January 12, 2015 - Week 54

Well... And there goes the change. The last day of this change was yesterday and tomorrow, I will know if I stay or if I go. I am guessing that I go... Cuz I got myself 6 months in this area! But, we will see. But, if this week that we had just happens to be my last week here... It was the best way to end!! With a BAPTISM!!

Yep... Malena got baptized on Saturday and it was just perfect. She was just so happy. I am telling you... That little girl had no other desire in the past month and a half than to be baptized! And... She was able to do so on Saturday, January 10th  2015! But, it really went just perfect. Well, first of all it was like the most stressful thing of my life (when it didn´t even need to be so stressful...) but, in the end... It was great! So, during the week, we were like all good. Things were going great and stuff with the plans... But, then, when we get to the whole ´´who´s going to clean the baptismal font´´ we started to have problems. So, we were like totally cool with cleaning it and stuff, but then our zone leader told us that the ward needed to do it cuz it a ´´ward baptism´´ cuz she is 8 years old. So... That´s fine. But, then, when I call our ward mission leader and the bishop, they tell us that the missionaries need to do it! So, everyone is just saying the opposite of everyone else and it just stresses me out. Then... The ward finds someone to clean the font... Problem solved. Wait... No. Cuz now there is another problem. We don´t have ANY baptismal clothes in the chapel! And also... Might I just add that my companion was like really sick the whole day on Saturday and I was trying to do all this planning from our house and I couldn´t actually do anything cuz I was with her obviously. Anyways... I am calling like a hundred missionaries to ask if they have clothes in their chapels... And finally someone says that they do... But, then the zone leader tells me that we can´t go to their chapel to pick it up and that we need to find a member or the bishop to pick it up... Ugh. So, again, we call the bishop and it´s not gonna work. Plus, I am pretty sure he´s like super annoyed for all this. And I am just thinking... Whatever! I will just do it. The only thing that is important is that there is a baptism today! But, everyone is giving their own opinions and one person thinks one thing and the missionaries another and I just don´t like it... So. What we do is this. We borrowed a white skirt from the grand-daughter of hermana Betty and we use one of my white shirts... And guess what. PERFECT! It was just perfect. She was beautiful and so excited and happy. Her dad was super happy also and it just was a gorgeous baptismal service. We even decorated the place all beautiful and it was actually like pretty sweet. And that is the story of Malena´s baptism. And now we see how Satan is always trying to put things in our way so that we don´t do what the Lord wants us to do. But, he didn´t win! Cuz she went under water and received the remission of her sins. And then on Sunday, she was confirmed a member of the church. It was such a great week.

As for other things... We had a pretty normal week. It actually went by super fast and stuff. But, that is how it is. On Sunday... I lost the keys to our house. Yeah. Second time. But, it´s all good cuz I knew that I left them in the taxi that we took to church... Hahaha that is what we do when we are running late to church... We take a taxi.. ;) And sure enough... We went to the taxi stop and they were there. So, it´s all good. But, Heavenly Father was definitely looking out for us with that one cuz there is only one key to our house that exists.. And if we couldn´t find it... We would have had to brake the door down. And the hermana Betty didn´t want to do that cuz it´s like super expensive to fix and stuff. But, no worries cuz we found them!

 

Today, for p-day we went to Itaugua... But not to visit. Just to buy a few cool things and also eat at this restaurant that I love. So, that was pretty fun. But, we were also going to hike this big old rock that is like in the middle of our area with the other elders... But, in the end they told us that they didn´t want to. So, whatever. It wouldn´t be fun with them anyway... ;) Hahaha but it was a chill p-day. And that is it for this week! We had fun and we will see tomorrow what is happening for changes. We will see if the Lord wants me in a different part of Paraguay. But, I sure will miss the people here so much. I better be able to come back to visit them cuz I love them! Also, they have all told me that they don´t want me to go and it feels like I just got here! Hahaha but the time goes by FAST. Well, we will see what happens! And next week you will all know!! LOVE YOU!!!

