Always speedy fast!

Time is flying in every aspect! This week flew by! I feel like I just was here sitting at the computer writing you guys! My mission is flying by as well cuz I am almost down to 7 months left! Isn't that crazy?? Also, transfers are in 1 week and that's the craziest thing. I feel like I just got put with Hermana Argueta! And now I might have to leave with 3 baptisms planned for the week after I leave...sad right? but maybe Ill stay! I hope that this week was great for you guys and that you all enjoyed the 4th. I have to tell you that it was quite sad to be out of the country on Independence day where nobody knows how awesome the day should be! But luckily the Bishops wife is awesome and called me and said, Happy 4th of July! Even in English!! :) It made me happy. Shes ( and her family) are awesome and way funny. Bishop is a talk show radio host for sports and sleeps all during the meetings! haha its quite funny!

This week was a rough one with the work. WE just could seem to find many lessons. The people here with the cold just don't know how to handle it and lock themselves up with all the clothes they have put on their bodies and their trusty crocs! :) So nobody like to open doors and only come to the window to tell you to come back another day when its not so cold....well that'll be in like September so....haha they're funny. But even though this week was rough we got through and we able to see our efforts pull through with 3 people in church! :) So all in all, it was rough, but worth it! 

 

We were able to do service for a family that their house in beneath water, (like most of the houses) As you can see everything is built with super thin wood and nails...not too sturdy but its all they have and it was fun!!

 This week was also filled with doctors and hospitals. My knee problem came back worse and now I have this super weird spot on my hand thats growing and hurts..Ill see what it is tomorrow.haha ohhhh Paraguay! :) The doctor said that with my knee its the same thing but my knee is rebellious and doesn't want to heal so I have to do MORE physical therapy and take more medicine....man.

We were able to have 2 activities this week with the YM and YW this week and they loved it! For one I made this cake(see pic) and they all loved it! :) It has kit-kats on tops!! :) SOO yummy! 

I taught Mirian and Eduardo how to make Gorilla Poops and they loved them! They were amazed about the no bake part and now want to make them and sell them! haha :) They're the best! I will for sure miss them!

 

I love you guys tons and hope that this next week is an awesome one!! Always look for the blessings in every part of your lives. :)

 

Love

Hermana McIntyre

A wet, cold, rainy, soggy but good week!

Sometimes I don't know why I'm so happy...haha I mean. I'm tired all the time and especially this week we were wet every day and I get up so early but still, every day, I'm happy! :) I know its because I'm doing the work of the Lord.

Well as the title shows, this week was a wet one! It started raining on Tuesday and didn't stop until Saturday! It was the pits especially for Missionary work. NO ONE leaves their house when its cold and especially when its cold and rainy. So we didn't have too many lessons but we still saw miracles! WE started teaching one of Mirian's daughters! Fatima is her name and she is 18. Shes super fun and funny. But she is way interested in learning and getting baptized, We ended up staying a long time in their house this week because we had no where else to go! I taught Fatima how to do pushups and sit ups! haha it was fun. But then she came to church with her mom and Eduardo and Dahiana (her sister who we've taught before) came as well! She was saying that she doesn't want to get baptized and stuff like that but after church she came up to me and told me that she wanted to be baptized!!!! SO well see what happens with that! Fatima is planned for the 19th of July and Dahiana's the 12th! 

We also taught a sister of a member and shes SUPER quiet but every time we visit shes more and more open with us! She also came to church and really liked it! :) 3 people in church even after a real slow week!!

One embarrassing thing that happened this week with the rain is that we were walking in the street and had to cross. But the fact that there was a HUGE river in the street was makin it a liiil harder for us. So I decided that I would use my ditch jumping skills and jump right over that river. So I was gettin all ready, hiked my skirt up, stepped back to get a good running start and then...I saw that there was a guy on the other side of the street on his porch....that had been there the whole time..yeah, I walked away with my head hung down in shame...hahaha but it was sure funny! 

Well a big problem with rain here is that it dominates the houses! As you can see on the picture our room. Humidity is making our walls black...its real cute! But the owner of the house said that shes gonna have someone come in and paint it! And we woke up this morning to the paint on our ceiling falling down..haha oh the problems we face as missionaries in Paraguay. :)

I found a quote today from the talk that President Monson gave in this past conference! It says that that saddest words that can ever be said are it could have been. So my word to the wise this week is to do everything in your lives so that you wont ever have to say that phrase! I love you guys tons!! Have an awesome week!

Love,

Hermana McIntyre

P.S. the other pic is of all the food that we were given in 2 hours one day! yeah...haha

Another week gone by!

Hey!! How was your weeks? I hope you all made the best of what Heavenly Father through at you. I know that He does everything with love and perfect knowing. I learned yesterday in Relief Society on a lesson about faith, that when we feel comfortable with life, we better be looking out because something is headed our way. We are on this earth to grow and so if we feel comfortable we aren't able to grow. Growing is good! :) And end.

