesson answering her questions. The whole prayer in my own mind i was begging for the spirit of revelation to help her. During the lesson i was blessed with knowledge of the scriptures I didn’t even know i had. Scripture that maybe i have ready one time came to my head to help her. In the end she said she was sorry for doubting and went to the Internet for answers and not to the lord. She came to church yesterday. 3 times i just opened the scriptures straight to a verse i needed to help her. It was like a 2-hour lesson. I think she is doing better now! Another miracle is we have a family that is preparing for baptism and he barely speaks Spanish and she doesn’t speak a word only Gaurani! I don’t know how but we gave the whole lesson of tithing to them and they accepted..... in Gaurani! It was defiantly the gift of tongues cause i don’t speak that well. I could go on and on but i don’t have time. This week was amazing.
Oh and a funny story, we were walking at night and there was a drunk guy that started to make fun of us and so we walked over to him, and you can make a drunk fall over by getting really close to them and swaying back and forth so well, we started to sway and he started to fall and caught himself and then sat down and then i said hey do you want stop drinking and he got mad and pick up a rock and tried to throw it at us! He missed but we had to runaway. It was a great moment. Really it is amazing how much the Lord does for you if you can just take a second from your day look back and think about the miracles you have in your life. Try it. I’m so glad to here Braydon is going on a mission. I know with all my heart that that is the right decision and he will never have regret for doing it. It is the greatest and hardest!!!! 2 years of your life. 
love you elder shaw

Pictures of Jamo

For your viewing pleasure! 

August 29. 2011

Waz up fam?
 Thanks for comparing me to the Grinch mom, ha i wasn’t so bad before my mission but yes i am changing. Wow a lot has happened and this week starts school! Good luck I’m so stupid now with math. I don’t remember anything. This week’s letter is going to be a little short cause there is only one computer and my comp. wants to use it also. So this last week was very short short short because Friday we had zone conference and we listened to a 70 for 6 hours talk to us. I swear that this man has seen Christ. He was a very powerful man and had every single missionary crying even the disobedient ones. He talked a lot about remaining active after your mission and not being an inactive missionary. It was really great. It is very easy for the missionaries to be disobedient in the area i am in right now because the members ask to take you places, waste time, and watch movies. It really is a trial but i think we are doing all right. Also this last week we spent 3 days in the apartment cause either my comp or i was dying from a Paraguayan bug. Yesterday i almost died of head and neck ache so i took a bunch of weird looking Paraguayan pills that a member suggested and i feel really good today. I don’t know what they were but they worked. I feel like our last week was not very productive because of the sickness and just the lack of time we had preaching so i really want to work hard this week to find some new people. I love you all and thanks for your letters. I will respond longer next week promise. Thank you for the scriptures mom or dad that sent me. I will read them. I recommend you read Moroni 7 and try to apply every principle to your life personally. Love you and pray for you. 
jajatopata!ª!!!"·$!"·!"·
chou 
elder shaw

August 24, 2011 part 1

What’s up! Wow Tiffany is a mom, that is awesome! And Nicole and Devin are in town. Sorry Caleb i think i wrote last time thinking that you were in high school but now you’re top dog in middle school. What classes are you taking? This letter might be a little short cause my fingers hurt from being so cold. Here it is Alaska but even though it feels cold enough in Paraguay the snow doesn’t fall. I’m a little sick and cant talk well but this last week was a week of great success and the other way. We found a lot of great new people to teach and we are super excited to work with them. There is a minus active woman we found with 5 kids of the baptizing age! They all want to go to church. But the family that was going to get baptized this Saturday, she just found out that she doesn’t have legal papers so they have to get them which takes 3 months so they can’t get married which is a bummer. I have a story that actually brings me to tears because i was apart of it. roberto y nilsa, the couple that was going to get married, they came to church with a couple member called felipe y bernarda. They were their example and we always used them in lessons asking them and how has the gospel blessed your lives so that our investigators heard it from their friends. This last week we got a call at 5 in the morning from her asking us for money but couldn’t tell us why. We then called her back later that day to figure out if everything was all right and she said yes. Then Friday we called to ask if we could come over Saturday and she said yep come. Then Saturday president called us and said that bernarda the wife had taken off with one kid and all the money and left felipe at home with the rest. felipe came to church with our investigators. Later when we talked to him he started crying and was saying how he feels so bad for being a bad example for his friends that are investigating the church and he had talked to them telling them that they’ll be happy every thing will go well in their family. He completely forgot himself and his own problems that his wife had left him and worried about them and animated them for there marriage. He is going through a really hard time but still continues to fight for our investigators. This guy is a stud. You probably didn’t understand that or the situation completely but really this guy is amazing how he can completely forget himself and serve other. We still have two weeks left till the change. I’m not looking forward to it. I really would like to stay how we are. This area is amazing and i am learning a lot right now. I’m learning mostly about forgetting myself and trying to help and love my comp. I think he struggles a little with thinking about his home, which is hard on him, but he’s a great person. I never knew how to show the love i had for others before my mission and still am far from were i should be but its a lesson I’m learning. 
We struggled a little bit with getting people to church. I think it is for the rain, seeing as how Paraguayans are like a creature from the movie *bugs life* or *ants* that run from the raindrops because it will kill them. It’s really funny.
Oh and bad news the cd player you sent me broke.... doesn’t spin anymore. We are without tunes (motab)
love you thanks for the letters, they are always fun to read! Elder Shaw

