Awesome Companion and Keeping up with the work!!!

HOLY CRUD, we're not going to have anymore kids in the Primary?!?! That just about as weird as when we stopped having to buy diapers! Isn't it so cool to see how our family is growing up? And I'm sure that Ashton sang wonderfully. I probably would have cried too.

Sometimes when Hna Goering and I start talking about home, we go over all of the different foods that we miss. Chili is one of our most frequent topics. Just saying.

Btw, speaking of Hna Goering, can I just tell you guys how much I love my companion right now? I am learing so much from her!!! Here's the downlow:

-From Iowa (Oh my goodness, an Amercan comp that's not from UTAH!)

-Was studying nutrition before the mission

-1 of 13 kids (Yup... 13. They beat us.)

-Super hard worker and a BOSS.

OK, I would write more, but I have very little time. Basically, she's fetching amazing and hilarious.

This week we went on divisions in two areas calles Villarrica and Coronel Oviedo. It involved waiting for a bus for 1 hour, traveling in said bus for 2 more hours, taking another bus the next day for 30-40 minutes, and one final bus back home for 1 1/2 hours to continue working like crazy in our own area. It was only just a tiny little bit absolutely exhausting, but so much fun at the same time! Love getting to see other areas of Paraguay and getting to know the other sister missionaries. In Villarrica I was paired up with Hna Cruz from Honduras for a day. She is such a sweet heart and probably one of the most professional missionaries I've ever met as far as her conduct with the investigators. Then in Coronel Oviedo I got to be with.... (drum roll)... Hna ESCOBAR!!! It was so much fun to get to work with my old companion again! She is such a loving missionary! She actually reminds me a lot of Noelle in how she talks... except that she talks in Spanish.... 

When we got back to our area, things got a little rough. 3-4 investigators completely dropped us, and we got a TON of doors slammed in our faces. Honestly, it was pretty discouraging. I think Heavenly Father decided to be nice and make up for it though, because the next day we found two families and another investigator to start teaching that are just awesome! Plus, everyone kept giving us super yummy food to eat, so that was a huge plus ;)

It's really great to see how much the Lord blesses us when we put all of our trust in him. Right now I'm studying a talk called "The Fourth Missionary" that is just incredible, and really highlights the importance of giving our entire heart to God. That's my goal this week, is to give all of my desires, whether they be good or bad, to my Heavenly Father. Needless to say, I had a nice long chat with him this morning about my desires here in the mission and after as well.

Welp, times up. I love you guys so much, and I LOVE the pic of you guys in front of the temple. ALWAYS KEEP YOUR SIGHT SET ON THE TEMPLE!

Con mucho mucho amor,

Hermana Jeppesen

Baptisms=Pool Party!!!!

Hey Momma!

This week has been so nuts. I thought that I was a busy missionary before, and I had finally gotten used to somehow finding a tiny bit of time to breath, think, write in my journal, and relax just for a few minutes, but that sliver of time just poofed out of existence. Now we are constantly working, eating, breathing, living BAPTISMS. On top of that, I got to go do my very first division as sister trainer leader this week, so we were making way more phone calls and setting up the next two divisions that we're doing tomorrow and Wednesday. Let's just say that I'm learning how to put way more organization skills into practice. 

On Wednesday we went out to Piribebuy and I got to do my first division with Hna Valle from Bolivia. She actually has a transfer more than I do here in Paraguay, but less time in the MTC because she didn't have to learn Spanish. We'll be leaving the mission together!! That being said, it was kind of weird to think that I was there to help and train her because she's more of a peer in my mind. We did have a really good time, though. It was nice to just get to work in another area and make it as fun and exciting as possible. Although, they don't have air conditioning in their little house, so I was DIEING at night. I'm so grateful for AC.

We also had an AWESOME baptism this Saturday! Araceli, 17 years old, is the cutest girl ever. She was a reference from the member that she works for, and the sisters have been visiting her for a little while.  But THIS baptism was super special. The branch president and his wife, Presidente and Hermana Burger (btw, they're german) decided to have an activity with the youth of the branch and do the baptism in the swimming pool at their house. The elders in our ward also baptised 5 kids from the same family, so we had 6 baptisms total. The youth got to swim in the pool for the first half hour or so, then everyone got out and we had a BEAUTIFUL baptismal service, including a special musical number from the best sister companionship ever (us), and then everybody got to swim again for a while afterwards. We made brownies. Best pool-party-baptism EVER. 