 

So this week was a super normal one for me...nothing really too exciting to share. haha sorry! Ill be sure to do somethin crazy this next week to make sure my next letter is a funnier one! But we just worked and taught and had a normal missionary week. :) Emily told me last week that I should tell you guys more about the lessons we have so here goes it:

 

Ivana is our investigator that is progressing a ton!! She recognizes that this church is something different and good and its where she wants her daughter to be! She reads that Book of Mormon a TON and says that it helps her be happy! :) She came to church this Sunday and loved it. Her baptismal date is for the 5th of July! (one day after the 4th, Happy 4th of July!!) But yeah, shes great!

 

Then there's Doroteo! haha he about 65 years old and wants to get baptized and can at any moment the only problem is is that he likes to drink with his friends...yeah 65 years old..haha but if everything goes as planned he should also get baptized on the 5th.

 

We had divisions this week with the sister leaders and it was super fun!! I learned that I need to be more direct with the people and just straight up tell them that if they don't get baptized in the church of Jesus Christ, they wont be able to live with God. And that's that! We also went to the ward in her area and they were having a party for San Juan and I ate cow head!!!!! It was so yummy!! But I made sure that they didn't tell me what it was until AFTER I ate it! haha

 

The world cup really makes it rough for Missionaries is South America....cuz EVERYONE watches it and EVERYONE drinks while doing it or don't want to come to their door....yeah. haha soccer. Its big.

 

Its already the middle of transfers! Isn't that nuts? Time is going by soo fast!! Hermana Argueta is great! One pic shows me makes tortillas how she taught me! yeah! Im a cookin fool! The other pic is of my hair one morning....nuts! haha I have no clue what happened. You just sleep so hard in the mission! 

 

I love you guys tons and hope that you have awesome weeks! And always remember that I love and miss you all! Chau!

 

Con Amor

Hermana McIntyre

 

Hola!!!

Hey!! Hows everyone in Idaho doing? Is the weather warmin up cuz here its getting colder and colder and the houses here don't have insulation or heating. Fun right? haha only once will I have the chance to live like this so I'm enjoying it while I can! I hope you are all doing SOO well! For the people here in Paraguay its going especially here in Sajonia.. One, the river is flooding and some houses are completely under water! Tons of people don't have a place to live and many animals are dieing cuz they were left in the houses. Its super sad and they sad that its most likely that the flooding will keep growing until August and then it should start to go down! I wish I could help them all but I cant. But we carry the most important message as missionaries and that's how we are helping these people. Also yesterday was rough. We had a feeling that we needed to visit a less active family. So we went to their house and found the wife in tears with their only daughter. The dad had left them in the morning. On fathers day. The daughter had already bought her dad a gift and he left before she even got up. It was so hard and I didn't even know what to say. We read the scriptures with her and I gave her a huge hug. I went to bed that night so sad for everything that is happening here. But I know that with Heavenly Fathers help I can help lift them all up.

But some good news! Nilda, the mom of the kids, finally got baptized BUT not confirmed.....her dad called in the night with a health emergency of her mom and had to go to her house..ugh. a liiiiil stressful but we talked to her that night and she felt super bad. Next week I guess!

My comp is awesome! She is way cool and cooks yummy guatamanteca food! :) She didn't talk much at first but knows shes really opened up! :) We get along very well and she loves to clean as well so we are in heaven here! haha And shes a beast of a missionary! She only has 6 months in the mission so I feel old being with here! woah.

The temple was awesome!! I loved going and enjoying the peacefulness that's always inside! Then we climbed up to the roof and took picks and I got that nice bruise that's in the pic! Awesome right?? haha 

I hope you all have an awesome week and always remember that I love you tons!!!!! Stay strong always! Jacob 3:2-3 or 1-2 I don't remember! Love you guys!

Hermana McIntyre

Lots of Changes!

Well transfers were these week. I'm still hangin out here in Sajonia but I'm with another comp. It was sad to leave Hermana Kekoolani cuz we had a blast together and got  along so well but my new comp is pretty awesome as well. I am so blessed with my comp so far. Her name is Hermana Argueta. Shes from Guatemala! She is helping me out a ton with my Spanish. The members are already telling me that my Spanish is much better and that I'm losing weight with her! hah she doesn't eat much..But she doesn't talk hardly at all and that's kinda hard but I just ask her LOTS of questions to try to get her to talk! haha its a struggle but that's the worst of it. Besides that shes awesome! She is an awesome missionary and I'm excited to see what we will accomplish together!

 

We got a reference from some members in another ward about a girl that lives in our area and she is so awesome! We taught her 2 times this week and then she came to church yesterday! She seemed super interested! :) She is super prepared and I cant weight to keep working with her! Nilda is preparing for her baptism this Saturday and is very excited! She had to go out of town for her work this last weekend so we moved her baptism to this week and she is VERY prepared!! We went over the interview questions yesterday and she knows everything and is reading the BoM a lot! I cant wait for her to be able to be baptized after waiting for a long time! 

