The Office - Week 12

Hello. Sorry to write a little later today. We spent the morning playing soccer in the sun. haha. It was a disaster. The soccer was super fun, but the sun and humidity was out of control. Had a blast though. That´s one of the fun things about office life. There are always 4-6 of us up for a fun activity. And then afterwards, we obviously had to go and get some eats (Chinese. Again), and then watched a video about that ¨Reflections of Christ¨ photo shoot thing that those guys did. The ones that came around and had it all set up at the stake centers a couple months before I left. Good stuff.  Just a random thought to go along with that. I can get basic church pictures here at the distribution center, but to get things small or anything creative like this guys photos is really hard to do. Anyways, my office is kinda plain, and even though there isn´t tons of space for more stuff or pictures, it´d be cool if you could just throw in a couple random pictures you like and send them to me, and I´ll decorate my office with them. If its not a hassle. The fun homemade ones I hang at the house, and the pretty church ones I try and put in my office. But anyways, now there is time to do whats most important - the weekly update. This week was actually really good. It felt like it went by twice as fast as last week, and so that was kinda nice, since the reason it went faster was just based on how tranquilo it was. Nothing tooooo crasy went down in the office, though we did have a fair share of memorable experiences good for sharing.
I think that one of the reasons that the week went so well was based on how well it started. Sunday we showed up and there were already more people than usual at the church. We ended up having the highest attendance since I´ve been here. Why? Because it was Primary Presentation week. Sick. I didn´t think that I´d ever be seeing one of those here in Paraguay. Usually things are too disorganized, and there aren´t enough kids or leaders or whatever. But this was different. It was almost EXACTLY how I remember it at home. It just gave me one big smile for the majority of sacrament meeting. Which was nice. Last week, after having to deal with some rowdy kids while we were trying to teach a lesson got me remembering how thankful I was to be able to work with adults all day, and not having to deal with kids. lol. Terrible of me, I know. Anyways, the presentation reminded me about how great kids really are, and how humble and innocent they can really be. My comp had to remind me that kids are typically like their parents, and so I shouldn´t have to worry too much about not liking my own kids one day when I´m a father. hahaha. Kids are great. So that made my day Sunday, and set a good stage for the rest of the week.
Monday was funny. We had to take an Elder home. He was going home early. Honorably. So that he could get married. haha. It was wierd. Apparently they were already planning on it before they both went on missions, and now they just wanted to hurry it up and get it done before the next semester of school started or something. I was kinda skeptical, but it turns out that he´s a pretty cool and down to earth kid. Hopefully it all works out for him. It was kinda weird being around somebody that close to getting married though. As missionaries, you usually are all separated from all that kinda crasy stuff going down until after you get home. haha. Hopefully he made it home okay though, because there is apparently new flying rules about going through Brazil, and if the nice lady at the airport hadn´t gotten it all fixed, his bags never would have made it home. Now... hopefully they will. haha. Maybe if you´re ever working on planning flights here or back, if possible, it might be easier to just take the route through Buenas Aires as opposed to Sao Paulo. But whatever works best. Everybody wants to see Brazil. lol.
Tuesday was a little crasy, but manageable. I had to do a bunch of work ahead of time because I was supposed to miss a day of work in the office to go on a division. And there were TONS of reimbursements to do. But, miraculously I got them all done without too much hassle. While out working I tried to take my comp to visit a member that I hadn´t been to since one of my first weeks here. We got lost. How embarrassing. lol. But it was cool anyways, because we were able to meet some new people that we would have never come in contact with if we had just been rushing to a house that we actually knew where it was. Thats always nice. Even when your plans fall through, there are always people to meet, and people who have yet to hear the gospel of Jesus Christ. We did get to visit one person that was really interesting though. We´ve talked to her before, but she hasn´t been able to talk with us lately because shes been really busy working, and taking care of her mother who is soon to pass away. She´s really stressed out, and though she would love to hear more and keep learning, there just doesnt seem to be the time. Anyways, we talked a lot about trials, and were able to help her to see how the Book of Mormon can really help us with our everyday trials. Even though it couldn´t specifically say ¨The Lord is going to help you carry the burden of taking care of your sick mother and keeping up at work¨, it could teach her about how people in past times have overcome trials, and how we can get the help of the Lord in our trials, by turning to him. Its always great to be able to see the scriptures really come to life for people that at first just see them as a big boring history book, and not something that really applies to them in their present lives.
Wednesday. The biggest thing that I remember was the Hermanas announcement about a little get together that we´d be doing the next day due to it being American Thanksgiving day. I at first just brushed it off and told her I was sorry, that I would be on a division, and that the other Elder would have to enjoy it in my place. But something that I´ve learned here in the office - when the Hermana tells you to do something, you do it. No questions. You will lose the argument. haha. So, under her ¨demand¨, we postponed it for the next week. Wow. Im sure glad that I did.
Thursday. One of the crasiest days of my mission. It was. Legit. (for lack of a better word). Fantastic maybe would fit it better. There was very little office work that actually done. Most of the day went to either getting ready for our Thanksgiving lunch, enjoying it, or recovering from it. It was ridiculously awesome, and a lot bigger of a deal than I thought it would be. A lot of people that help us out and work with and around us were all invited. The guy that takes care of the greenery, the cooks, the cleaners. Some other guy... lol. And we had a FEAST. There was more food there than I´ve seen in a long time. And not just regular food. There was TURKEY. And stuffing. Mashed potatoes. Gravy. Beets. Homemade buns. It was unreal. Ranch dressing even! Wow. All of the things I didnt think that I´d be seeing for a long time. I´d say that the crasiest part of it for me was that first bite of Turkey, gravy and potatoes at the same time. Wow. It tasted like home. haha. Things that I used to take for granted. We honestly ate until we couldn´t eat anymore. There was also a huge array of deserts. The crasiest being the pumpkin pie. I almost died. We ate until it was hard to walk, I thought I might blow chunks at any second, and my shirt was actually tight across my stomach. It was ridiculous. I don´t think I´ve ever eaten that much, nor will I ever do it again. We were in heaven, even though I almost exploded. I imagine that it´ll be messy when I get home again. I´ll be the biggest pig of the family get togethers. haha. The other crasy thing being that this is all just in preparation for Christmas. Man, will that be a sight. Anyways, I shouldn´t just ramble about the food. It was actually really nice to just take some time, enjoy our time with one another and remember all of the things we´re thankful for. Good stuff. Obviously it wasn´t like really Canadian Thanksgiving or anything, but it was pretty out of this world.
Funny story. The van window got smashed by some robbers. Not that funny I guess, but more how it went down was kinda funny. They broke into the car. The door was unlocked, but they went through the passengers window. Now we need a new one. They also must have had to stop the robbery early, because all they took was everybodies books. Thankfully I was all safe at home with my books. But everybody else lost theirs. Weird thing being that they left the cell phones and the iPod sitting on the dash. And, this wasn´t in some random back alley, but in front of Presidents house while the other guys stopped in for less than 20 minutes to drop something off. Weird. I still like to think of this being a pretty safe place. Just with some people that don´t think everything out all the way. lol
There is this annoying dog that always barks at us. I took a foot swing at it this week. Unfortunately I missed, but out of nowhere a random dog got mad about it and tried to bite Elder Thomson for no good reason. It didn´t really make any sense, but it did make for a pretty intense showdown. Fortunately we got away unhurt, or else I would have felt more bad for provoking the other dog. It made the members that saw the whole thing laugh though, so that was good... I guess. haha.
Yesterday we got to do service. That never happens. So that was fun. Cut down trees with machetes and saws. Good stuff. Also got some good prickling by the cactus that was there. Never really have had that happen before, so that was exciting. Turns out that you shouldn´t touch a cactus. It doesn´t make your hand feel very good.
Anyways, that was kinda my week. I gotta be running so we can go buy some food. But happy birthday to Cheyanne. Thanks to Chloe for the package! I got it the other day. I haven´t oppened it because I assumed its for Christmas, but if not, just let me know and I´ll be happy to open it right away. lol. I´m glad that you got my package. I thought it would take a lot longer to get there. Save it for Christmas! haha.  Best of wishes to the Courts. Hope they´re feeling better. Good luck with the braces. Still not sure if I´m man enough to want to worry about that when I get home.... lol. Anyways. Gotta run. The church is true. Thanks for all of the letters! Love ya lots and talk to ya next week!! Chau.
Elder Humphreys