August 9, 2011

Familia,


Thank you for your letters. They are always really fun to read, and thanks for the advice. Some of the things you said helped me. It’s always very important to look for the things that will better me, because no matter what, the spirit always gets the message to you even though a lot of times we have no idea what we are to learn. That is awesome that Nicole and Devin and Brynlee are in town. ... well were in town. I would love some pictures but i don't have much room to ask, because i haven't sent pictures in a long time sorry about that i will bring my camera here the next time and send a couple. i should take more fotos. I was thinking about it and your summer is almost over for Braiden and Caleb. Live it up. Isn't Caleb in high school already? This week was a week of personal lesson learning. To be sneaky about it, the success that we had was in ourselves. It was a little hard with the investigators, we had to drop a lot of them and we are struggling to find new ones right now. The Lord always gives us success in some way or the other but we just have to recognize it and even thought we didn’t have many lessons or investigators we had some very powerful moments this week. I’ll probably share one or two of them with you. The first was we found an inactive sister that told us she wants to come to church but has been very sick for 4 months and has not been able to come and we had no idea she existed! We got there clapping houses and she told us to come in and asked for a blessing. I really cannot explain the feeling that was in the room but my comp did the anointing and I gave the blessing. It was a very powerful moment and she was crying. We came two days latter and she was outside washing her clothes and yelled at us that she has some people she wants to bring to church this week. She was completely healed after 3 months of being sick! The other was a learning lesson for me that my comp gave me. We have an investigator that the missionaries have been teaching for 4 months cause he doesn’t want to leave his old church but knows every thing is true, which is way to long, and i was a little frustrated with him so we went to the lesson and i went with the intent to lay the cane down and help him understand lets say and basically i destroyed his church with the bible ( i did it with out saying his church or referring to it but shared what the church of Christ needs to have) and did it to make him doubt in his church so he will accept the spirit that is feeling and change religions.... about the end of the lesson i knew the spirit wasn’t there (he was doubting though) but my comp jump in at a pause and basically gave his testimony with out scriptures or doctrine about the Book of Mormon and how important this message is in our lives and the spirit was very strong. It really helped. I understand and know that we can share doctrine and knowledge but if they don’t have the spirit they will never follow this message. It was a mistake on my part and i have even warned him before hand but really the two most powerful tools that any missionary has is the spirit and the Book of Mormon and that is it!!!! With these two things you can change the life of someone. I really love my comp Elder Heiner. We have defiantly learned from each other. He has a strong testimony, and it grows every day. i know that if we follow the rules together that the lord will bless us with a baptism here and as his trainer i put a lot of pressure on myself if we don’t have that success. I know it’s hard for a beginning missionary with them just getting started. I feel like I’m changing a lot this change, like i feel more responsible. (Mom i made my bed and mopped) but really I’m learning a lot every day. This area is amazing in spite of the difficulties. The members feed us well. (The same old chicken, noodles, manioka, or fried flour) but its always good and they are very nice. It’s finally warming up dad but ya it was freezing at the beginning of the week. I’ll take some pictures this week. I love you all, and am thankful for your support. The church is true. I read a talk from Elder Holland on the Book of Mormon that was really powerful. He said a line something like ¨this book has been attacked for 180 year and held its own, no one has been able to prove it wrong and nobody in this last dispensation can really come to know Christ and this blessed work without having a firm testimony in this book.... no evil man could ever write this... and no good man would write it, if it were not true¨ 



