One Year Down!!!!

Mommy!!

So... I realize that my letter last week was just a little bit on the negative side.... I apologize. BUT, we did have a lesson with Claudio that night in which I got to practice my "mom voice". After the lesson, Hna Palombo told me, "Holy cow. Even I felt like a sinner! I was even a little scared of you during that lesson!" Let's just say that I was VERY clear about what happens to those who lie to God. I recommend a deep study of Alma ch. 5, keeping in mind the verse in 2 Nephi that reads, "Woe unto the lier, for he shall be thrust down to hell." But don't worry! I was still loving (or at least as loving as possible), and he is on track to do the baptism and confirmation all over again on the 30th since we have stake conference this weekend!

Long story short, DON'T TICK OFF HERMANA JEPPESEN.

On a whole different note: I'M OFFICIALLY AN OLD MISSIONARY!! Happy 1 year anniversary to me!!!!!! The best part of all is that on that day (Thursday) we got to do divisions with the sister trainer leaders, and I got to go off with Hermana Kimball who was in the MTC with me. We got to celebrate our first year in Paraguay together! Isn't that so cool? We took a bunch of pics, but unfortunately I left my camera in her apartment. Hopefully I'll be getting that tomorrow....

Hermana West (the BEST sister missionary ever) did splits with my companion, and really gave her a super awesome push. Since Thursday, Hna Palombo has been talking a lot more in the lessons, with absolutely NO fear of saying things wrong in Spanish or what the people will think. Her confidence went WAY up, and it's so amazing for me to see her progression! I love my mission daughter!!! This week we have to go into Asunción for her to take a test and measure how much she's learing. Basically, it's to make sure that I'm doing my job as her trainer.... I'm not worried :)

Not much else happened this week. We found a new young couple to teach that are fantastic and have A LOT of questions, since they both grew up Catholic. The boyfriend, Miguel, REALLY wants to keep learning, but also says that he's really confused because everything that we teach makes sense, but doesn't fall inline with what he grew up learning. THIS IS GOOD. The spirit is really working in him!! His girlfriend, Romina, is just as interested, and is opening up to us more and more. 

So those are the highlights. It still wierd to me to think that Hayden is stabbing people with needles and sucking out their blood. Dad, Dani and Cece are brave souls. I don't blame Mia for chickening out. Also, totally keeping Celeste in my prayers that everything will keep healing well. It still blows my mind that you both are doing so well after something so crazy like that!

I love you all so much, and I'm so glad to know that Heavenly Father continues to watch over you guys. Don't burn up too much in the heat! ¡Cuídense!

Con amor,

Hermana Jeppesen.

Busy Week!

DADDY!!!!

Hey, Papa! I'm actually really stoked that you wrote me this week! I'm glad everyone seems to be doing so well and you're getting everything checked out with the doctor. Keep me updated on that stuff, will you? 

Questions and concerns: I think the deferment for my loan expired. You guys have all the info for that, right? Will you be able to update that? Also, I was thinking the other day that I don't know if you guys payed tithing for my taxes way back when. I don't know how much it was and I can't really do that from here... can you guys help me out with that, too? Sorry, I wish I could do this stuff myself....

THIS WEEKEND WAS SO CRAZY. I'm kind of glad it's P-day and we kind of sort of get to take a little break. Let me tell you what happened....

In our district, we've set a goal of being more direct and bold with inviting people to be baptised. With a little help from our district leader, Hna Palombo and I decided to invite an "eternal investigator," Claudio, to get baptised again, even though he has already had 3-4 baptismal interviews with other missionaries, passed them all, and then either drank the night before the baptism or just never showed up. BUT, THIS TIME was going to be different! THIS TIME we were going to be BOLD and help him understand that if he doesn't make the decision to get baptised now, he'll just keep putting it off and putting it off until he finally runs out of time. So on Thursday, we went to his house and had a lesson with him and his mother, a recent convert, and invited him to be baptised THAT Saturday, in two days time. And you know what? HE ACCEPTED. So we got everything ready and set up his baptismal interview with the zone leader who was doing devisions here, and told him to be at the church at 7pm.At 6:30 that day, his mom called to tell us that something happened with his motorcycle, and that he couldn't make it to the church. AAaaaahhh! So we went and found the elders and BOOKED IT about a mile and a half on foot all the way to his house, and the Elders walk FAST. I was keeping up with them pretty well because I've got a year of practice with these guys, but I thought my poor little companion was going to die.. We finally got there, did the interview, filled out the paperwork that we needed, and we were ready to go for the next day.