Have I told you guys just how much I love being a missionary? Honestly, I have never been so happy or have felt such purpose in my life. I love you guys so much, and I am so grateful for our Heavenly Father's Plan of Salvation, so that we can be together forever. Honestly, words cannot express how glad I am to be able to teach these things to the people here in Paraguay and to see all of the blessings in my life and in your lives.

That was off topic.

I love you guys, and I'll here from you next week!!!

Looovvve,

Hermana Jeppesen

Baptisms!!!!

The Burger Ranch

Missionary Feet!!!

Conference Weekend! Plus we got lost....kind of.

 I LOVE CONFERENCE!!!! 

Did you guys feel the spirit like crazy like I did? Man, I wish it was conference every day!! The talks were just so inspired, and it was so wonderful to sit back and receive revelation for all the things going on in my life as a missionary and just in general.

Do you realize that we witnessed an incredible moment in history listening to the first ever general conference talk in ANOTHER LANGUAGE?! I honestly wish that you guys could have seen all of the missionaries' faces when they announced that, and how even MORE excited we got when we heard that Eld Gavarret would be speaking in SPANISH!!! Please be reassured that we immediately muted the television and turned on the speaker to the chapel so that we could watch and understand him speak in his own native tongue with his own words. And lucky us!! We got to do it all over again when Eld Martinez spoke the next day!! WE ARE LIVING IN A WORLDWIDE CHURCH. Isn't that so incredible that we get to see this amazing development in the history of the living gospel of Jesus Christ, filling the whole earth? I had such a spiritual freak out day!

The talks that really got my attention this conference were Eld. Chin Hong Sam Wong's and Eld Bednar's. I LOVED Eld Wong's example of how we all need to work together as a ward and as leaders to bring others unto Christ to be healed. We are here as missionaries to serve the wards that we are in, and WE WANT NAMES!! We truly need the support of all of the leaders in the ward, and we need to be there to support them as well. If we don't hold up our end, there are people who will suffer the consequences, and if we are trying to pull all of the weight, no one is going to get very far either. And with Eld Bednar's talk, WE JUST LOVE EVERYBODY AND WANT THEM TO BE BAPTISED SO THAT THEY CAN BE HAPPY FOR ETERNITY!!! I have very strong desires to print up his talk and pass it out to every single one of our investigators, but it isn't available to read yet... :(

Honestly, I could talk and talk about conference all day, but that's not all that happened this weekend. We had a service project and Analia's baptism!!!!

On Friday we were assigned last minute (as in the night before) to travel to Fernando de la Mora and help Operation Smile (google it, it's awesome) unload a couple of trucks of donations. We left at 10:45 in order to get there at 12, following the directions of one of the assistants to the president and a local lady who told us what bus to take. Apparently this bus would head in the opposite direction at first and then loop around to where we wanted to go. So the whole zone, 4 companionships, got on the bus and headed out. And we drove. And we drove. And we drove, waiting for the bus to turn back toward our destination.... which in never did. We ended up in VILLETA, which is SUPER FAR from where we wanted to go! WE ENDED UP IN THE COUNTRY!!!!! Of course we immediately got off of the bus and figured out how to get to where we wanted to go, but we were at least an hour or two late. On top of all of that, we had to wait for the truck to get to the building so we could unload everything, and the first truck came pretty quick! But then we waited. And we waited. And we waited for the second truck to come. I will make sure to attach our bored waiting pictures. Long story short, we didn't get back into our area until about 7:30 that night.

On Sunday morning we had Analia's baptism!!!!!! I wish you guys could see how happy she was. She has really done a lot to be able to get to this point, and now she can finally be clean and show to the Lord how willing she is to follow him. Hermana Palombo gave a wonderful message during the baptismal service about the importance of baptism, and started crying during the talk. That's when I really started to reflect on how much work we put into these people and how much we really have come to love our sister and friend, Analia. Honestly, I am so glad to be a missionary, and I know that this is where the Lord wants me to be.

Ok, this email is so ramble and scattered and crazy, but it's just an accurate reflection of what our weekend was like. I love you guys so much. I really hope you guys got as much out of conference as I did, and are applying everything that you learned!

SO MUCH LOVE,

Hermana Jeppesen