June 20, 2011

Familia,

Alright so I’ve got 3 seconds to wrote a letter this week cause I am in Assunicion and we just went through the temple and I am trying to do this before we take off back to cuidad del este. I have some good news..... and... some more great news! This week was awesome. First thing is that I got a new companion and was made senior companion this change. He has a bout 2 months in Paraguay but he is Latino so it’s not like he talks horribly! Secondly, this last Saturday we married and baptized 2 more familias. You probably got a notice that I took out about 200 dollars from my account but i had to cause the investigators couldn’t pay for all the marriage! Their names are wilfrido and mariela!!!!! I love them. They are perfect. They have left to preach with us 3 teaches already and are getting investigators for us. They are perfect. I’ve gotta go.
love you
elder shaw

(Don't you just love his grammar? I will sign him up for an English class his first semester.:)

June 13,2011

mbae te copio familiakuera

What a week for the good for the bad and for stinking crazy! First off to address what’s going on there, Congratulations Nicole with the baby being a boy! You should name it Mymbysantiagope (my name in Guarani). And ya surely I am not fat but I have to suck in to look as great as I did before! Thanks for the letters. This week was crazy. First off we received transfers a little early to let us know if we need to buy a little or a lot of food today. And the changes are.... my little short Ecuadorian buddy is leaving and I am staying in this area I still don’t know who my companion is but I will find out tomorrow morning. I am super happy to be staying I would have given my left arm to stay here. I love this area.

I guess will start by talking about the beginning of last week, Monday we had 5 baptisms planned for Saturday, 2 families and a brother of a member, now that familia that I told you about they are named Diego and Erica. So we were visiting them everyday answering question and helping them prepare for their baptisms on Saturday, then Thursday it all crashed!!!! We had a great lesson but when we were about to leave the mother of the family came out screaming in Guarani! Yelling your not getting baptized, I love you, the strangers are fooling you, and a lot of other stuff i didn’t understand very well. It was really bad, and then she stopped talking and my companion just to ease the pressure and to help us get out of the home said, “alright so we are going to come by at another time that may be better.” And the mom flipped and was screaming that it was her house you are never coming back and then she ran at me and hit me in the back of the head a couple times with her palm and pushed us down. And then the brother in law came out (they live there with the mom and another couple) and tried to punch Diego. Then the wives started to yell and pull the brother in law off of Diego. All in all a long story and we aren’t allowed back in that house, and my head really hurt. It was crazy, my companion got shoved to the floor and I got hit a couple times, but there is good news. The next day was Diego birthday and we called him and said happy birthday and then he told us he is moving out of that house so he can continue with our church lessons with his wife. Then he said he couldn’t get baptized on Saturday with everything that happened. So they didn’t get baptized but they will in the near future. He is the most intelligent investigator. He has a really strong testimony and will be a leader in the church one day. He didn’t come church and his phone doesn’t work and we aren’t allowed at his house so we praying to figure this one out. Really it’s amazing what someone will do for the truth. When people find the truth and they know they have found the truth they will to do anything. Really Mormon’s are fanatics! I am a fanatic!!! I want to think that I would do what some of my investigators do for the truth!! Now for the great side to this week! I was a wedding planner this week. We baptized a couple this last Saturday! Dia and Lidia got married at 6:30 and then baptized at 7:30! I will put photos on, it was so cool! They are awesome, Lidia walked up to me Sunday after their confirmation and said, “who do I give my money to for tithing!!!!” That was the coolest feeling ever!! She is 17 years old and he is 19, they have a kid together that is one year old so we had to get permission from the parents to get married but they were so happy. The people here are so much more mature earlier then in the states! Really I am so happy they got baptized! If everything goes well we should have another baptism this week. She pretty much gave her testimony at the baptism and it was so strong, really the spirit is amazing it can do miracles! I know that when we are worthy that we will see the blessings. The church is true no doubt. I am learning a lot about the scriptures lately, elder Arias taught me how to really study. Braiden read your scriptures and study

I don’t have all the time to write every thing that happened cause a lot happened this week. We want to find Diego during our lunch break at his work but I love you familia and thank for your letters!

Elder Shaw

6/5/11

Familia!!!!! whats up

Okay so this last week was crazy great, but first wow, life is flying by. It sounds like everything at home is flying by also, school is already out! Man Braiden is a junior already and Caleb in 8th, true? The academies are so much fun and so good. You really see the true side of people there. I’m glad to hear that everybody is doing good. You have to enjoy them Braiden. They are great. I don’t know what happened to my packages. I think they are holding them hostage or something in the office cause I haven’t received any and I know yours and Nicole’s should be here by now. We will see, cause changes are next week. Please tell uncle K.C. thank you that would be so helpful I really want to learn Guarani. This last change I have really learned to not care about what’s happening in the world Babylon. I love it here now. I don’t’ want to leave, minus music. I still struggle with that and catch myself singing and listening the music in the street cause they play mostly English music here. I bet Jordan is going crazy. Man by the time he gets to Paraguay I will almost have a year. How’s his Spanish?