Love, Hermana Whittaker

January 5, 2015 - Week 53

Can you believe it?? I can´t. I left home a WHOLE FREAKING YEAR AGO!! WHAT!? That  is pretty nuts. Well, life goes on, right?? We actually had a really good week this week. It started off a little hard and stuff.. But it ended great. So, just so you all know. I am not as sick now. Last Monday, I don´t even know what was happening with me... But, I was just like dying. The elders had to come and give me a blessing!! But, then... I was fine. I had just like a super bad headache and a fever. But, the next day, I was just as new. So, I thought that I was cured and it was like 24 hour flu. But, now I have a cough. But, it´s whatever. Just annoying, is all. Not anything too serious.

This week was kinda different cuz in the mission here in Paraguay Asuncion North... We are no longer have to say our numbers to the district and zone leaders. In our mission now... We are only focusing on baptisms, percentage of retention of members and reactivation. So.. That is a pretty big change. But, it is pretty nice to not have to stress out about getting good numbers and stuff. It actually gives you an opportunity to think about the people and what we need to do with them. So, officially we are doing it like this now. And... We had great results!! 

First of all.... We are having a baptism on Saturday!! Malena is going to get baptized and she is SOOOO excited. She is like just counting the days down and it´s now official!! She will be baptized on the 10th of January 2015!! So, that is exciting. Also, a few weeks ago, we found a less active family and we were able to visit them this week.. Familia Caceres. And they came to church!! So that is cool. They are totally returning and it is so great to see it. Also, they have a daughter that is like 10 that still needs to get baptized!! So, that will be awesome. ALSO... We are working with the family of a recent convert from like a year and a half ago that is in our area. They are investigators and they all came to church this week! It was so exciting. They also have a baptismal date for the 24th of January, so we will see how that goes!

Hermana Whittaker & Elder Laura

Anyways... It was actually a super good week for us. We had to do mini divisions with two hermanas in the ward so that we would be able to pass by to pick up the two families that came and it worked out perfect! We even got to church on time cuz everyone was ready to go when we got there! So that was good. Anyways... It was a good p-day. It is a little bit weird now cuz Elder Laura isn´t with us anymore. And we were so used to him. We had the coolest district, but he got special changes. But, we did see him today, though, in the office, so that was cool! Also, I got a package from the grandparents! So, that was cool and exciting. 

Also, this week was New Year´s! It was pretty fun. We just spent it with hermana Betty and her family again. We did like the same thing. Set off a few small fireworks and stuff. Also, we had a dinner with one of the recent converts here, hermano Hugo. He is cool and invited us to eat with his family for New Year´s! It was cool cuz his family are not members and they have never really  ´´had the time´´ to talk with us. But, we finally got to meet them and have  a dinner! It was cool! I also made this crown that says 2015 and so that is pretty cool. But, that is all we did for New Year´s. And now we are in 2015.....

This p-day, we didn´t do like anything cool. We just went to the office to pick up new shoes for my companion. It was cool cuz there were like a ton of people there that we saw and I got to talk with a lot of cool missionaries... But, it wasn´t anything too special. Also... Changes are coming up this week. And, to be honest, this week will probably be my last week in this area. I have like 6 months here and who knows where I will go next. But, we will see. I won´t know until next Tuesday. But, I am guessing that I am leaving... :( Which is crappy because we finally have some cool investigators that are progressing and have baptismal date, but also... I have been here for a while... Haha we will see.

Hermana Whittaker & Sanchez

So, that is what happened this week. I can´t believe that this change is like up! This is the last week of the change. So weird. Also.. I can´t believe I have been here for a year! That is crazy and it has just FLOWN!!

LOVE YOU TONS!!

Love, Hermana Whittaker

Picture is Hermana Whittaker and Sanchez from El Salvador; a cute and awesome Hermana - will be finished with her mission in a week!