The Office - Week 11

Me and Elder Thomson

We´re weird - Elder Gustafson, Me and Elder Thomson

Diego and Araceli

Howdy howdy. How was the week. Mine... a little bit of a disaster. But. Tranquilo. It wasn't really all that bad. Just a little annoying.
I guess since I haven't gotten a letter yet, I'll just give the run down on the week...
Last Pday was kind of a disaster to start it all off. After I wrote my letter we went to  go get our hair cut. The place we normally go was packed. So we wandered around and only could find one place with semi-reasonable prices. Then I got my haircut by somebody that doesn't really know how to cut guys hair. It was kinda scary. And it took FOREVER. We didn't get to buy food or anything because of it. Lame. But oh well. That just kinda started a week of problems though.
Sunday went good. Our super fancy dinner visit fell apart on us. That was kinda disappointing, but in the end it turned out well. We got to do another visit instead that went super good. Due to Book of Mormon shortages, we didn't actually have a copy to give the lady at the time, but the lesson went so well that Elder Thomson actually lent his leather bound triple to the lady until we could get her a give away copy. Intense. Usually you'd be scared to death to do that, not knowing if you'd get it back, but it was cool to see the desires she had to read, and how Elder Thomson was willing to sacrifice so that she could have a chance to read it.
Monday. We got up early and ran to the church to play soccer for our exercise time now that we got a soccer ball again. But that started day 1 of getting up early...Had another pretty good day though. Got to teach some interesting lessons. Found a pretty cool lady to teach. Met a less active member who has desires to go back to church and a part member family. Good stuff.
Tuesday was went things went south. I wasn't anticipating the effects that zone conference would have on an office elder. And I was unfortunately surprised. All the people came in from all of the outlying cities, and of course, they needed money. Ugh. All of a sudden there were lots of things to do here in the office. We didn't even have a chance to go out and work that night. Not fun. Oh well. Thats how it goes.
Wednesday. "Get" to get up early. Again. This time to take a sick Hermana to the airport. At 5 in the morning. And I didn't know where I was going so of course we got lost. But wait. It gets worse. I didn't know where I was going, and after taking some bad advice from my comp, and then deciding to follow a motorbike... we got into a sticky situation. There was this really ugly piece of street that we had to cross, where it was kind of just a V shaped piece of road, with rubble filled train tracks in the bottom. Anyways, long story short..... we got the van stuck. Or, I guess I shouldn´t try and blame my comp on that one - I got the van stuck. Que Vergüenza!!! Panic-y kind of moment right there. So after spinning our tires for a while, Elder Thomson was straight inspired to get out and put some rocks under the back tires so that we could get it out from being stuck between the railroad tracks. After a couple tries, we were able to get it unstuck. But it definitely wasn't because of us that we got it out. We had help on that one for sure. And we made it to the airport on time. Nice.  After that, another crasy zone conference day. But at least we got to leave on time and even give a blessing and teach a lesson or two. There were also 2 new missionaries that showed up that day because of a prior visa problem. So they had to stay over at our house the first night. That was fun. We got to do a visit with one of them. We took him to a super typical and super nice and awesome member family. It was fun. He was super confused about everything. Hes from Mexico, so he got the Spanish, but with all of the little Guarani words and stuff we got to have a little fun with him. haha. We're mean. I also got him to share a scripture with them without warning him ahead of time. But he handled it really well and I was impressed. I'd feel bad, but it was probably good for him. lol.