Saturday, we got to the church early to find that the ward mission leader had already cleaned the building and filled the font. The baptismal clothing was ready, and by1pm we were ready to start... but no one was there yet. We called Hna Bonifacia, Claudio's mom, and she hadn't even left the house yet. Well, that's just normal Paraguay. So we waited. For an hour. People finally started showing up, and his mom got there, but Claudio was still missing. We called him and he was still 10 blocks from his house and had to swing by there first, but he was "on his way." Honestly, all I could think was, "Crud. We're going to get stranded AGAIN." We waited in the chapel for ANOTHER HOUR when Hna Bonifacia stuck her head in where we were sitting and said, "He's here!" WE JUST ABOUT DIED. He actually came and got baptised!! Holy cow, we were so happy. Two hours late, but he finally did it.

THE STORY ISN'T OVER. We stopped by their house that night and saw that Claudo had gotten a hair cut.... that is, a short mohawk.... That should have been the first sign that something was up. But he still seemed fine and said that he would see us the next day in church, so we left and everything was fine. We worked, went home, planned for the confirmation the next day, and went to bed. We were woken up at 3am by a phone call from Claudio. An instand "OH NO" feeling set in. I answered, and he said something into the phone, but I didn't understand from the music going on in the background. This happened 3 TIMES. The next morning, we called Hna Bonifacia and found out that he had gone out the night before with his buddies and never came back home. We went to church, and he never showed up. There was nothing that we could do. Later in the day, we went back to their house to find out that he had returned completely drunk with his right arm scraped up, crashed his motorcylce, and lost his cellphone and spent all his money. His mom even found a pack of cigarettes outside that he had hidden. Needless to say, we are going bytonight to have a VERY SERIOUS TALK with Claudio. Believe me, I will let you know how it goes. I will definately try to control the righteous fury as much as I can.

So that is my very detailed, very interesting story for this week. Please enjoy. Here is a picture of the would-be convert. Also, to cheer everybody up, a picture of me and Mercedes, the little girl of one of our investigators with real intent!!

I love missionary work!!!

Love you guys a ton!!!!!!!

Hna Jeppesen

Cleaning the temple day!

Sorry this letter is late, by the way. We got a call LAST NIGHT that we were assigned to go into Asunción to clean the temple today! Hermana Palombo and I were assigned to clean the oxen in the baptismal font, which was AWESOME, and we may or may not have taken a peak in the celestial room once the Elders were done cleaning. What a beautiful, sacred place! Honestly, there could never be any doubt that the temple is the house of the Lord. 