December 29, 2014 - Week 52

Well... Merry Christmas! It was so much fun! We seriously had a great day. This week was just FULL of stuff and it went pretty well. So, we started out with Christmas Eve. That was so much fun. First of all... I got to skype you guys and that was so much fun!! I loved talking with you guys. It was great. Also, it was like not even sad at all! I guess  being in the mission for so long does that to you. It´s like I don´t even miss you guys anymore!! Hahaha but just kidding. It was great to see you. Then, we went to sing with a family and the elders to various less active members in our areas. And that was so much fun! Everyone loved it and we sang like 22 times or something like that. Haha but it was a blast. Then, we had to get back to our area to start our Navidad with Hermana Betty. But, first, we had to stop by another family´s house and that went well. We sung with them for a bit and also they gave us some food for a surprise and a gift for Navidad. So, that was nice of them. Then, we had to get to our house to make the mashed potatoes. We got all that done and at 11 in the night... Yes. 11 in the night... We started the feast. It was so delicious. I ate some pig and some other things and it went just great. Then, the clock stroke 12 and I screamed MERRY CHRISTMAS!! And then all the bombs and fireworks started going off. So, it was fun! And we even did a few fireworks with Hermana Betty and her family. We then watched a video of them and it was so cute. And at 2 o´clock... We slept. Haha so it was a crazy and super fun night.

Then, the next day we had our zone activity and that was crazy. We went to the other chapel and all the missionaries in our zone were there. We first wrote Christmas cards to our President and his family. Then, we did the white elephant gift exchange. So, that was cool. It was so funny cuz the first elder that opened his gift.... It was langerie! (I don´t know how to spell that...) Yeah... I am pretty sure that the zone leaders didn´t like that... But,  it was so funny! Then, we went to the maternity hospital and sung some Christmas hymns for  all the mami´s and their babies. It was nice! So cute. And then, we went back to the chapel to eat hamburgers with the whole zone. So, it was cool. Then, we went to call my companion´s family in the chapel. She talked with them and it all went well.

Then, we had a pretty good weekend. We had divisions with the hermana leader trainers. I was with Hermana Hunt AGAIN and it was a blast. But, while we were doing our division...  I started feeling  like really crappy. I don´t know why, but my body just started to hurt. I took ibuprofen and it was all good. Then, in the morning when I woke up... Again! The same thing. So, more ibuprofen and we were all good. But then, Sunday night it hit me hard. I couldn´t even sleep the pain was so back. I was like freezing and then hot and I am pretty sure that I had a fever and stuff... But I was just trying to sleep. Then, I get the worst headache of my life and I just put tons of oils and take pills at like 3 in the morning and I was just praying that it would go away. When I woke up this morning... It was like almost gone, but not completely. It was crazy! And all day today my head has just had this nonstop pain. I don´t know what is going on. And right now, I just don´t feel too good. So,  that kinda sucks. But, today for p-day.. We didn´t do like anything. Just sat in the house and I just felt like crap! But, I am sure that everything will be ok.  I am going to call the nurse today to see what I should do.

But, that is like all that happened! It was so much fun though ! We had a great Christmas and I enjoyed it a lot. I t also looks like you guys had a great day also and I love the pictures!! So cute. But, that is what happened. We enjoyed ourselves and had a very Feliz Navidad. Also... In like 2 days I will have a year in the mission! That is crazy, right?? I can´t believe that! But, the time goes by so fast!

I love you guys tons and I hope you have a great New Years. New Year is for new beginnings! I am excited to start it off good! LOVE YOU GUYS!!!

Love, Hermana Whittaker

Here are some pictures of our Navidad. It went great. There I am with a firework and me and my companion with Hermana Betty and her family! So cute!! 

