Transferred For Last Change - June 25, 2012

Dear Family!

 

Great to hear from you this week. I remember a while back I had made the comment that in every letter Dad writes something about golf and Mom writes something about Scouts. Wow, definitely true this time. Mom had a good page long letter all about scouts. Love it! Haha

Anyway, some news. We had transfers this past week and I ended up being transferred for my last change. I wasn´t really expecting a change and was a little surprised. But I´ve learned in the mission that the Lord always knows best and that it is best to follow His will.

My new area is called Minga Guazú. I am back in Zone 9, Ciudad del Este. I was in this same zone last year when I was in Santa Rita. Minga Guazú is the closest area to Santa Rita actually. We are about an hour and a little more away. Since Santa Rita is still just a group and it pertains to the Minga Guazú branch.

Minga Guazú is a lot like Santa Rita. It has the super red dirt, the empedrado. There are even lots of Brazilians here, but not as many as there are in Santa Rita. Minga Guazú is a branch that is growing a lot. About a year and a half ago the missionaries were removed from Minga. But several months ago they put missionaries here again and the branch is doing well. There are two companionships here in Minga Guazú and we live in the same pension. My new companion´s name is Elder Barrios. He is Paraguayan, kind of interesting having a Paraguayan comp. Elder Barrios is only here temporarily. His was called to a mission in Mexico, but is serving here while waiting for his Visa. He speaks Guaraní, which is really nice when we are teaching people that don´t speak much Spanish. He just finished being trained and is in his third change. He is still pretty green, but has lots of really great desires to have success.

The other two missionaries that live in Minga with us are named Elder Bulkley and Elder Marecos. Elder Bulkley is from Montana. Elder Marecos is also Paraguayan and waiting on his Visa to Mexico. Elder Barrios and Elder Marecos started the mission at the same time and both came to Minga Guazú to be trained. They are here until their Visa goes through and then the plan is to combine the two areas in Minga Guazú into one area like it was before. So I´m not sure how long I will be with Elder Barrios.

I am serving as a senior companion now. It´s kind of wierd not being a zone leader. It´s nice to just worry about my companion and myself.

Dad had asked a little bit about the change in Mission President. President Callan is still here. President Agazzani comes this Friday so we still haven´t had the transition yet. After the new Mission President arrives I think the plan is that he does interviews with all of the missionaries within the first few weeks so that he can get to know all of them. I will let you know a little bit more next week.

Elder Barrios and I are teaching some really great people. When I got here there was one family that was progressing pretty well. We are hoping that they can be baptized within the next couple of weeks. The problem is that they live realllllly far away. Like an hour by bus (Our area is gigantic). They had a baptismal date for this past week but weren´t quite prepared. We want to prepare them a little more for their baptism. Their name is the Lesme Family. They are really great and will be baptized pretty soon.

Apart from the Lesme family, we didn´t have a whole lot of investigators when I got here. We´ve been finding a lot of new investigators and seeing lots of miracles. We have found some really prepared people that are progressing well.

Welp I think that´s about all for this week. Thanks for all of your support. I can feel your love and prayers. I know that this is the true church and that Jesus Christ lives and loves us.

Love you all!

Elder Snow

All Part of the Paraguayan Experience - June 18, 2012

Dear Snow Family,

Happy Father´s day to Dad, Grandpa Snow, Grandpa Vacc, and all you fathers out there!

Thanks for everything that you do as Dads, I appreciate it a lot.

This past week we have been working a lot with our investigators to help them go to church. Right now we have Pedro and Felicia who are progressing really well. After them there are several other newer investigators that we are working with who haven´t attended church or who have gone just once. So we are working hard to get those new investigators to church. It is always incredible how much more progress there is when an investigator attends church as opposed to when they don´t.

On Wednesday of this week we did divisions with the other missionaries here in Pilar. The district leader, Elder Guizada, came to our area and worked with me all day Wednesday. Elder Ramos went over to Pilar 2 to work with Elder Shelley. It was good working with Elder Guizada. We worked really hard all day and found some really good new investigators.