So this last week we had interviews with Presidente Agazzani. Before meeting with him, though, we met with his assistants to do a bit of training. We had to bring our Area Book, which is a binder with ALL of our teaching records, lists of contacts, records of recent converts, etc., as well and our agendas for them to look through. It's always a bit unnerving to feel like the assistants to the mission president are judging every little thing that I am writing down in our records, but everything turned out alright and they said that we were doing a good job. Then we watched a short video about the Atonement and talked about how it applies to our investigators, but also how it applies to ourselves as missionaries. That's were the waterworks kicked in. For the last few days, I had been struggling with feelings of ineptitude. As a trainer, everything kind of depends on me right now. I have to be the perfect example for my greenie. It's my job to show her how to resolve people's doubts, how to bring the spirit into every single lesson, how to contact in an efficient manner, how to work effectively with all of the members, and most of all, how to always have a positive attitude no matter what happens. Basically, I have to be perfect in order to be the best example possible for Hna Palombo. The catch is that I feel VERY imperfect. I HAVE NO IDEA WHAT I'M DOING. Even after a whole year, there are so many things that I struggle with, for example, time organization, that I just can't seem to figure out. Also, I'm at a loss at times in knowing how to help our investigators progress. Over time, all these little things keep building up and building up until I get overwhelmed and feel like I am literally screwing everything up. BUT, that's where the Atonement comes in. After talking with the Assistants and watching that video with them, I was reminded that I'm not expected to be perfect, I'm just expected to TRY. Because of the Savior, I can turn over a new leaf and start again each day, doing my very best to do better than the day before. He is there to support me, and he will lead me when I don't know what to do. Most of all, this is HIS work, and will keep moving on, and he will guide me to be a part of it. There really is very little that a missionary like me can do to screw up HIS plan. I just got to trust in him and the covenants that I have made with him.

So, yup. I cried infront of the Elders. Totally not embarassing..... >.> At the very least, I've known them both for a bit now, and I know they're cool guys :D 

Hna Palombo and I are still working as hard as ever. Her Spanish is improving bit by bit. I think she gets a bit embarrassed to talk a lot infront of people. This week we are going to practice putting some spiritual thoughts together that she can share with the members that she's more comfortable with. I'm excited to see her growth as she puts herself more out there. She is doing REALLY fantastic though, and is helping me alot to learn how to keep my mind a bit more organized. We actually make a pretty killer team. 

Not the most eventful week, but still pretty awesome. Please enjoy the picture of the dulce de leche filled cake that my comp and I made for our district meeting. I LOVE YOU GUYS SO MUCH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Have a great week!

Con MUCHÍSIMO amor,

Hermana Jeppesen

Baptism!!

Holy crud, summer is ALREADY OVER?!?! But it just started for you guys!!! Holy cow, Momma, time is FLYING. 

IN 3 WEEKS I WILL HAVE BEEN AWAY FROM HOME FOR A FREAKING YEAR. Can you believe that? Sometimes I think about it and it just blows my mind. I ONLY HAVE 6 1/2 MONTHS LEFT!!!!!!!!

OK,  WE FINALLY HAD A BAPTISM!! I told you guys about Carolina, right? Well if not, she is such a sweet lady! She is 39 years old and is a single mom of four kids, the oldest being her daughter Analia who is 20 years old and the youngest being Emmanuel, who is 9. She is actually a bit learning challenged and speaks a LOT of Guarani, so teaching her was a very interesting process. We used a lot of examples and hand signs to remember things like the word "prophet" and "priesthood power". About two years ago she had a stroke leaving the right side of her body paralysed, but the members helped out a lot in bringing her to church and her baptism on Saturday. Also, it made her a bit nervous about how the baptism would go if she couldn't support herself on her leg very well, but Gabriel, the ward mission leader, did a really good job at keeping her calm and helping her under the water. She only had to go down once, but she swallowed a bit of water so came up coughing and spitting. Once she calmed down, she looked at me with these big ol' eyes and half a smile and said, "Can I get out, now?" Everybody got a good laugh out of that.

The best part of all was the confirmation the following day. We usually have to poke and prod the members to reach out and sit with somebody new that we bring, but this time, without even being asked, the members all reached out to her in such a loving way. One sister especially, Hermana Bonifacia, helped her walk from one class to the other, and then helped her walk up to the front for her blessing. After everything was said and done, Carolina looked just so incredibly peaceful and happy. At that moment, I felt a confirmation that I am so blessed to be a part of this, and I really am fulfilling my purpose here to bring souls unto Christ. It was a very humbling and satisfying feeling. On top of that, I think it was really great for my greenie to be able to take part in a baptism so early on, too!

Speaking of greenie, Hna Palombo is doing super great. You can tell that she is still trying adjust to the language and the culture, but she's figuring out a little more every day. Now I just got a get her a little less dependent on me translating for her!