Thursday. Got up early. By this point all of the lack of sleep was getting to me a little. And I was a little sick. Oh well. Took some people to immigrations. I've now become the office chauffeur for these things because my companion still doesn't have his license. Good stuff. So I've been having fun getting to know my way around better. Its making me a crazy-ish driver though. lol. You have to be able to drive fast, and make well educated swerves/lane changes at any time if you want to survive out here in these streets. haha. There are some laws here, but nobody really knows them or cares to follow them (or enforce them for that matter). Makes for exciting driving. This not at all being related at all to my earlier incidence of car problems, which was based on poor sign-age, direction-age, and road quality, as opposed to crasy driving. Fun stuff. Got back (almost) in time for zone conference. Which happened to be really good. We got to go just the one day, and I thoroughly enjoyed it. Learned lots and hopefully will be able to apply everything into the way we work. Hopefully help this are to start seeing some real success. We also were lucky enough to be able to go out and work that evening. We got to do a reference receiving activity that worked really well. So now we have a good list of names to go visit, and hopefully we'll be able to meet some cool people.
Friday. Last day of conferences. Thank goodness. The only good thing about conference being that we got to eat the conference food for free everyday. And Elder Pattersons covert KNOWS how to cook. Sick. However, we got lucky again.... and got up early. To go to immigrations. Again. Oh well. The sad thing being that every morning we missed our study time. Which was sad because its somehing that you really come to love and appreciate here in the mission. But that makes us love it more now that we'll have time again. Hard to think that before I would sometimes go days or weeks without reading the scriptures. Now you just see that there is something missing if you can't be bothered to make a little time to read.
Also had a funny moment with President. He said that he got a letter from dad about future plans. The Hermana Madariaga then asked when I was going home. I let her know that I wouldn't be leaving till August. President said that it looks like he must be REALLY excited for me to be coming home. lol. But then the Hermana stopped and made an observation - Latin culture typically waits until the week before to realize that there are a million things that need to be done and then are living in a panic trying to plan for whatever it is, while north american culture does a good job of typically planning things WELL in advance. haha. It was just kind of funny because on one hand, we are kind of thinking WAY in advance, but at the same time, it makes sense and is probably a really good idea. I guess the funny part just being how blown away the hermana and president were about how far away it was, even though it totally makes sense.
Anyways. That was a general run down on the week. Sorry if it just looks like a big list of complaints. haha. It wasn't really all that bad. Just thought I'd say it how it was so that looking back in the future, I can remember all of the good times in the office. lol. But really, things are doing well here. We are doing our best. Working hard. Doing what we can to serve the people in our area, and also all of the rest of the missionaries with their many problems. Hopefully this week we can get more sleep and back on a normal schedule again. Shouldn't be AS hectic as this last week. Though we will have to go to the airport at least one more time. Ugh. lol. Oh well. Things are great. I love being a missionary! Hope your week has been great and that things continue to go well. Love you all tons! Keep up the good work, and thanks for all of the love and support! Have a good one!

Elder Humphreys

PS - Happy Birthday to Levi this week!! Speaking of which, the letters from the Edmonton gang showed up this week. They were sweet!! I thoroughly enjoyed all of them, and they put a smile on my face when I was trying not to fall asleep at my desk. haha. I'll be trying to write back to them as soon as I can. Maybe not this week since I'm tempted to just go take a nap in a second here, but I'll see what I can do. lol. If only there was a Hardy-quality couch here in the building, then I could get a real nap in just like the good old days. Say hi for me, thanks, and love ya all too. The only side comment in relation to the letters being that I hope you aren't all expecting me to find a wife here on the mission - because thats TOTALLY not what we're here to do... Lots of better things, like helping people come to know of the gospel. LOTS of time to look for women when I get home. hahaha. But yeah. I especially loved the picture, which happens to now be hanging up in my bedroom (I didn't think it was office appropriate. I hope ya understand). haha. Anyways, THANKS!!! Chau.