December 22, 2014 - Week 51

This is Christmas week! I can´t believe it! It is so weird that we are already in Christmas again. The time flies. Well, this week was pretty good. It mostly consisted of going to practices every single night up until Friday to practice for choir. We did this dinner in our ward for Navidad and it went really well. We sung in a choir and there was also a live play. It was so cute! There were different members that acted in the play and it was just like a mix of a family that is all stressed-out for Navidad and stuff, but then the grandpa tells the story of when Christ was born. And then there is like a live Nativity and stuff. So cool. And the choir sung along with the story and stuff that that grandpa was telling. So, we practiced all week cuz we had to be in the choir and it turned out super good! Everyone loved it! And I learned so sing in Guarani! So, that was fun! But, that was the highlight of the week, for sure.

As for other things.. It rained a few times this week and so the work was a bit harder. Whenever it rains, there is like NO ONE in the streets and no one wants to open their door for you... But, hey. It was still a good week.

Also, we found a family that is inactive yesterday and we are excited to be able to work with them so that they can come back to the church. So, we will see how that goes. Also, they have a daughter that is 10 now and still needs to be baptized! So, that is exciting. But, yea. This week was good. I am more excited for this next week though, cuz it will be Navidad. It definitely won´t be the same, but it should be really fun. We are planning on spending Christmas Eve with Hermana Betty. She is the hermana that lives in front of us.  Like we live in a house in her backyard. Here, in Paraguay, they celebrate Christmas Even and that is about it. Like you stay up until 12 and then there are like fireworks and stuff. It´s like New Years kinda.  (And also, they do the same thing for New Years.) So, that should be fun. But, Christmas isn´t really a huge deal here. But, we have permission to stay up to see the fireworks and stuff. So, I am excited. But, Betty is like our mom and we are planning to eat with her and spend Christmas with her and her family. Should be great! Also, I am so excited to get to skype you guys! That is going to be awesome!! But, Christmas is gonna be good here. Also, this week we are going to make cookies with the elders and an hermana and then take them to different less active families and sing to them! Like caroling and stuff. Should be way fun. Also, we have our zone activity and we are going to do like a white elephant gift exchange and sing in a maternity hospital. So, this week should be full of fun things.

Also.... Today, an elder in my district had to go to the office and guess what he brought me.... MY PACKAGE!!! And... I was going to wait until Wednesday to open it, but the elders and my companion all like begged me to open it today. So, while we were all eating at this place.. I opened it!! And I ABSOLUTELY LOVE MY SHOES. I CAN´T EVEN TELL YOU HOW MUCH I LOVE MY SHOES. They are the cutest things ever and I love them. And so does my whole district. They think that they are SO COOL! :) So, thank you SO SO SO MUCH for the package. It was so cute and everything in it was just perfect. I  really was in dire (dyre?) need for new shoes and socks. I was like barely funcioning with what I had, so the package came just in time. Also, the skirt is SOOOO cute and I am so excited for it. Also, the candy. JUST what I wanted!! So thank you a ton!! Plus, I am so excited to listen to the new music! I didn´t know that you were gonna send music, too! So cool. So, that was also a huge highlight of my day. I loved it. 

So, that is all for the week. I can´t wait to see you in person on Wednesday and I hope you have the merriest Navidad ever! And remember about who was born on this special day. Cuz HE is the reason that I am here in Paraguay and HE is the only one that can really bring us true happiness. LOVE YOU SO MUCH!!!

Love, Hermana Whittaker

December 15, 2014 - Week 50

This week wasn´t too special... I´ll be honest. We did have a good Sunday though. Our less active member, Hugo, came to church with his daughter that we are preparing to be baptized and that was great! Cuz he told us that he would not be able to come to church cuz he had to go to work. So, we are all sad and stuff and... He came! So, that was a surprise. He is actually progressing really well and had an interview with the Bishop so that he can receive the priesthood and baptize his daughter! So, that was good. But, either way, if he can´t get the priesthood soon, Malena will still be baptized cuz she wants to SOOO bad. It´s like her biggest desire right now. And she is like a genius. She understands everything that we teach her. And, it´s like we don´t even have a lesson with her cuz she already knows everything!! Haha but, that´s that. Also, she wrote me the cutest poem yesterday about how my hair is yellow like banana icecream and my eyes are blue like the ocean and my lips are pink like roses... Haha it was the CUTEST!! I love that little girl. So, that is what is going on with them. 