We taught a young man named Carlos. He is about to turn 20. He lives here in Pilar but his family lives in a small town outside of Pilar. He had some really good questions and we could tell that the Lord has prepared him a lot. He wanted to know about the purupose of life. He also wanted to know about life after death because his mom passed a way a few years ago and that was pretty tough on him. This week we taught him about the Restoration and the Plan of Salvation. He really likes reading the Book of Mormon. We gave him 2 Nephi 2 and then Alma 40 to read and he read it all and understood pretty well. He took the invitation to pray to God to know if it is true and said that he feels good, that he feels the desires to learn more and more. I have met several people in the mission who have received answers in that form, a desire to know more and to continue investigating.

I know that the Lord loves us, each and every one. He knows us personally and always is there for us when we need Him.

The weather here lately has been loco ité!!!! One week it´s like 0 degrees Celsius (32 Fahrenheit) and the next week it´s 30 Celsius (like 85 Fahrenheit). It´s all part of the Paraguayan experience I guess. You just learn to love it.

Dad asked about transfers. The changes are actually this week, on Wednesday the 20th. It is a little different, the change is a week earlier because of the new Mission President. My final change with last 7 weeks instead of 6. Concerning the changes, I think I will probably just finish in Pilar. It would be nice to be here for the baptism of Pedro and Felicia and I don´t think I would get changed for my final change. But you never know. If I have a change it won´t be a problem, I have learned that the changes come from the Lord, so I will just trust in him. But I´ll let ya know next week how it turns out.

 

I am grateful for all of you and for your support! I know that I and you are receiving many blessings for my missionary service. I can feel the support of your prayers. I know that this is the work of the Lord. I am so grateful for the blessings that he gives us for our obedience. The Lord really is so merciful towards us. I hope you all have a great week!

 

Love,

Elder Snow

I Will Leave It For Effect - June 11, 2012

Dear Family,

Thank you so mucho (haha, that was an accidente but I will leave it for effect) for the letter this week. I could really feel the spirit in reading about the family and the great things that you are doing.

This week I have a little bit more time to write so I will try to get a good letter in. The consejo on Monday was really great. We talked a lot about faith and goals. We all left excited and ready to work. After the meeting on Monday, I went with one of our district leaders to do an exchange and his companion went to Pilar with Elder Ramos. To answer mom´s question, when we have consejos like that on Preparation Day, we usually get home at about 11 or 11:30. So we just buy a little bit of food the next day. As for laundry, there is a sister in our ward that washes it, so we never have to worry about washing our own clothes on Mondays.

Anyway, after the meeting, I went with Elder Mower (I have written about him before I think) and we went to San Ignacio. We spent the night there and on Tuesday I participated in the District Meeting of District 2 in our zone. It was really uplifting and we all left really excited to baptize like crazy. After the meeting, Elder Mower and I headed over to Ayolas, his area. Traveling and doing divisions in our zone is crazy because our district leader´s area is like 2 buses (5 hours) away. Elder Mower is really great. This was like the third time I´ve done divisions with him in my mission, I have been his zone leader in 2 different zones. We worked hard and saw lots of miracles with his investigators there.

So I was there Tuesday and Wednesday til about midnight when we caught another bus back to San Ignacio. There I met up with Elder Ramos and we headed back to Pilar Thursday morning. Some good news from the divisions, Pedro and Felisia accepted a secure baptismal date for the 30th of this month. We wanted to put it sooner but they were a little bit stubborn haha. They are really resolved to be baptized on the day and I know that it will be so great. They attended church yesterday even though Felisia was sick and the weather was really bad. It was really great to see their faith in attending church yesterday.

So on Thursday I came back to Pilar and the assistants were there ready to do divisions with us for another two days. They had done divisions with the other two elders in Pilar and wanted to do them with us as well. So on Thursday and Friday I worked with Elder King and Elder Dexter here in Pilar and it was really great as well. We found a lot of really great people and we will work hard with them this week so that they can attend church next week.