The Office - Week 10

Howdy everybody.
Sorry to write a little bit later today. We decided to make our P-day fun today and so we shook it up a little bit. After doing our studies today, we ran on over to the church. We brought a bunch of materials and started cooking a ful. We made some super good scrambled eggs, hash browns, waffles, real orange juice and even managed to find a place in town were we could get some maple syrup (something that most people miss a lot. Hard to find in this country. Thankfully we have the van and a lot of places that import. And its not even that expensive. So thats pretty cool. Well be eating goooood.). So that was fun. We also managed to find a new soccer ball so that we could play. It was a little expensive, but its actually made for playing on the concrete ¨fields¨ that almost all of the churches have. So that was good. Theyre less bouncy so we didnt end up losing this one on the roof like they did with the last one. Played that for a couple hours. Almost overheated but managed to have a great time regardless. And then I NEED to get a haircut today, so Ill try and see if I can get it all done in time. Still have to buy our food too....
Thanks for all of the fun letters this week. I enjoyed the pictures too. I think everything turned out looking just great. Glad you´re having fun in Edmonton too. Having fun on my train. Sitting on one of my favourite couches. Glad you were able to enjoy the 11 moment as well. I stopped all work in the office for a moment and we just tried to grasp the moment for a second. haha. There was a guy in my office there to pick up money from me.... I think he probably thought I was kinda weird, but he had fun with it too. lol. Say happy B-day to Uncle Boyd for me if you end up going to see him. Not sure I remember who he is, but its obviously the thought that counts right? lol. Sounds like you all had a fun time off of school and work, taking it easy... being sick. Good times. The dentist sounds super fun... lol. Most people don´t go to the dentist here because you have to pay for it yourself. And I don´t really know how much you want to trust it. Not really sure which is worse. But I´m definitely excited for the next good teeth cleaning. I´m sure the dentist is going to hate me. haha. If you ever get to know a real Paraguayan though, you´d come to find that dental hygiene isn't really on the top of the important things to do list.... Weird to think that there are actually still people that taught me in Junior High that work there. I wonder if they actually remember me or if they are just faking it....lol. Congrats on the awards and all of the well done presentations. Fun to know that you get time for family scrips and that you're all working hard and enjoying life.
This week was pretty good for me. Worked hard. Had some fun. Had some successful moments, lame moments and interesting ones. All in all a good experience. The biggest "highlight" of the week (if you can really call it that), was part 2 of changes. They were a little weird this time because President was away on a conference. So that meant that all of the newbies came early last week before he left on the conference. But the oldies couldn't just go and leave early. So that was put off until this week. As always, that meant for some extra excitement, work and pains in the butt. lol.  Without President in the office, I was short on cash again because I couldn't go to the bank without his signature. But I somehow managed to survive without too much problems.
Working in our area was a little bit slower this week. Ended up doing a lot of contacting houses, without finding all that much success. But, we continue doing what we can. haha - random thought, but I was just trying to think of what to write, and realized that I was having a really hard time thinking of how to say something because the way you say it in Spanish doesn't really translate over directly. Just kinda weird to notice how deeply the way to say things is getting ingrained in our heads in Spanish, and how we're losing our English. It'll be interesting for the first week or two when I can't speak in plain English. Funny stuff.
Had some typical random lessons this week. There was one that looked promising when we walked in because she showed us a pamphlet that she got about the family from another church. It seemed like a perfect teaching opportunity. Until we realized that no matter how hard we tried to get a word in, she was just going to keep on talking and talking. And talking. We had to fight super hard just to get enough words in to tell her we were leaving. Thankfully we did, or we could have been there forever. We also talked to her next door neighbor, who also seemed cool... until she told us that she would NOT ask heavenly father which church was true, because she thought that that would be like tempting God after she already knows that the Catholic church is true... even though she's never really asked in a prayer what is the truth. So that was kind of strange. People don't usually refuse to pray like that.
But we did manage to find somebody interesting. She told us about how her mother had recently died, and how she never married or had children. We were able to testify about the plan of salvation and how there is more than just this life. That through the atonement of Jesus Christ, we can overcome any problem that we come across in this life. We weren't able to sit down with her and share much because it was late, but hopefully tonight or later in the week....
Had to make a couple trips to the airport this week. Send all of the oldies home. It was a big disaster for a couple reasons. Basically, it was Elder Thomsons first time. Its hard the first time because you aren't really prepared for everything that is going to happen. You don't really know everything that you need to do to prepare. So there was a couple moments of panic. They almost didn't make there flights. Hectic. Fortunately it all went well in the end though. One thing that I thought was funny is that people usually ask me if going to the airport makes me "trunky". I realized this time that it really does the opposite. Driving there, realizing that the lives of (almost)everyone in the van will soon be home, and that they will never get to be in the same situation again, makes me kinda sad for them. They are obviously excited to get home to see their families or whatever, but at the same time, I always just realize how once in a lifetime all of it is. I really start to realize how much I've come to love this country in all of its many differences. How although going home is great, I'm not really ready for that moment. And then it just makes me appreciate every moment a little bit more. So thats kinda nice. Fortunately they all made their flights though, because otherwise they would have been TICKED and I didn't really want them sleeping over at my house just talking for hours about home and the future. lol.
So this coming week will just be a little bit of recovery from the end of changes. Shouldn't be too crasy. I'm glad for Elder Thomson that its over - it looked like the stress was starting to get to him. lol. That is something about the office though. Its doing a good job of teaching us stress management. Sometimes when people are just being annoying and uncooperative, its hard to be patient with them or not to snap at them. But you come to learn that when you snap, it doesn't really make you feel any better, and it doesn't fix anything. So, we work hard at being patient, but at the same time firm and direct. If not, people just walk all over you, nothing gets done, and then people are ticked. So that's something great that we've all been learning step by step. Good lessons for life.
Oh, and we got AC in our house this week. Thats SUPER legit. One in our room, and one in the other guys room. We had to waste a whole morning just sitting in the house for the guy to instal it, but it was worth it. The best part was that I didn't even have to ask for it. The Hermana just offered it after she realized that there are often 4 or 5 of us that have to sleep in the same room (around change time) and that fans just don't cut it in the summer. So we've been living goood sleeping non-sweaty. Super nice. I'm just not excited to see the electric bill this month....haha. Being the money guy has made me even more money spending conscious. Hopefully it doesn't go up too much. lol.
Anyways. I think I got to go and get my hair cut. Glad to hear that you all had a great week. Have fun with the holidays and whatnot. Things are doing great here. Just trying to get the most out of every moment of it. Time flies WAY to fast. Oh well. Thanks for all of the love and support. The church is true, and this is his work! Gotta love it!
Love ya!
Elder Humphreys