Also, we met a lady named Guiermina this week and we really think that she could progress. We are definitely going to return to talk with her and also with her husband. So, we will see how it all goes! She is a really nice lady, too.

So, this week, we had our zone conference and President dropped cane like I thought. I knew he would. Apparently there is a bit of disobedience in the mission right now and so we talked a lot about that... But, it was still a good conference. Also, we were informed that we are going to do an activity for Navidad and our zone is doing like a ´´white elephant´´ thing. We all drew names and we have to buy something for that name. Then, we are all going to a maternity hospital to sing carols to the mamas! So, that will be so much fun. I didn´t receive the package from home at the conference, but I am guessing that pretty soon it will come. It is probably cuz there is just a lot more mail and stuff at this time of year. But, I am hoping to call and see if it´s in the next p-day and if it is... I will probably just go to Asunción to pick it up! So, we´ll see.

Also, this week the elders in our ward played a joke/prank on me. Ugh, they told me that one of them had special changes and I believed them! At first, I did not believe them at all cuz they ALWAYS do stuff like this. But then... They sounded so serious and ALL DAY they said that he had special changes and that they weren´t going to be able to say goodbye cuz they didn´t have time and stuff. Then, at night, they call us to ´´say goodbye´´ over the phone and I was like... ´´ok, then... guess we will never see you again...´´ and then they told me that it was all a joke. Haha it was a lot funnier in person... But, that is what happened. 

This p-day should be pretty fun. We are writing early today cuz we are planning to go to ITAUGUA to visit a few families in my old area! I am so excited to see them! And then, we are going to the old area of my companion and we are going to visit a few families there. So, should be fun. That is pretty much all that happened for this week. It was an alright week, but we will see how this week goes! Have a fun week! LOVE YOU TONS!!!

Love, Hermana Whittaker

December 9, 2014 - Week 49

Well, first of all... Sorry for writing late. It´s just that yesterday was a holiday here in Paraguay, so like none of the cybers were open! So, we had to wait until the morning. Sorry if I scared you all! ;) But, it wasn´t really like a holiday.. Just that the Paraguayans like to celebrate different saint days... Like it´s a huge Catholic thing. So, every now and then no one has work cuz it´s a Saint day. It´s like Memorial day in the states. Like, it´s not too important, but you don´t have to go to work!! But, the truth is that this time, it was crazy. It was the holiday for the virgen Caacupe. And apparently in this city called Caacupe, there is this huge virgen statue (I wouldn´t know, cuz it´s in the other mission...) but, the tradition is that all the Catholics walk like super far to see and pray to this statue every 8th of December. So, that was what happened. And on Sunday night, we were walking to a member´s house and there were TONS of people walking on the street. We´re talking like this place is like far from where we are... And the people walk! So, there is some cool Paraguayan history and traditions for you guys...

Ok, so first of all... I didn´t have changes! I am going to stay in my area with Hermana Chuquicallata for another change! And I am so excited about that. I really wanted to stay here for another change to spend Navidad here. So, That is the news. It was actually super cool, cuz no one in our district had changes! We were way happy about that cuz we are all like super good friends. But, I am like so excited to stay here cuz we are gonna find the chosen people in this area! Also, I will be here for Malena´s baptism! She won´t be getting baptized this Saturday like we thought.. But, I am pretty sure that it will be like the 20th of December. So, that´s cool. 

Anyways... This week was pretty good. Well, my companion was like really sick on Tuesday and Wednesday and Thursday... So, we didn´t get too much done those days... But, this week will be better cuz now she is feeling great. But, it was actually pretty bad. Especially on Monday night last week... She was feeling like horrible and the elders had to come to our house to give her a blessing at like 10 at night. It was bad... But, she got better and stuff. We didn´t find anyone cool this week... But that is mostly cuz we didn´t get too much done the days that my companion wasn´t feeling good.