Yesterday in church I really enjoyed the sacrament meeting. One of the youth named Alan (he always goes out with us to teach) gave a talk and did a really great job. He talked about the blessings of seminary in his life. He is one of only 2 or 3 youth that attends seminary. Here they do it once a week, on Saturday. I realize the importance of the youth. They are the future of the church. I want so bad for the youth here in Paraguay to be strong and go on missions. I know that that will do wonders and miracles for the work here in this country. I am so grateful for my mission. I am so grateful for the blessing that I am experiencing to come close to my Savior.

I know that this is the true church. I know that we have a loving Heavenly Father. I am really, really grateful for you, my family. You are the best!

Love,
Elder Snow

Through Faith and Diligence - June 4, 2012

Dear Family,

 

Thanks for writing a great letter this week. Sounds like it has been a busy week back home. We have had a busy week as well here. Right now I am in Asunción. We had a leadership counsel this morning so we took a midnight bus to get here at about 6 this morning. The consejo ended not too long ago and we have to grab a bus back in about an hour so I have really little time to write.

This week we have seen lots of miracles. We are continuing to work with Pedro and Felisia. They made it to church again yesterday. They have accepted a baptismal date for this Saturday but they still have some doubts that we need to work out. So we are praying for them a lot so that they can make the decision to be baptized this weekend.

We had set a goal this past week as well to get a new investigator in church on Sunday. We worked hard all week and were able to complete with this goal. An investigator that we have been teaching for about 2 weeks now named Esperanza made it for sacrament meeting. She is a reference from a recent convert named Alan. They are cousins. She really enjoyed church and wants to continue attending. We have invited her to be baptized but she hasn´t accepted a specific date yet so we will continue working with her on that.

The counsel meeting this morning was really great. It was the last one that we will have with Pres. Callan. He goes home at the end of this month. It will probs be the last time that I see him in the mission.

I know that this is the work of the Lord. I know that through faith and diligence that miracles are achieved. I am grateful for this opportunity to work in the Lord´s work. I love you all very much!

Love,

Elder Snow

Great and Successful Week - May 28, 2012

Dear Family,

Well we have had a great and successful week. We have continued working hard with Pedro and his wife, Felisia. They are progressing really well and I think they are getting closer to taking the step of baptism. This week we had a really good visit with them in which Jorge Jara accompanied us. Pedro and Felisia have expressed doubts to be baptized because they don´t feel ready yet. They also have faced opposition from family members who aren´t big fans of the Church. Jorge has experienced similar challenges and we felt that his testimony would be able to help. Jorge did a fantastic job, he shared his testimony of how he also had to take a step in the dark and be baptized, even though he didn´t have a perfect knowledge yet. He spoke of how he needed to be baptized to continue progressing. Something that I have learned in the mission is that an investigator can only progress to a certain point before being baptized and, unless the person is baptized, won´t be able to progress more than that point. Jorge also shared an experience of how his family made fun of him a little bit for his decision to be baptized. But he knows that it was the right decision and continues strong in the church. Jorge is a really great convert and a future leader here in Pilar.

In the class of Gospel Principles yesterday, it was my turn to teach (my companion and I switch off every week). I felt like we should talk about baptism. Pedro and Felisia also wanted to know a little bit more about how is the baptism in the church. They wanted to see a baptism, but we don´t have any scheduled really soon. So in the lesson I decided that we could watch part of a video that we have that shows the baptism of a convert. (Dad also mentioned something about preparing talks on the fly, yesterday morning I had to prepare the class in about 15 minutes haha). So we talked about baptism, shared some scriptures, shared experiences from baptism, and saw the video. The Spirit was very strong and present. At the end I shared a personal experience from my baptism. I remember when Dad and I were in the changing room after he had recently baptized me and I mentioned to him that I felt good and that it was too bad that I could only be baptized once. I don´t remember the exact words that Dad said to me, but I remember that he mentioned that through repentance and the Sacrament that I could always relive those feelings that I had in the moment of my baptism and that I could always feel that happiness. Thank you, Dad, for that important lesson. I have carried it with me for a long time and I know and feel of its truth. Yesterday, sharing that experience helped Pedro and Felisia as well. They have felt some doubts of baptism because they are afraid of falling or sinning after being baptized. I shared with the class that after we are baptized, we are going to make mistakes, but that through repentance, the Atonement, and the Sacrament, we can always find our way back and feel once again the feelings that we have when we are baptized. I know that this is the true Church, that has the true Doctrine of Christ.

