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!