A Week of Quiet Progress

 No exciting trips this week and we will not ever stay in the office every day if we can help it. Something about mixing with the people we are actually helping that keeps smiles on our faces.  Sunday we were able to have the Bishop, his wife and mother over for a lunch of tacos. The bishop served in the same mission as Carter but 10 years earlier. We didn't want them to think we were making tacos because we think everyone in South America eats like Mexico but just because we love tacos and so did they!

We think our small and steady English Connect 2 class is getting used to us. We feel more cohesive as a group and the support for each other is a comfort.

Monday morning we enjoyed a meeting with a nonprofit that helps those living on the streets and those that may have housing but are extremely poor. Monica, on the right, is from our ward. 

We (meaning South America South Area Humanitarian) don't donate cash or do small donations on a per person basis so we couldn't help them directly but it so happens that one of the hospitals getting a new digitilizer for there mammography machine is one of the hospitals that supports a majority of the people they help! They are also going to help get the word out to schools and other hospitals to make solicituds (requests for assistance).

We did get a few pictures from the hostel for dialysis patients. They now have all their stuff and we are going to be visiting on Monday but here are a few smiling faces of the staff as the materials came in. Check out the monogrammed sheets.

Thursday night we were able to go to sealings in the temple. Gathering in God's family is at the center of all we should be doing even if we are doing it in different ways. Consider how you are treating God's family and if it measures up to how God treats them. We are grateful for our time in the temple to ponder how to establish the attributes of God in our relationships.

We heard many times at the MTC that as Humanitarian missionaries you need to be flexible and our trainers taught us if you just get one thing done each day you should feel successful. Not sure we can explain how mixed up, changable and turned around things can be in the life of a Humanitarian missionary.  Anyway to get us chuckling we started a list "You Know You're a Humanitarian Missionary when . . ." and sent it to our friends who are serving in the South America South and other parts of the world. We hope we grow the list with other responses because everyone is having such different experiences but here is the list so far.    

You Know You're a Humanitarian Missionary When . . .

1. You talk to your mission president only once or twice during your whole mission
2. You can skip project steps if your manager or someone above them asks you to
    do a certain project
3. You are asked to do “big” projects but no one will give you the requirements for a
    “big” project.
4. You have to cut and paste everything that you are required to enter into CHAS at
    least 3 times because someone can't look it up themselves.
5. You tear up about medical equipment, school desks, mattresses or other donations.
6. At least once a week someone asks you why in your country Humanitarian projects
    don´t include what they saw donated on the World Report in other parts of the world.
7. You really get to see the country you are serving in and meet amazing people along the way.
8. The name of the Savior on your badge brings celebrity status to ordinary you.

And a Paraguayan sunrise that brings hope of a new day and a new week. We know God hears and answers our prayers and yours. We know miracles happen everyday in this His work if we have eyes to see. And we know when things are feeling overwhelming like we won't make it through, it is usually because our pride is blinding us to the blessings Heavenly Father is trying to offer us through His Son. We leave the yoke of the Savior,which is easy and light for our own way.

Have a great week and gather in His family in anyway you can.

We Know the Lord Picked the Best Spot for Us

 Ok the pictures loaded from last to first so we are going to tell our week backward. This was the beginning of our sunrise this morning about 6am. Days are getting shorter here and cooler, we were only in the 90's this week.

Today we recieved two Christmas cards that were sent just before Christmas. We know the office address works just give it two months to get here. It was just as much fun opening them today as it would have been at Christmas.

We crossed Paraguay east to west this week to check out a hospital on the border with Brasil. It was a wonderful drive through beautiful countryside. Saltos del Guairá used to have the waterfalls with the most amount of water flowing over it in the world until they damned up the river to electrify two counties. The falls then were covered by a lake. There is lots of import shopping in Salto. It is kind of a smaller version of Cuidad de Este

We ended up taking the standard transmission diesel truck because we lost out to President Christiansen, the Area President who was in town for a mission tour and wanted the Fortuner. Still not a bad ride. Ken should not be allowed to drive a manual transmission. He thinks he's an Indy car driver and Chris saw her life flash in front of her on several occasions.