The Office - Week 9

Wow. Crasy day today in the office. Usually Saturdays are nice and tranquilo and we don't have to work, but this was a special one. President has a conference that he has to be at next week in Argentina, and so the change day got changed (ironically enough). That means that our P-day got kinda messed up because I spent all morning working my butt off for the changes. And I got more stuff that I have to do this afternoon before President leaves. Kind of a disaster. Probably will be sending a little bit shorter of a letter this week....
But thats alright. Not tons to write about this week....
Glad to hear that the week was pretty good for all of you though. Hope those that were sick are feeling better and that the rest of you don't get too sick with something either. Glad to hear that nobody crashed either. Crasy stuff. Nice work on the pumpkins. They look sick! I had people ask me earlier if my family was really artistic or something. I told them what I thought to be the truth, but they didn't believe me..... they said they were all too well done. haha. You macaneros, going trick-or-treating... You know you're too old for that. Oh well. lol. Nice work on the singing. Sounded really good to me. Same with the stone. Looks very nice. I'm also glad to hear that our office isn't the only crasy one that is scurrying around just to get everything all done. lol. Not so much fun. And I'm sorry to say it, but I think my English abilities are starting to weaken - none of us in the whole office know what "Pidgeon hole-ing" is. But I think I get your drift. haha
Wow. I just found some bubble wrap in the office and wasted 20 minutes popping it all. Dang it. And I just took a bunch of pictures with one of Elder Patterson's converts. He cooks for us during change week. He's legit.
Anyways. Weirds me out to think that you're already thinking about school sign up. Seems forever away. I thought I'd just do all the signing up when I got home. Glad to hear that Theo won't be leaving me to go rock out. I keep meaning to write the guy, but every P-day there seems to be one disaster or another thats been keeping me away from my letters. I'll get there, one day. Hopefully he doesn't think that I've forgotten him by then. I've been kinda ignoring everyone like that lately. What a bad friend. Its weird too just thinking about school as a big fun friend-together rather than the thing that I loathed before. Good stuff. Fun that you get some good old tranquilo vacations too. That sounds nice and relaxing.
I think I'm doing mostly good for Christmas stuff. The clothes are holding up good enough. The lunch lady offered to re-hem some of my pants for me the other day, and she said that she'll fix whatever I need for absolutely free (rather than hemming them, I've just been putting some safety pins in them really cleverly so that they stayed up. haha). So without overtaking of her goodness, I think I'll probably try and take advantage of that. lol. I think mostly everything should keep holding up. I hardly ever where pajamas because its so hot (just shorts. lol), underwear here is 20 cents a piece and I go by the place everyday. Deodorant, shampoo and that kind of thing - you can basically get it all at the store. I can just pull money out of my account if needed. Basically I'm the boringest person in the world to send stuff too. You can just send something really tiny if you want. Maybe a letter and a picture or painting or something. Thats all I need. If you find anything exciting you can throw it in. I'm not picky.
Anyways, I really don't know how much time I'll have, so I guess I should get on this here. I don't really know what to tell you about the week though. I had my last week with Elder Gustafson at my side. One of the comps where it was sad to see him go, rather than a relief. lol. Thankfully, being in the office, I'll see him around. And I can call him and bug him whenever I so please. haha. Fortunately Elder Thomson is a good guy. We'll have fun. Spent a bit of time saying goodbye to all of the people he'll miss.
Halloween was a blast. We... worked. And about nothing else. I think I got some icecream. Ate some old candy the next day when I remembered. Yay.....
Sadly, I think we went without very many unforgetable moments this week. We got to talk with Gabriela a couple more times, but her parents are still just kinda being lame. But we're praying for a miracle. We have a cool lesson planned out for tonight, so hopefully that all goes well.
Wow. This letter is lamer than I thought. These last two days were kindof a disaster. Changes never goes 100% smoothly. This time the biggest problems were that the people didn't show up when they were supposed to and so we had to reorganize everything. And we almost didn't have anything to eat for lunch today. That kinda stuff. But, we survived. It was WAY less stressful for me this time than last time. For a couple of reasons. First of all, I didn't run out of cash. Which is good because its not fun at all. And its not the end of the month, so nobody was not going to make it home if I didn't get them their money. I didn't make nearly as many dumb mistakes, and there was only half as many newbies to worry about. Thank goodness. So whereas last change week at this point I was just brain dead, this time I feel fine. Hopefully it just keeps getting easier.
Well, I just realized that what I was going to do is going to be imposible to get done in time, and isn't as important to do as I thought it was. So I can relax a little bit more now. I'd write more, but I just don't know what to say. How depressing. This week will be a little crasy in the office, with tonnes of stuff to do, but there won't be too much pressure to get it done I don't think. Should go smoothly. Should have more time to work in our area too, so that'll be good.
Anyways, I'm out of ideas. Sorry. Lame, I know. And I have a little personal project that I got to work on. But I'm glad that you're all well. Things are going fantastically here. No complaints whatsoever. I'm coming to love this country more and more every day. Sometimes its sad to not be out in the "real mission field", but the office isn't all that bad. I got to talk to the Elders that were in San Pedro today. They told me about all the crasy stuff that's been going on since I left. Wish I could be there. But it just shows me how much you have to live for every day while you have it. Fortunately it sounds like things are going well out there for the most part. Some people that I knew have gotten baptized or are working towards it. Fun to see the progression that you made with people continue to move forward. It'll be great to be able to go back and see it all again in about a year here. Its funny how much you miss the people.
But yeah. Hope things continue to do well for you all. Keep up the good work. Be good missionaries and share the gospel. Don't forget to read and pray every day. The church is true! Love ya all!!
Elder Humphreys

La Oficina - Semana 8

Y Bueno. Hows everybody? Did ya all have a good week? Things went surprisingly well here. Had a couple new investigators, had some sick lessons, and there weren't all that many problems here in the office. So I don't have any complaints. And should hopefully have a little more to say than last week.... lol.
We had a really good week. As far as numbers of lessons and investigators and such goes, we've had one of the most successful weeks since I've gotten here. So that was nice. Especially because it was looking kinda sketchy to start off the week - didn't really have very many investigators, didn't really have any good solid plans set up. Weren't really sure what we would end up doing. But in the end, the Lord was looking out for us and blessed us a lot. We found more new investigators this week than in the last 4 weeks combined. And they all seem like pretty cool people, so I'm excited for that. Something that I've really been liking about our companionship is that we've been trying really hard to teach to the needs of the people, and not just teach lessons. Thats something that we've always tried to do in every companionship that I've been in since the get go, but something that we're really doing a lot better now. Before, it was try and find their need, and then teach the lesson that applies most to that need, using a pamphlet that talks about the lesson, and trying to apply it to them. Now, we don't even concentrate too much on the set lessons at all. Obviously the people still need to hear the doctrine, and our lessons usually flow a lot better if we follow the general outline of the lesson plans. But rather than just getting to know people, pulling out a pamphlet and just teaching from that, we've really been trying to listen to the spirit, and start out with exactly the thing that they need at this time. Tell them how the gospel will help them. How these things or a particular scripture really applies to them. It ends in more unconventional lessons, but lessons that really seem to be helping them to open up, understand why they need these things, and why they want to change or keep listening to us. And I think thats why we had more success this week. So that was really cool to see this week. For instance, in one lesson, we didn't even have a chance to really talk at all about any of the doctrine. But that was because we spent most of the time listening to her needs, seeing how important families are to her, explaining how the gospel will bless her and her family and the like. In the end, she invited herself to church and is really excited to go. She loved hearing about how the classes work, and how every one of them (whether they're the adult, teenager, or small child), will have a chance to learn in a class according to their age level, ability to understand, and needs. It really wasn't how most lessons go, but seems as though it was EXACTLY what she needed at that time. And now we have somebody new to work with and teach. Good stuff.