 

So, that is what is going on right now. We are happy to be together again. Which this will be the longest time that I have been with a companion up until now... Also, I will have 6 months in this area! The time flies! So, I am happy. Wow... I don´t even know Paraguay cuz I am spent like a whole entire year in the same stake! Haha... But, it´s cool. 

Well, I hope you have a great week. I see that your trip was a blast... That´s cool. Wow... still can´t believe that we are in December again! So weird!! But, have a great week! I love you guys tons!!

Love, Hermana Whittaker

Also.. This is a picture of us with Irene. She is a lady that we found who was inactive and now she is going to church again! She is soooo funny,... But this is a picture of us with her! 

December 1, 2014 - Week 48

Well, it´s official. Today we hit the 11 month mark. I can´t even believe. And tomorrow I will know if I am leaving my area or staying another change with my companion. We will see! I am not feeling anything specific... I honestly don´t have a clue what is going to happen with changes. But, you guys will know next week!!

This week, was good. It was actually like a great week for us. We worked and worked and worked. So, it was good. We had like tons of lessons and we are expecting a baptism on the 13th of December. Hopefully I am still here, right?? But, we are excited for that. It is a little girl that is 8 and her name is Malena. We are helping them all come back to the church as a family and her get baptized. And she knows everything. Seriously. I feel like I am not even teaching lessons with her cuz she answers every question. Well, it makes sense and all cuz she has gone to church like all her life with her grandma... Just hasn´t had the chance to get baptized cuz her dad was inactive... But not anymore!!! :)

So, that was good. Also, we are working with the family of an hermana that is a recent convert in our area, Aida. Her family is listening and they feel that what we share is true and a few of them have been reading the Book of Mormon and have prayed and received an answer... The only thing is that they need to come to church!! So, we are working with them on that one and it is going pretty good. In fact, they were going to come to church with us this week.. All of them. But, when we got to their house in the morning to pick them up... We found out that they had to travel unexpectedly cuz their grandma died. So, that was sad. But, we will see what happens with all of them.

Also, this week we did divisions with the hermana leaders. And I was with Hermana Hunt... AGAIN! So, that was fun. And this time, we spoke in english! I felt so weird cuz I seriously haven´t spoken in english in like this entire time that I have been in this area. Like 4 and a half months. So, that was weird, but cool. She broke her ´´english fast´´ so we finally cound talk and joke together like old times! But, it was great. I went to her area this time and we had a good day. We just talked and talked and talked and I loved it. But, we had some really great lessons with people in her area, too. But, I learned to admire the hermana leaders cuz their area is super hard. It´s like way chuchi and all the houses are like richy rich houses.. So automatically everyone rejects you... But, I learned a lot with her and it was so much fun!

Today, we went to T.G.I. Friday´s in Asuncion with like 9 elders and 2 other hermanas. It was so fun! We decided that we had to do something fun cuz it is the last p-day of this change and we don´t know who is going to be leaving. So, we came up with that idea and went. We were going to play like waterballoon fight, but it is like really crappy weather and it was storming all night and gray skies all day. So, we just went to eat. And it was delicious. So weird, though. I haven´t been to an American restaurant in 11 months! But, I got a bacon cheeseburger and it was like I was back at home. Hahaha it was so weird. But, that was what we did for p-day. 

And that is my week. We did a lot of good things and had a great week. Hopefully I will stay in my area again so that I can spend Navidad with the people here and stuff, but... We will see what the Lord has in store... You´ll all know next letter! I hope you have a great week. Sounds like Thanksgiving was a success. We did have a ´´Thanksgiving´´ dinner. But, a member cooked us mashed potatoes and chicken on Thursday and that was good enough for me! I hope you have a great week! We are now in December! Love you!

Love, Hermana Whittaker