So this was my week. I remembered that I have an extra memory card, so I'm using my other camera again. Please enjoy the pictures of Carolina!!

I love you guys. Enjoy school, and stay safe!!

Su contenta misionera,

Hermana Jeppesen

A Trainer!! Plus pictures!!!!

I'm so glad to hear that you guys are healing up so well!! Celeste is definitely looking a LOT better. And, HOLY COW, the truck got smashed! Once again, I am SO HAPPY that you guys are ok! Also, I know that Heavenly Father is taking care of me over here and keeping me way too busy to think about you guys, BECAUSE....

I'M TRAINING!!!!!!

It took me COMPLETELY by surprise, but I finally have a mission baby! Can you believe it?!?! I still can't.... So about my new daughter:

Name: Hermana Palombo

Age: 20 (HER FIRST DAY HERE WAS HER BIRTHDAY!)

Hair color: Super blonde (sticks out like a sore thumb)

Skin color: Super white (a sore thumb with a bug bite on top)

Eye color: Super blue (the sore thumb had an alergic reaction to the bug bite)

Home town: Spanish Fork, Utah (surprise, surprise)

Language skills: ...yeah, we're working on that. I am fondly reminded of my training days when I didn't understand what the 

crap was going on. Right now we are working on memorizing the first vision in Spanish.

Personality: Hilarious. We're best friends. She is also super excited for the work! I'm kind of amazed at the strong desire she has to just share her testimony of the Gospel with others. 

Current state: Tired. Once again, I am fondly reminded of my training experience. During a lesson yesterday, I built everything up to allow my comp to share her testimony about prayer like we had been practicing, but when I looked over to pass the time to her, her eyes were closed and she was asleep on the couch!!! Luckily I stole the attention back and the investigators didn't notice, but I did have to fight myself not to laugh out loud.  But that's why we have P-day, right?

As for me, I'm pretty ready for P-day, too! I'm literally doing almost all of the talking in the lessons and with the members and when we contact and explaining everything that's happening and... well, needless to say, I've had a sore throat and I'm starting to lose my voice a little bit. It's a little stressful sometimes to think that everything is in my hands right now and I have to be Super Missionary until I can get Hna Palombo to the point were she can understand more of what's going on, but I know that Heavenly Father has called me to train for a reason. Whether that reason is to keep me from worrying about my family, building my confidence in my abilities, or just getting the chance to serve and teach another missionary, who knows? But I am really excited to learn from this experience and to grow alongside my little greenie. These next 2 transfers are gonna rock!

I love you guys, and I am still praying for you everyday! Please keep Hna Palombo and me in your prayers, too. Also, I decided to just start using the camera that Anthony sent me for now, so..... PICTURES!! Or at least a few of the amazing Hna Lino who I miss a ton, all of the new trainers on the way to the office to get our newbs, and my super gorgeous comp!

With so much love,

Hermana Jeppesen

A week of graditude!

My daughter Celeste and I were in a pretty bad car accident and we wrote to Hermana Julia about this.  I have a firm testimony in the blessings of missionaries and their work and the blessings that it brings to the family.  I also have a strong testimony in the power of the Priesthood and the wonderful blessings that can be given to me and my family during times of trouble.

Mom, I hope you know that I love you so much. I will be completely honest, this email kind of scared the crap out of me, just a little bit. But you know what? At the same time, I've never felt so blessed. Every single night, with out fail, I pray that Heavenly Father will protect you guys and keep you safe. Sometimes it can be a little difficult to be so far away from you guys and not know what's going on or if you guys are doing alright or not. But, Mom, I am so so glad to know that you guys are ok. Heavenly Father protected you both, and neither of you were hurt more than what you were, miraculously preventing broken bones or brain damage. He put 2 people close by to help you both until the ambulance came. He provided worthy priesthood holders to come and give you both blessings to help you deal with the aftermath. And if it's any consolation to you, he provided me a companion to give me a hug when I'm sobbing in front of the computer. 