We also had a super awesome experience with our long term investigator Gabriela. She is the 14 year old girl that we met a couple weeks after I showed up here in the office. At first she showed soooo much potential. She has read all of first and second Nephi. She prays consistently to know the truth. She always accepts a baptismal invitation. She came to church the very first Sunday after we met her. But then problems started showing up. First, her dad didn't support her at all. Then, her mom stopped supporting her. Neither of them want her to go to church or get baptized. And they won't talk with us either. They aren't hostile or anything, but they just aren't supportive of her at all. Well, that lead to her being confused about what she should do, what she really wanted, and what is the truth. We tried to help her see that she already new that these things are true, and always encouraged her to continue to read and pray for an answer. Well, her parents weren't changing, she hasn't been to church in over a month now because they won't let her. Things were looking pretty gloomy. So when we went to visit her this week, we were kinda going in with the intention of really making a decision of whether she was going to progress or not, and if need be, stop visiting for a time so as to not waste our time visiting somebody who isn't going to progress any more. Well, in the end we were kinda blown away by what happened in the lesson, and it definitely helped us to make up our mind. The lesson was pretty normal at first. Just verifying if she's been reading, praying, the like. Nothing too out of the ordinary. Anyways, I was just looking at her Book of Mormon and looking at some of the scriptures that she's marked. Some pretty awesome ones for sure. My favorite being Alma 30:41-44, though I didn't really realize the significance of it until later. Then I found a note that was written on a piece of paper stuck in the front. Well... I didn't want to be nosy or anything, but I'm not going to lie... I was kinda curious. haha. So while my companions were talking, I tried to read it as sneakily as I could. Well.... I got caught. lol. But fortunately that meant that I was able to hear in her own words what the note was all about. I was kind of embarrassed to have gotten caught, but it was totally worth it. She told us how she had been reading in 2 Nephi 31 where it talks about Christs baptism. She said that when she read that part, she really felt something just hit her. She KNEW that it was true. She received a strong and direct answer that let her know that these things were true. And thats what her note talked about. Thanking Heavenly Father for giving her an answer and helping her to know the truth. SUPER awesome. The only sad part being the second paragraph of her note. Where she talked about feeling guilty for having received an answer, and yet feeling like there is no way possible to follow it. So thats where we were able to step in and do our part. We shared 1 Nephi 3:7, and even though its sometimes overused a lot of times, just because it applies to so many situations, I think it really applied to her needs at the time. We talked about how the Lord will help her to find a way to accomplish what he has commanded. We talked about what she can do and what we can do to help her and her parents so that she can follow through with the answer that she has received. AWESOME. One of the coolest experiences that I've had in a while. A lot of times people receive answers by feeling the the things are good. That the Book of Mormon is true, and they feel good when they go to church. And sometimes this is a good enough answer for them. And sometimes thats how the spirit helps us to know whats true. But sometimes when thats the only answer that you've received, when the trials come along, its hard to stay strong. Thats why this situation is so awesome. She knows its true. She knows that the spirit has helped her to know that. And she knows what she has to do. So even though from here on out the road won't necessarily be the easiest, I really think that she'll be able to make the right choices because she can't deny what she's felt and learned. Super awesome. The church is true.
Had another interesting talk with somebody this week. A little bit sadder though. It was just a contact with some guy late at night. Turns out that he is an atheist and was SUPER confused about who God and Jesus Christ are and just didn't have any faith in them or in anything else really. The reason it sticks out to me was just because it was kind of how I imagined missionary work to be like before the mission. Nobody really knows what its like until they actually participate in it. But that was kind of how I had imagined it before. Here, people usually just make up dumb excuses not to listen to you. "I'm really busy right now", "How about another day", "Sorry, I'm Catholic" or my favourite "My mom says that she isn't home (or she says she's sleeping or something else ridiculous like that)". lol. We get it all the time. Or there are a lot of people that let you in to talk, but don't listen. Or aren't interested. Or don't want to change at all. Thats kind of the culture here and what we deal with day to day. Most people have a belief in Jesus Christ, but they don't REALLY know anything about him. They say they believe something, but they aren't really sure about it and don't even know what the bible says. That kinda thing. So it was interesting to actually talk to somebody that has spent time thinking and pondering over religion, but has at some point lost all testimony of everything true. Sad for sure. We tried our best, and he just shut us down. Hopefully in the future he'll come around....
We also taught a whole lesson in Guarani the other day. This is the last area that I thought I'd ever have that happen to me in, but it happened. lol. Fortunately my companions have acually practiced a descent amount each, and so they did the talking. haha. I know a bunch of short phrases and sayings, but thats all. Teaching is WAY out of my reach. So I listened. Guarani is kind of just a huge toss up in this country. It helps you connect with the people. But if you learn it, your Spanish suffers as a result. The church runs in Spanish. We were called to speak Spanish. All of our study materials are in Spanish. But its super deeply ingrained in the culture. Its interesting because the problems go even farther then that. Hardly anybody can read Guarani, not to mention write it. We're the only country that uses it. Lots of problems. So its been kinda sad to not learn much of it myself, but hopefully my Spanish can improve more and I can continue to use that for the rest of my life. In the end though, Mba'eco cheve. lol. Hopefully I'll be able to pick up a little bit more before I leave, just so that me and Elder Patterson can speak in super code when we get home. haha.
Another fun one. One of the new investigators that we met the other day talked to missionaries about 10 years ago. Went to church a bunch of times. Liked what she learned. She said that the only reason she didn't get baptized is because she didn't know that Joseph Smith was a prophet. Well. I'm sure that we can do something about that. She's surprisingly open, and basically invited herself to be baptized. We'll see how that goes. Still don't know her husband or anything. Thats usually the catch here. The dads/husbands like to destroy the progress that we often make with their families. Its sad because dads here aren't usually very good examples. They usually live to drink and they don't really respect their wives or women in general. Usually they're just kinda bums. But you occasionally find a cool one. So we're crossing our fingers on that one.
We ate fake Chinese food again for lunch today. Thats 2 weeks in a row now. Ugh. Today I shook it up a little bit though and got some squid. Hopefully it doesn't make me sick. lol. I got all better from when I was sick the other day, but then Thursday I just randomly started feeling sick again. Not sure whats up with that. Not a big deal though. Most people are basically sick for a good majority of their missions. And after being in the office for a few weeks now, I've seen how many Elders and Hermanas that really are sick, so I'm not complaining. lol
Anyways, going to get the food meant that I've now gotten your letter. Glad to hear that everyones doing well. No worries on writing late - I'm used to it now. :) haha. Congrats to the future Elder Florence. Hope he likes the cold! lol. Not going to lie - I kinda miss it. Its painfully hot and humid today. Not complaining though - We've got AC. SICK. Crasy that Emma's all old and babysittin-ish now. Staying out till all hours of the night. haha. Intense that you're all teaching a bunch of older people how to do fun stuff. We need fun activities like that around here. Fun to think that it'll be Halloween again. Nobody really seems to celebrate that here. I think too many people actually believe in zombies and ghosts for it to really be any fun. haha. How cute. Sounds like we all had a pretty spiritual week. Good to know that a)The spirits all willing to give us a hand, and b) that we're ready enough to hear him when he speaks. Wish I could be there to hear the song. That would be super cool though if you could find somebody that could come and watch on Christmas morning. Sounds like a fun week you got lined up.
Anyways, that was kinda my week. Went really well. The Lord leads this work, and I definitely have come to see his hand in it. I love being a servant of the Lord and doing his work. The church is true. He answers our prayers. Nothing is impossible if it is the will of the Lord. Love you lots and I hope that you all have a great week!
- Elder Humphreys