 

Not too much exciting or huge happened this week but it was a good one! My toe is healing like a champ and it still doesn't hurt at all. Just looks a lil funny cuz I only have half a nail...haha today we are going to the temple to clean it again!! I am so blessed and have been able to clean the temple 3 times now and some people have never been able to clean it once! Heavenly Father knows how much I love the temple I guess! :) And then on Tuesday we have a huge conference with 4 of the zones from 7:30 to 2:30...but its gonna be great!

 

I love you all and hope you enjoy the pic of my district in our last meeting before transfers! Have an amazing week and don't forget how much I love you!!

 

Con Amor

Hermana McIntyre

Ingrown Toenails!

So this week was an interesting one! haha we didn't get much done with the missionary work but I have good excuses! First as you can see by the pics...I got a really bad ingrown toe nail that was hurting me super bad so I was sent to get it taken out! But luckily the doctor was American so it was pretty safe but now I just half a toenail! cute right?? haha but it surprisingly didn't hurt at all! I was up and walking up and down the hills here with close toed shoes after 2 days of rest doin nothing in the house...that was the worst! Who knew that in the mission bein stuck in the house is super painful!! cuz it is! And the other reason is that it was stake conference this week and so Saturday was cut in half cuz we went to the adults session. I LOVE conference! and this Gospel! :) WE had Nilda in the conference with us. (shes the mom of the two little boys that got baptized!) and if everything goes well she should get baptized this weekend! :) The work is really pickin up here is Sajonia! :)

Transfers are this week and I'm sad to have to leave Hermana Kekoolani cuz its more likely that its her time to go...but I know that I will learn a ton from my next comp! So next week you will all know that outcome! :)

Last Monday we were able to go to a HUGE farmers market!! Its sooo fun and I loved every minute of it! We went with the other elders and Mirian and Eduardo! (one of the elders is going home this week to Utah!) But it was super fun and I got some fun Paraguayin stuff!:) 

We also bought TGI Fridays this week and it was so yummy! Man do I miss american food! Especially sour cream. They dont have that here. But it was soo expesive. It turned out to be 149.000 guaranies! SUPER expensive but worth it! 

Funny story: This week as we were waiting for a bus to go to my doctors appointment, I saw a little boy walking in the sidewalk. I made a weird face at him cuz he was starin at me. He then pulled his beanie over his head, turned around and started walking back to hit mom blindfolded and ran right into a tree!!!! hahaha I tried so hard not to laugh but I just couldn't help it! It was super funny! Poor kid!

I love you guys tons and hope that you enjoy the pics! :) haha have an awesome week and always remember that someone is Paraguay misses and loves you all lots! 

Con Amor

Hermana McIntyre

D&C 45:3-5

The best week ever!! Minus the cold...

The bride & groom!

Marian right before her baptism!!

Bernardo & Thiago before their baptism!!

At the Stake Baptism; all the new members with the missionaries that baptized them!

Man was this week awesome!! 

 

So first with the wedding. I was so stinkin stressed out! First what happened was that right after I wrote you guys Mirian called us and said that the wedding was off cuz they didn't have enough money and that she couldn't find a dress. I was freakin out but was not gonna let Satan get away with it! So we went to their house that night and solutioned everything out. So from then on everything went really well besides that her daughter didn't want to get baptized in the end. But the wedding was so pretty and the ward helped so much! And her baptism was SO awesome! She was so excited to get baptized after having to wait for 2 months. They asked to do a special number. I sang I know that my Redeemer lives and it went really well. :) She was so prepared from the beginning! And now that she is confirmed and is able to participate in the sacrament she shines. She and her now husband Eduardo are so happy!

 

Then the big news! So we found a family with 4 kids and a mom. Only 2 of the kids are above 8 and able to get baptized. Bernardo and Thiago. We found them about 2 weeks ago and they got baptized as well this weekend!!! We had a stake activity where everyone who was getting baptized this last Saturday all went to the stake center and everyone got baptized together!! it was so awesome!! Then afterwards there was a talent show! It was such an amazing and fun night!! :) Bernardo and Thiago were so excited to get baptized! Bernard even fell into the font after coming back up! haha it was super funny!! This week was just so awesome! And full of blessings!

 

It is SOOO cold here right now!! Man. These houses are not built for this kinda weather! I sleep with 2 of everything and im still cold! But the sun is finally out today so that's an answer to prayers!!

A funny and gross thing that happened was that one morning we woke up to cat poop in our house....yeah. A cat got in through the door, looked through the trash and then did his thing on out floor! It was nasty but super funny! Good thing Hermana Kekoolani is so nice and cleaned it up! haha
 

Well that's what I got for this week! I know that Heavenly Father answers prayers and knows our circumstances! I love you all tons! Have an amazing week!!

 

Love

Hermana McIntyre