Well it has been a good week again. The work here is definitely hard, and I still can´t say everything i want to say in Spanish yet, but i am getting a lot closer to being there. The Spanish is coming along really fast, but it´s hard when they talk in Guarani, because i don´t understand anything they say when they start speaking in that.
TEACHING
We have a couple of progressing investigators that we have been teaching this week.
One is Nilsa Benites, her husband left her, she had 6 children, two of which are over 8 years old. We have taught her about 5 times or so now, and she loves meeting with us. This last visit, on Saturday, she said that she feels really good when we teach her, and when she reads the Book of Mormon, but she still is confused about whether it is the true church or not. we invited her to come to church, and testified that if she puts forth the real effort to gain a testimony, that the lord will answer her prayers.
Another investigator is Mariella, who is the girlfriend of a less-active member. The less-active member however has a wife in Argentina whom he has to divorce. Then we can be able to baptize her, so we are still working and praying to know what to do with that.
Another one is Lida, who had a baptismal date for Saturday, but we couldn´t keep it. She also is living with her boyfriend, who is a member, and she wants to be baptized. They have to either be married, or seperate for her to be baptized however. We taught them the Law of Chastity on Wednesday, and asked that they pray for help on what to do. We still haven´t heard how it went yet.
Another one is Lilliana, who is the girlfriend of the grandson of Hermana Ursulina, who is a member. Her daughter also is a member. We have been teaching Lilliana about 2 or 3 times a week, and she is receptive to the teachings, but we can´t seem to get her to go to church.
This week we committed 6 people to go to church, and then come Sunday.... we didn´t have one investigator show up. For some reason the people here say they will do things, but it´s hard to get them to actually do the things. We need to do a better job at letting them know the importance of going to church, and that they need to use their agency to do that.
Lucy, the woman that we were guided to the second day i was here, we still haven´t had a chance to teach again. Every time we go by there she goes in the house, or something else, and doesn´t want to listen to us again.
CULTURE
There is a game called Piki that the people play here. It is very similar to volleyball, but you can´t use your hands. They only use their heads, chest, feet, and thigh to hit the ball. The people here are really good at keeping a rally going.
Instead of waving here, people give the thumbs up. This is pretty much the same as waving would be in America, as to say hi.
Everybody here rides motorcycles. It is pretty much their family car here. We have seen up to 4 people all on the same motorcycle at a time, all holding groceries. They have kids that are really young that always drive them too, I think the youngest I have seen so far is about 8 years old. We unfortunately live on a corner, of a highway here. There are constantly motorcycles driving by, and loud music blasting, which makes it difficult to sleep
There are little corner stores, called dispensas. They sell food and other stuff that can also be found at the supermarket. We helped our Branch Presidents wife set one up at their house, and helped them paint it as well. Every dispensa also sells drinks in these glass bottles; they are one Guaraní, which is about 20 cents. You return the bottle, and that is why it is so cheap, but it´s quite nice when it´s a hot day outside.
The weather here is always changing. One day it is burning hot, and humid, and the next it is freezing cold, still humid. Our shower only puts out water of the temperature it is at, which in the mornings is usually nice and cold. It takes some getting used to, having to take a cold shower, but it´s not so bad anymore.
FOOD
The food here is interesting for sure. They eat way different here than we do in America. Here are some of the things I have tried
Cafe soja- soy coffee is what it´s translated out to, but it is actually not bad for you like coffee, it tastes about like what coffee smells like, so it´s kind of weird, but not too bad. It is just milk, with the powder put in.
Tortillas- Definitely not your typical tortilla here. It is small enough to fit in the hand, but it is really good. It has eggs, flower, water, and lettuce.
Halls- Yes, the people here do in fact eat cough drops as a candy, quite strange i must say.
Milk- comes in a pouch rather than a carton, which makes it hard to use, but it tastes good
Well that´s all for today, love you guys, and I’ll talk to you again next week
Elder Ryan Griffin
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