The Office - Week 7

Hello. Hows everybody? Hope you're all ready for a super exciting letter..... because it was a really crasy but not that exciting week.
I'm writing a little earlier today because I was actually able to drag myself away from the mormon.org vids easier this week and so I'm not putting off writing as much as I did last week. Don't know if anyone noticed though, but the singer from the KILLERS just made his video. Sick. Cool to see all these members with interesting stories reaching out to help people know that we're real, "normal" people too. lol.
But yeah. The most notable part of the week stems off from something that I mentioned in my last letter. That being the fever that I had when I wrote. Well.... I didn't exactly get better right away, and I was pretty sick for a good chunk of the week. So that wasn't that fun. Fortunately things weren't tooo crasy here in the office, and so there was enough time that I could take a couple naps, doctor trips and such without missing out on too much. lol. And thankfully now I'm back up to feeling about 95%. So thats nice. It was weird because up until this point, I hadn't really ever gotten too sick before. So that was annoying. Basically, the fever didn't go away. Then, when it got up to being about 102 degrees Fahrenheit I thought I should probably ask somebody what to do. The doctor lady got me to not eat and so that gave my body a chance to cook whatever bug it was that was in my stomach out, and by the next day the fever was gone. But I still had some mad stomach cramps. So that meant that I got to go to the doctor... do some....tests... and such. Fortunately it wasn't a parasite or anything. So I started taking some antibiotics and now I feel great. I ended up getting a lot skinnier because I didn't really eat anything all week either too. lol.  But yeah. That kinda sucked a lot of the fun and time away. During the day I kinda just got done what needed to be done in the office (and not much more), and then rather than just sitting around all afternoon, we went out and worked, but I just kinda followed my companion around like a zombie. haha. I don't remember too much that went on because I was just putting all of my energy into pretending to smile and doing what I could to keep working until I could finally get home and crash at night. I was fun. lol.
But yeah. Honestly, that was kinda how my whole week went. It was just about being sick, and enduring through it. Fun stuff. I don't really know what else to tell you.....
Oh. I guess I could tell you about my new comp. It turns out that the Lord had different plans for us than we had originally imagined. In the end, I didn't get the companion that Elder Gustafson was warning us that we wouldn't like all that much. The Lord had mercy on us and sent us someone who has a personality much more similar to the rest of the ones that are already here in the office. So thats a relief. Obviously, its still going to be interesting to see what it'll be like to be with a guy for 6 months of my mission, but I don't see it being all that bad. The new guys name is Elder Thomson. He's from Utah (believe it or not. lol). He's pretty legit. He's got about 3 months less of mission time than I do, but he knows how to speak well, and knows whats up. That kinda leaves me as Senior comp though once Elder Gustafson leaves though, which will be interesting. We'll be in a trio for the next 2 or 3 weeks, but thats just something that you get used to working in the office, and so its not a big deal. Elder Thomson is good. Hard worker, easy to get along with etc. The funny thing is that he works on the other side of the office, and so in the last like 3 days that he's been here, I still haven't talked to him all that much, but you know. We'll be together for a while so its not a big deal. Anyways. Should be good. I got no complaints at all. So its all just full steam ahead here. Try and get the work moving along and start finding some future converts!
We had special changes this week. Thats always fun. Ran out of money, but didn't have to leave anyone penniless, thank goodness. It was fun though, because as always, we got to see everyone again. Got to say hi to Elder Patterson and everything. Rushed as always, but what can you do. Thats the sad thing about being in the office. You have to be working no matter who shows up. Oh well.
Also got to go on my first long distance drive solo. That was crasy. Had to take some future missionary to get some x-ray. Everyone was busy and so just the two of us went. That was crasy. Surprisingly I feel really comfortable driving our van, and the crasiness of the drivers here doesn't seem to bother me all that much. The annoying thing though that I learned to hate is the one was streets and everything. Everything here is terribly labelled, and there are one way streets everywhere. Situations where you can turn where you need to. Not to mention that I just still don't really know my way all around Asuncion, and I wasn't sure what roads I needed to take or be on. All in all it was an adventure. But, I still haven't crashed, so I'm doing a LOT better than about half the missionaries that get to the office. hahaha. So thats good. I'm sure I'll get it figured out soon. So thats good.
Anyways. I can't believe it, but I'm straight out of ideas. There really wasn't all that much out of the usual that happened. Maybe it was just because I was sick and I just felt like I was in a haze all week. Maybe send me a question or something that you got latter on in the day and I'll try and think of something cool that I could tell you about Paraguay. Or maybe I'll think of something cool that I forgot. Anyways. But thats if for now. Sorry. Hope you had a great week. Love you all. The mission is going great and I love every minute of it. Hope you're all getting ready for Halloween and everything. lol. Let me know how everything goes. Love you lots!
Chau!
Elder Humphreys