elder shaw

August 1, 2011

Hola familia,

Wow sounds like a lot is happened back there in the house. But even more has happened here! This last week was hectic. First i would like to say that i bet Aunt Michelle is very happy about the changes in the stake. And i envy your heat. If i have to suffer another rainy night walking i know for a fact i will develop that lung disease from cold that i have no idea how to spell. Mother you don’t have to worry about my health in my new area. I eat at the members house every day now. (Love the memebers) Sounds like you are all doing great. Don’t forget to not forget me in your parties when the family gets together.... I don’t know if that worked. Hey what’s the address of the mtc? I want to write Jordan in Spanish. ha?! Maybe a little Gaurani. (I’m getting pretty good. My goal is by the end of this change to be able to teach the first lesson in gaurani)
So first off last week about Tuesday morning i got a call from presidente and he told me that a elder that trained this last trained is becoming a zone leader and his new missionary is only half way through his training so he called me and ask me to take over his training. So this change i am training a missionary that is from Melba Idaho like 40 minutes from our house. His name is elder Heiner! He has 6 weeks in the mission. He is really cool and has a funny white gangster lingo (it might be cool when he left or i might have become dumb) but i have learned a lot of English from him already. It is really fun to train. Your English gets better and it really tests my vocabulario of Spanish. I left cuidad del este and came about 3 hours towards Asunsion to a place called Caaguasu (i gaurentee you don’t pronounce that right it cowuasoo, gaurani) to rama 4. I cannot tell you how amazing the members are here. They are amazing and love to work with the missionaries. They like the leave with us to work and give us references. This last Sunday, without asking, a familia brought another familia to church and we met them there. We are teaching them right now. Also there is a man in the ward here that speaks Chinese, English, Spanish, Garuani, and Japanese perfectly. He always makes fun of the members in English and is hilarious. I love this place. Every body is really nice. We don’t have many people to teach right now cause the comp of my kid right now wasn’t fantastic so they didn’t do much and now I’m making him follow the rules ha! But we will start this next week looking for people to teach. There is one man that knows everything is true but has trouble going to church cause he is paralyzed from the neck down and i believe he will get baptized soon. His name is Evelio. My comps Spanish is.... well he is new. He knows a lot of words but can’t conge gate very well. We are trying to speak only Spanish in the streets (that’s’ hard for me cause i prayed to get a white person for my comp cause i get along with them better and so now i have one and i want to speak English) but i understand he needs it. I don’t have a good story with investigators this week but next time i will. We are going to find a lot of people to teach. I love you all and i can’t stress the importance of the gospel. Nephi 13 put the gospel fist and everything will go well. Dad is a perfect example of the familia with his calling. Read and pray always. I’m learning a lot of responsibility right now in my situation... I’m really exited to work with Elder Hiener. Try and find his familia. 
I love you and thanks for the letters.


Elder Shaw

July 29, 2011--sorry its late--

What’s up familia!


Wow alot has happened. That’s cool that efr is still growing! Hey i remember the Las Vegas tourney was so fun. What team did Braiden play on? Let me know how the farwells go for Jordan and Michael. Who leaves first? When? Thanks for the package. I asked tiffany to put one more thing in before you send it! So on Mondays we figure out the changes but only who goes and who stays and tomorrow at the meeting of district we figure out were and with who. We got the call this morning and.... my comp and me are both leaving the area and they are joining two areas together so the other elders with have our investigators. I can’t decided how i feel cause i have really really grown to love my converts here. I promised wilfrido that i would come back to Paraguay to go to the mundial together.. (i thinks that’s the world cup in ingles) and i really am going to try. I have so much love for them. They are amazing. One thing i am learning right now is the charity or love for others. As for the events of this week. with the couple that was going to get baptized we talk to them about the law of chastity and at first he said no way am i getting married and then we taught them and it was amazing how much work the spirit did for us. They were crying and we did examples and scriptures and they said they would get married and baptized the 13 of Agusto. We found out their daughter has 8 years so she can get baptized to. The bad side is that they didn’t come to church. We don’t’ know why but they will get baptized I’m sure of it. Also this week we had a very funny contact it was drunk outside at night. We were walking and contacted this guy that was walking back to his house. We talked to him and he said he really wanted someone to help him stop drinking and help my family be more united. Well he had a beer bottle in his hand and I asked him if he really wanted to and he said yes. So I told him to throw his beer bottle, and i pointed at the ground a ways away. He looked at me and then i told him again and he smiled and hucked it as hard as he could at the wall of a house and it shattered and then laughed and we told him we would pass by his house later. It was really funny. Also a scripture that you should read is all of 2 Nephi 9 it is my favorite and gives me animation (it works in Spanish).
Sorry this letter is really jumpy but i love you and am thankful for the letters!!!!!


elder shaw