I loved this week!!!!!! Familia I really think that soon we will see the fruits to our labors. Lately we have had a lot of success and had 3 familias in church yesterday and we have 12 with fecha for baptism. I’m so excited! We just found out yesterday that my favorite investigators lidia y dianicio that the mom of lidia is coming in town today so they can get married!!!!!! This week we are going to have a marriage and a baptism, and when we passed by last night to talk with them they were reading the Book of Mormon together and had a picture of Jesus hanging up in there room. They live in a one room wood house with a kid and no water or toilet. I love them I always laugh with them. I really hope that the mom doesn’t screw things up! Also there is another couple that we are teaching right now that is called diego y erica, and he is the smartest investigator that exists in Paraguay. He has taught me so much of the evangelio of Christ. He knows the bible so well and is really studying and working to gain testimony. He says it is coming slowly. I think he is just having troubles recognizing the impression of the spirit. He has money like a car, house, and a moto. This moto is huge and nice! We when to his house and I told him I liked his bike and he got off and said take it for a ride it’s yours. It was such a temptation. I so badly wanted to drive it. I love motorcycles! We teach him deep doctrine cause he knows everything that we teach a normal Paraguayan, like baptism for the dead, the origination of the priesthood, and the fall of Adam and Eve. I am learning so much of the doctrine of Christ. I feel like I never knew the gospel before in my life. There is so much to study. Really it is such a great feeling to see the lives of people change. It is a happiness you can’t beat. Watching people gain a testimony of the truth is amazing. I would really give anything to stay in this area again. I don’t want to leave at all but I think that I am going to leave this change and that my companion is going to stay and die from his mission here. I hope not. I’m about to write president and beg him to let me stay ha. But one story is that this last Sunday at church we talked about the priesthood and there was an investigator, not ours, that came and he called the church sexist cause women can’t have the priesthood and started arguing with everybody and it was bad. The other investigators were really annoyed and there was tension but then testimony meeting was really good. The people here are not afraid to give their testimony like they are in the states. Oh ya I am having a little trouble with my back, I don’t know what happened but it flared up and I cant bend over and I sit down like a girl, but I walk fine. We will see what happens. I’m really learning a lot right now with elder Arias. He is very intelligent and he knows how to explain very well, a great teacher, but, we are starting to get on each others nerves.... in a loving way of course! Oh and they changed p-day. It is always on Monday no matter what so I will write next week again.

I love you and thanks for writing, remember to read your scriptures, pray, and party hard. The church is true, Christ has put his church on the earth one last time and we have the opportunity to be apart of this dispensation. What’s also a little weird is I think the Paraguayans are rubbing of on me, everybody thinks the world is going to end in a couple years, and as a missionary you teach and learn of the second coming and I swear it’s close.

I love you

Elder Shaw

JUne 1, 2011

Dear Familia!!!!

Wow lots of great letters! I loved reading your letters. It was really fun! Sounds like a lot of good stuff is going on. Falicidades Tyler with the job!!!! That’s awesome. I hitched a ride on a garbage truck the other day. And wow dad keep up the good work with keeping the hair on your head and keeping that hope that one day every thing will be restored to its PROPER STATE. One day ha. But I’ll answer some of your questions first.

Tiffany; I’m about 6 hours from a temple and haven’t been in 6 months... it killing me!! But we are going the 16 of June, I believe. As for the basketball, I’m sorry family I have lost the desire, all I wanna do is play futbol. We got everybody to play basketball a while back and it just wasn’t all that it used to be. I have lost the passion to play. Futbol is more fun and funnier for the white people. Nicole, advice for help on potty training; you took my first suggestion of fasting, so I will give you another.. ponder and meditate at the temple!

Dad, stress the importance of the Book of Mormon with every fiber you have. I have never learned so much in my in tire life of the gospel than this last week from the bible and Book of Mormon. The bible is the word of God and the entire gospel can be found in it but it is so very vague and difficult to understand. It has been revised and touch by wicked hands, and we don’t understand the prophecies of Jews like they did (2 nefi 25:1:7-8), but for now in day, this book will be the book of importance for all of us. (i don’t think that sentences is very good). The Book of Mormon is the corner stone of our religion. 2 Nefi 29:6-8 proves that God talks to all his children not just in one part of the world. This book is true. It’s nice to have the knowledge of the bible but everybody has the bible only the church of God has 2 testaments. Testament means covenants in Hebrew. The Book of Mormon is a covenant. (I think it’s important) That’s my knowledge for the week. My week was great and quite a learning experience.

First off Angel Fermine passed his baptismal interview and got baptized the last Saturday!! I love that kid. I forgot my camera so I’ll send pictures another time. We didn’t have keys to the font, so they had to climb off the glass wall and jump into the font and then climb out ha, but it was so great! He seemed so innocent afterwards. (Like wow, what just happened.) He is a great young man. He gets confirmed this next week cause it was stake conference yesterday. An area of the 70 came to talk to every one. It was great. He talked on the family but not one of our investigators came. We had two planned to be baptized this Saturday but no body came so we will see what happens. This week also was zone conference and it was the most amazing spiritual shin dig ever! Presidente Callan is an inspired man. Every body was crying. We watched a video of Jeffery r Holland, and I think it’s called: “Do you love me more then these”. It was a talk he gave at the mtc this last January and will you tell chelsea jordan courtney micheal labrador dallan and braydon all to watch it please. It’s an hour long but worth it. (Hey dad you could use bits of this talk but you gotta watch it its great)

Oh ya and I don’t know how but one of the members got a hold of real maple syrup and gave us some..... it was amazing!!!! Blew my mind. The office didn’t bring any of the packages so i don’t know when I’m going to get them but I know they are in the office. If you have time chapter 32 de Alma is really good. The whole chapter every verse can be formed to fit a different aspect of life.

Well I gotta go but I love you all

Elder Shaw