The Office - Week 6

Hello hello. Hows everybody? Glad to hear that you had a good week. Thanksgiving and everything went well. Not gonna lie.... Turkey and stuffing sounds super good right about now. Or to just go out and have a little picnic. Sounds legit!
My week was pretty swell too. Right now I'm kinda sick though, so that puts a bummer on things. Kinda got a fever and am all achy, but what you gonna do about it right? Thank goodness for medicine. lol.
Anyways. To tell the truth, I've been sitting here, not writing this letter for a while now. So much easier to just watch Mormon.org vids. haha. They're so much fun. But anyways, I guess I'll try and get down to business.
Probably the highlight of the week would have been Thursday. After a good long day in the office, we got to go on our temple trip. Ive been really lucky since I've been here, as I've gotten to go to the temple a few extra times more than I should have. But normally we only get to go once every 6 months. And so this was our 6 month trip. Crasy to think that 6 months have already passed since the last time we went as a mission. A really fun part too was that we showed up a little early, and got lucky enough to be able to do baptisms and confirmations before the session. And crasily enough, after making sure that they knew what we were doing, they just left a couple of us missionaries in the room to do confirmations all by ourselves. Legit. So that was fun. With the baptisms, we got to baptize another missionary a bunch of times, and then we just switched and he baptized you. And then, if that wasn't already great enough, we got to follow that up with an endowment session. All in all, classically great trip to the temple. Sad that we don't get to go more often. Hows the construction going on our temple btw? Are they all on schedule, or does it look like I'll be able to get back before its all finished?
Otherwise... what else was good. Oh. I got my license this week. SICK. So I should be ripping around the streets in no time. So far I only took it for a short trip from the assistants house to ours. Thankfully I haven't forgotten how to drive, though I am a little rusty. Hopefully I can get used to the crasy traffic and uneven streets. lol. Speaking of which, we had a really weird experience the other day, when we were out working with a member. We came around the corner to find some guy lieing on the street. Turns out that for one reason or another he had fallen of his motorbike. I thought he was dead for a second because we couldn't see him that well, but thankfully he was fine, just a little shaken up. Well honestly less than 10 minutes later, we see some other guy on his bike just drive right into the back of a van and wipe out on his bike. Thats Paraguayan rush hour for you. lol. Thankfully that guy was fine too. The member just helped him pick up his bike, and within 30 seconds the firefighters were there to help him out (they were on their way to help the other guy that had wiped out. Ironic. lol). Anyways, it was just kinda weird because its not everyday that you see 2 accidents. Not to mention within a couple blocks and minutes of each other.
The work was good this week. I enjoy working with Elder Gustafson. We get along, he's got great work ethic, and excellent taste in music. lol. Unfortunately, we're still busy looking for the people that have been prepared to receive our message... and they are doing a pretty good job of hiding from us. Are best investigator is having a really hard time right now... her parents don't really want anything to do with the church, and aren't supporting her at all. And so even though she knows and testifies that the book of mormon is true, and everything like that, she's still just really confused about what she should do. Hard for somebody thats only 14 or 15 years old to go against everything they've grown up learning and everything that their family is teaching and telling them and just going off on their own. So yeah. We've been working a lot with what members we have that live in our area and trying to get them to help out and invite their friends and stuff. Hopefully we have success with that. It was interesting because when President Arnold (area president) was here, he told the assistants to tell me that OFFICE ELDERS BAPTIZE. How we're some of the most seen missionaries in the mission, and that because of that we have to set a good example. Not just complain because we have a hard area. So we're doing everything that we can to help bring that to pass. We also had our quarterly interviews with President this week. That was really nice. He also talked about the same sort of things. So hopefully you're all praying for us. lol. Because we're going to need all the help we can get. Theres got to be people out there that are ready for the gospel. We just have to find them and help them come unto Christ.
Oh. I was told to ask if anyone knows/knew Don McKay. Apparently he was the mayor of Calgary back in the day. We had to go to the south mission to borrow some copies of the book of mormon (somehow we ran out...), and the other Financiero that is working there said it was his Grandpa or something like that. I dunno. I've never heard of him. lol.
I learned another cool thing about the office this week. Being in the office helps you grow a lot bigger appreciation for President and everything that he does. I was talking to an old office elder about his time in the office, and he was telling me all of the things that he learned from President and totally started to notice that. I also see how hard he works day in and day out. I don't think he ever just stops to take a break. The thing that really made me realize it though was when we were in a lesson with the ward mission leader. Hes a good guy, but he's only half active and he's ALWAYS complaining to us about all of his problems and how he doesn't want to help us anymore. So its been a lesson of patience with this guy all along. But he didn't REALLY try our patience until he started complaining about how much he liked the old president of the mission, and how mad he is that President doesn't have time to make him feel happy all of the time. And then he just said "oh, well its probably not his fault. Those curepas just do things differently." (curepa being the derogatory guarani word that they use to talk about Argentinians. I think it means pigs or something like that). Wow. We almost just lost it on him. It made me realize how much respect that I've grown to have for President during the course of my mission. It was like somebody talking trash about your family right to your face. Come on. Ridiculous.
Got to go to the airport. Again. Seems like its something I should get used to, because I'll be doing it a lot. It was a Paraguayan Elder thats been waiting months to get his visa to Portugal. While he's been here though, I got to know him pretty well though. Sad to see another acquaintance go.... Just for future self reference, his name is Elder Aguilar. Just so I can look him up on Fb once I get home or something. lol
Food of the week: A desert that brought back good memories of Cheese-whiz and jam sadwiches. haha. It was this interesting Argentinan desert where they take this fruit stuff that is basically jam, and then wrap it in cheese. Kinda weird. Wasn't my favorite. But made me think of the good old days. lol.
But yeah. I'm out of ideas. I think I'm going to go take a nap or something. My head hurts. lol. We lose p-day time today because there is some Pre-stake conference meeting that we have to go to on special request of the area 70. The joys of saturday p-days. haha. But it should be good. Can't beat 70 visits. Anyways, hope you all have a great week. Enjoy work and school and whatever you do in your free time. I'm doing great and having a blast. Love ya lots!

Elder Humphreys