We stopped at a small family practice clinic that had a women's clinic beside it. They would like Church Humanitarian Aid to help with some equipment. The lady to the far left used to be the governor of this state and had the women'a clinic completed with equipment but when she left office the Ministry of Health had other plans for the equipment and moved it to another place. The women's clinic is now a bit empty. The picture below is of the lab. All the pictures were taken by one of the nurses who also is a member of the church.

We also visited the regional hospital in Saltos del Guairá. We initially came to check out their mammography machine but we always ask if they need anything more. Below is a surgical suite. They are waiting to get some ultaviolet lights that will sterilize the room.

We are finding a few patterns in our hospital visits. Everyone needs a cauterizing scalpel, an autoclave and stove that sterilize with steam and heat respectively, dentist chairs, xray machines and ultrasound machines. Most records are still paper and most xrays are still film.

These are the hospital beds that the Church donated in 2022.

Above is the mammography machine that will hopefully be fitted with a new digitilizer cartridge soon.

Below is lunch at the churrascaria in La Paloma. We were treated by The Villabla family.

Just a fun Barbie truck.

Is this picture below from Paraguay or the midwest? Soybean harvest.

And what about these, Paraguay or midwest?

They say the red dirt here makes the water great for your insides,  your skin and your hair.

These welcome and leaving signs are a big thing in Paraguay

More views for those who have been here and like to reminisce.

Below the Paraguay license plate gives this location away but farm traffic during planting/harvesting is a thing here too. We can't figure out if there are two seasons or just conitual harvesting and planting yet. Below are two different planters taking up the highway during our trip. We also passed a sprayer.

And for the ADM fans, we saw three different ADM sites on our trip across Paraguay on PY3.

We lucked out and the restuarant in the hotel was all decorated for Valentine's Day. We turned down the $35 a bottle wine though that came with the dinner.

Before we left on our trip we were able to see the new digitilizer at a hopital close to our office. This is one of the techs who is extremely happy. No more chemicals, no more deciding the most important cases to use the hard to find and nearly non existent film and the ability to do more accurate mammograms. In the second and third photos below you can see the digital scan vs. the film scan. There is no doubt better breast cancer detection will come to the women of Paraguay

Dinner with the missionaries and interns on Sunday and a quick game of Qwirkle. Ben, the intern is champion this week but he only beat Elder Sherwood by 1 point.

Some crazy small world facts. Ben ends up being our son Carter's honors class TA. The class is on line so it is possible for Ben to be in Paraguay and TA for Carter's class at BYU in Provo.

A guy who lives in Apt 202 of our buidling said his kids live in Rhode Island. Now maybe he meant Long Island because that mistake has been made before but he said it before he knew Chris was from RI.

Today we were able to have a meeting with a couple who does philanthropic work here in Paraguay and all over the world. They each served missions here in Paraguay but in different missions. They love Paraguay, and it was so amazing to hear the same principles of building up and strengthening people where there is a gap through self reliance and training. They have opened the first interactive science museum Muci in Asuncion. And in doing that they are giving college kids jobs, giving Paraguay a place to learn and grow and a positive place to visit with your family. It was really inspiring and helpful to see the thought process of professionals.

David is also friends with the Minister of Education so we may finally get a foot in the door. Bonus.

This week's spiritual thought comes by way of a podcast Let's Get Real with Steve Jones and Brad Wilcox. Brad pointed out that in the temple God is always reaching out to us. To those of you who haven't been to the temple what was said will not mean as much. But hopefully to those who have it will bring a greater feeling of love and support as you walk the covenant path and notice how even in the scriptures it often states that "his arm is outstretched still."

Chris is reading the Book of Mormon in Spanish and doesn't catch everything, but this week she is reading the Isaiah chapters. There are somethings that have more meaning in Spanish even to someone just learning the language. In 2 Nephi 13:1 it talks about withdrawing the stay and staff, in Spanish it is "apoyo" (advocacy) and "sostén" (support) because of Israel's rebelliousness. We would be lost without the strength, direction, power and example of the Savior Jesus Christ but he will never force us to take his help that he proffer us.

Have a great week!