Another cool moment in church yesterday was that Jorge Jara, our convert from last month was able to bless the Sacrament and Eider Servín, who was baptized a couple of months ago served the Sacrament to us. That was pretty neat. I feel really blessed for our efforts here in Pilar. I feel good to know that I have helped to edify God´s Kingdom a little bit here and that the recent converts are staying strong in the church.

Like Mom I also had the blessing to give a talk in Sacrament Meeting yesterday. It was a pretty busy Sunday with teaching the Gospel Principles class and giving a talk as well. I talked about the importance of having a testimony and how a testimony will sustain us in times of difficulty.

We have also been working this week with a reference from a recent convert, Alan. His prima (cousin) is named Esperanza. She had attended church years ago when she was a girl. She is now about 25 and has two children of her own. She has been progressing but hasn´t made it to church yet. We will continue working with her as well.

I have a testimony that this is the true church of God, the only one on Earth. I know that Christ lives and that He loves us. I love you all very much!! Till next week...

Elder Snow

Still in Pilar - May 21, 2112

Dear Family!!

 

Great to hear from you this week. We have had a successful week. To let you know, I am still here in good ´ole Pilar with Elder Ramos. I am confident that the Lord wants me here and that there is still work for me to do. I am excited to continue working in Pilar and I know that there are still so many people that will receive the gospel here in the months that come.

But like I said, we have had a really great week. Last week we struggled a little bit because it was Holiday time here in Paraguay and everyone was pretty busy in those days. This week things have calmed down a little bit and we have had a lot of success. Yesterday in church Pedro and Felisia were able to make it for the second time. We have been inviting them to be baptized on a specific date but they haven´t accepted so far. Pedro wants to be really sure of the decision that he makes. They were baptized before in an Evangelical Church a while ago but don´t attend there anymore and had some problems in that church. For that reason, they want to be really sure of their decision. But I can tell that they are sincere and want to be baptized, they just want to be sure as well.

We have also found some really golden people this week. Yesterday morning we taught a man who is so prepared! We taught him all of the message of the Restoration and he understood it really well. He told us that he had the feeling that he needed to be baptized, but he didn´t know in which church or how to know which church is true. Anyway, he is the father of a big family. They are about to have their 5th child this month. The family is all really great and the mom is realy receptive as well. We are excited to see their progress, They are planning on going to church next week.

Well I´ve got to go pretty soon. I love you all very much. Thanks for all of the support. I am grateful for the blessing of being here in the mission. I know that this is the work of the Lord! Have a great week

Love

Elder Snow

Happy Mother's Day! - May 14, 2012

Dear Snow Fam,

 

Happy Mother´s Day!! I hope you had a great Mother´s day, Mom. I don´t know if I remembered to wish you a happy Mother´s Day when we talked on Saturday, sorry about that. I love you a lot and appreciate everything that you have done for me as my mother, including the extra two weeks of pregnancy that you never let me forget about :P haha

It was really great to talk to you all. I was really surprised to see how much Melanie has grown up. Is she almost as tall as Kim now? After I finished talking with the fam, Elder Ramos asked me if Melanie goes to BYU because of her BYU sweatshirt that she was wearing. I think he thought she looked a little older than 15 haha.