I am so incredibly grateful to my Heavenly Father. I know that you guys are in his hands. I know that he is helping everyone cope, as well. On that note, how is the rest of the family? As freaked out as I am? Please let them know that I love them, too! And give everybody big hugs from me. 

Also, I could care less about the truck.

My week seems really uneventful, now! We did divisions with the sister trainer leaders on Thursday. I got to work with Hna Cevallos from Ecuador. She's kind of super hilarious, and we had a great time. As for me and my comp, this week was a little rough. I tend to talk a lot, and she tends to want me to NOT talk a lot... We are working on a balance. This morning we studied Ch. 6 of PMG, the sections on patience and humility. I'm learning to shut my mouth a little bit more and remember that my companion doesn't hate me, she just wants her space. 

I gave a talk in church yesterday on the importance of the help of the members in missionary work, and read a lot of what I shared with you guys in my last email. I think it went well, but I think some members got offended.... we'll see how that goes. 

Transfers are this week. It is most likely that both Hna Aguilar and I are going to stay in this area for another round.

Not a lot of details, I know, but this is the basic overview of what's going on over here. I love you all so much, and I'm praying for you guys even more now. Please stay safe. Please wear your seatbelts. I want my family in one piece when I get home, thank you very much! And I promise not to worry about you guys too much. 

Your very grateful daughter,

Hermana Jeppesen

Got our package!!!

I GOT YOUR PACKAGE AND I ALMOST CRIED!! Thank you guys soooo much! I'm not sure which I am more happy about: The freakingly amazing Betty Crocker cake mix with HERSHEY SPECIAL DARK CHOCOLATE FROSTING (oh my goodness, you guys know me so well) or the FUN-FREAKING-FETTI!!!!! pancakes with... OH MY GOODNESS!! MAPLE SYRUP!!!!!!!!!!! (Just so you guys have an idea of how excited I was) Needless to say, I celebrated my wonderful countries Independence Day with a lovely American breakfast. USA!! 

So I tried using the SD card reader that you sent me, and it still doesn't work. Sad face. I'm going to see if I can print some up and send them to you in a letter, because I don't know any missionaries going home this transfer to send back my SD card. Wish me luck!

OH MY GOODNESS DANI JUST SENT ME PHOTOS AND HAYDEN HAS A BEARD. Nope. Not allowed. Shave it.

Anywho, on a more spiritual note, I was reading Eld Ballard's talk from this general conference this morning and was reminded of just how incredible it was. My challenge to you guys is to read this talk together for family home evening tonight, and focus on the second half about his missionary challenge. He extends an invitation to all the members to study out of Preach My Gospel and share what they are learning with the missionaries. Together, they can learn more, share ideas, and increase the unity between the members and the missionaries. I LOVED THIS when I read it this morning. Can I start by sharing a section that could be really helpful in your calling as Family History Specialists? In Ch. 9, there is a section for the missionaries to find more investigators and strengthen recent converts through family history work. The story that it includes is really fantastic, too. It would be so awesome if you guys could meet with the missionaries and ask if there is something that you could do to help them out with that! Teach the recent converts to start their family tree, or even invite non-members to start researching. You guys are an incredible tool to the ward and to the missionary work. Over here, we don't have any specialists like that, so we don't really get to take advantage of this blessing of turning the hearts of the children to their fathers. This is just an idea that I had. What do you guys think?

My comp and I are pressing forward. We recieved an AWESOME reference from some members visiting from Argentina yesterday who brought their cousin to sacrament meeting. We are super excited to go visit her and her husband tomorrow and teach the first lesson.

As for health, we're doing alright, but I think my comp has an inner ear infection because it's been hurting her all week. Tonight we are calling the mission president's wife to get a doctors appointment. We are still taking lots of vitamin C and trying to eat lots of fruits and veggies, although it's a little rough when we eat nothing but meat and grease with the members. 

I love you guys a lot, and I'm so glad you guys had such a blast for the 4th! Keep praying for my comp and me, please. You guys are always in my prayers. 

Lots and lots of love,

Hermana Jeppesen

SMILE!!!