Mother's Day Skype

It was great to see Zach and talk to him!

I was able to talk to Dan for a few minutes as well. It was really neat to see London, she is a cute little niece. At one point Dan held her up close to the computer screen so that I could see her a little better and right in that moment she spit up and it got all over his keyboard. Haha, it was really funny. Dan said that she is a spit up monster.

This week has been really great. On Monday night we traveled through the night to get to Encarnación for zone conference on Tuesday Morning. It is like a 6 hour trip if you can get the connecting colectivo(bus) fast. So we were a little tired by the time conference was over, but I left really spiritually fed. In the conference we talked a lot about the missionary purpose, how to find new investigators, and how to teach the commandments.

President Callan talked a lot about the personal conversion of a missionary and the importance of understanding the why of the Gospel and Doctrine of Christ. The Spirit was very strong.

Tuesday afternoon we traveled back to Pilar, but didn´t get so lucky with the busses. We got home at about 11:30 PM. The rest of the week we worked hard with Pedro and Felisa. We´ve been trying to visit them with members but haven´t been able to schedule it well yet. They are progressing a lot. Before they went to church last week, Felisa didn´t really want to share too much. She would kind of wander off while we came to teach Pedro. But this week she has opened up a lot more and is really enjoying our visits. We visited them Monday with the Suarez family and talked about the first principles of the Gospel: Faith, Repentance, Baptism, Receiving the Holy Ghost, and Enduring to the End. Pedro wants to be really convinced in order to be baptized. He is reading a lot in the Book of Mormon and really enjoys it.

We saw a lot of progress this week with Victor, the neighbor of the Servín family. We were able to speak with his mom a few times. We taught them one day this week with the entire Servín family there. The mom is traditionally Catholic and a little self-conscious because she doesn´t speak Spanish very well. But we talked about the Doctrine of Christ and explained the blessings of baptism and receiving the Holy Ghost. She said that she thinks it is ok for Victor to be baptized but wants to talk with his dad first to make sure. Victor´s dad works far away and only comes about once a month to visit. So we are praying a lot so that everything goes well. Victor really wants to be baptized. It´s great because he has seen the positive example of Eider Servín, the oldest of the Servín kids and has been really positively influenced.

Today is Paraguay´s Independence Day. I remember last year while I was in Santa Rita (wowwww, it is crazy to think that that was an entire year ago) it was the 200th anniversary of Paraguay´s Independence. It´s pretty neat the have a parade and everything where all of the school kids march in the streets and have some type of talent (marching drums, twirly baton thing called ¨chirolera,¨ etc.) I think we will head over there in a little bit to take some pictures of the parade. It´s funny that they always have the parade on the street called 14 de Mayo (the day of Independence) because there is a street by that name in just about EVERY city in Paraguay.

I´m also attaching the fotos of when I ate la pata de vaca. Or as Kim said ¨cow hoof.¨ They served it with little corn ball things called ¨locro¨ and with beans. The actual soup part tasted pretty good but the foot was really gross. It was like all ligaments and fat. I was being really tentative trying to cut it and the brother that gave it to us told me, ¨Here, elder, this is how you eat it.¨ He grabbed the hoof off my plate and starting going to town on it with his hands like I would eat ribs when I was a little kid, haha.

La pata de vaca (or cow's foot)

Elder Snow enjoying la pata de vaca.  Yum!

Looks just like the rib bones Zach left on the table as a kid!

I really appreciate your letters every week! It is great to hear news from home and have your support. I love you all very much. I am so grateful for the Gospel in our life as a family. What a blessing to be an eternal family. I am really grateful for the blessing of the temple. I am grateful for the opportunity to live the a time where the restored Gospel is on Earth and, even more, to be a missionary teaching it. I know that this is the true Church. I know that God and Christ live.

I hope you all have a great week. Mom, if you could wish a happy mother´s day to Grandma Snow, Grandma Vaccarello, and Great Grandma as well. Thanks

Elder Snow