Week 87

We had a crazy start to the week, and then it turned into just another week.  But still, some interesting things happened.

 

Monday was quite chaotic to say the least. I had an interview scheduled with President McMullin to talk about my ecclesiastical endorsement. No biggie, in and out and good to go.  So we set up a soccer game for that afternoon.  Well, while I’m waiting to do my interview Elder McClelland decides to show the nurse his foot, since it has been bothering him. It turns out he has pique. Pique is some weird foot bug thing in Paraguay.  Not only does he have it, he has it in 3 spots.  One of them is under his nail.  So he can’t dig it out himself.  So he has to go to the hospital and get it done.  

 

I do my interview and find out that I didn’t fill out all the paperwork and stuff needed so we couldn’t do it all the way.  I did pass the interview though.  Pretty simple stuff …be a good person, don’t cheat, keep the commandments, and shave. Three guesses as to which part I have a problem with -- Ha ha. 

 

I leave the interview and find out about McClelland, so I brace myself for a long day.  It turns out instead he is going to go with Elde Lubomirsky, who also has to go to the doctor.  So I’m going to go with his comp, who is at immigrations.  So we wait for awhile, but he doesn’t show. So we go to lunch.  We come back from lunch and find out his comp has come and now left to go to Dominos.  Well, they have to go to the doctor, and I have to get back to Luque for the soccer game.  I do have my priorities!

 

So luckily Elder Singer and Vasquez were there, so I did a trio with them.  So it was off to their house for a change of clothes for them and finally down to Luque.  We played, but it wasn’t anything special. 

 

Then there was a mix up where all 3 groups were meeting before the mini division ended and we got with our comps. 

 

They ended up cutting off a bunch of  Elder McClelland’s skin, but he seems to be doing better. 

 

On Tuesday, Elder McClelland did his first district meeting as a new District Leader, and he talked about lesson 1.  I liked it.  He did a good job, and he let me be an investigator in the practice.  We did a good cop/bad cop kind of thing, and I excel at being the bad cop! I was a super knowledgeable Catholic and made them work, but they taught me well. 

 

My cousin (Josh Baumbach) is in a Spanish speaking mission in Salt Lake City (East Mission), and I’ve decided I’m buying a rosary and going to give him a taste of what real Spanish Catholic people are like.  It’s going to be awesome!

 

Sadly, nothing is really progressing with Brian, our awesome investigator.  That is frustrating, but they are going to talk to her parents about her moving back in or he might move in with his sister.  So we still have hope. 

 

We also worked this booth kind of thing to get references. I don’t like it, but apparently it works.

 

I also worked out for real for the first time in months.  Normally, I just go through the motions. Oh boy, am I in trouble.  I barely did anything, and I still can’t move my arms without my triceps hurting.  A real gym is going to be brutal, but so needed.

 

Also, general conference is this weekend so that’s exciting. It’s like our vacation as missionaries.  And of course we have the chance to hear the prophet. Ha ha.

Well, that’s about it. Love you guys and take care.

 

Elder Frost

Week 86

It’s always weird when a missionary goes home.  I know I’ve said it before, and I’ll probably say it again, but it makes things weird. It doesn’t seem possible that anyone can actually leave this place or that one’s time will end.  And then out of nowhere, people just disappear. It’s even weirder when it’s unscheduled.

 

That’s what happened this week when Elder Jauregi went home. He had only been out for 2 months or so, and we didn’t really get to know him until recently when Elder Turley became his new comp.  He quickly became one of my friends out here in the mission.  Until out of nowhere, he left.  Someone stole his identity in Peru, so he had to go back home and resolve that problem.  And this week was the week he left.  But he didn’t leave until Thursday.  So back to Monday for now.

 

On Monday our leaders had the great idea of doing a zone activity - bowling in Asuncion.  So we never go to zone activities because they usually suck.  But we decided to go.  So we got up early and headed up to Asuncion.  We got there a little early, so we hung out in the food court and watched some of a Man U (Manchester United) game.  As we were watching, there was a news report about ISIS and them cutting a guy’s head off.  Dang that’s intense.  The things you miss in the mission without news.  Dang. 

 

Anyway, it opened up at 2:00 so we got ready to go over, when a guy went inside, only for him to lock the door behind him.  Weird, right?  So we waited, and he came and told us they are closed for maintenance.  Niiiiice.  So that was a fail.

 

We lost most of p-day for no reason and didn’t really do anything fun other than talk and chill with some of our buddies in the mission.  Luckily we had that or the beginning of the week would have been terrible, since on Tuesday we had a zone meeting bright and early. 

 

So by now you all know my thoughts about these, and well, sadly, this one was no different.  It was just an utter waste of time.  We spent sooo much time talking about what to do in the case of a natural disaster, and none of their ideas will work.  First, there’s never been an earthquake in Paraguay or a tornado or a tsunami or really anything.  So the odds are pretty slim.  Secondly, if any of those do happen, the entire country will shut down.  So talking about using the buses -- that is stupid.  We would be trekking it on foot.  But hey, let’s live in rainbow land.

 

Then pres talked to us about all the bad things about the mission and how we need to get better.  Although, we are good missionaries.  It was decent, but no way to come back from 2 hours of emergency prep. 

 

We also saw Brian, and I feel for the kid.  His situation sucks.  He wants to be baptized so bad but can’t, and his girlfriend won’t marry him or move out.  So he’s living with his brother.  But we still can’t baptize him because it’s in the same complex as her.  So now he or she has to rent a place.  And, it’s just a mess.  I hope we can get it resolved.  He’s the greatest investigator I’ve ever had. 

 

Then on Thursday,  Elder Jauergi went home.  So we hung out with him and did a mini goodbye party with snacks, pop and cheap Paraguayan energy drinks, ha ha.  So worth it.  I’m gonna miss that kid.

 

It rained a bunch this week too, so that’s always a downer.  And finally, on Saturday night we had to do this kiosk thing.  Basically, the mission has made a big advertisement booth kind of thing, and we are all taking turns manning it and contacting the people around there.   I’m not a fan of it since most of the references don’t come back to me, but I guess I have to share and be a team player.  But we did find one guy who belongs to us.  So that could be legit.

 

Well, I gotta go.  Talk more next week.

Love you guys and take care,

 

Elder Frost

Week 85

The big news this week was changes.  And to end all suspense, I’ll just let everyone know that I don’t have any and I’m happy about it. Ha ha.  I get to stay in Yuquyry for another 6 weeks at least and continue the work I have going.  Hopefully I can help some of the best people I’ve met be baptized.  And the fact I get to do it with Elder McClelland, one of my good friends in the mission, is even better.

We found out late Sunday night that we wouldn’t know changes until Tuesday, which is always annoying and stupid since everyone is stressed and just wants to know.  But it is like that.  Mine had even more drama than normal as the president called us and asked for our thoughts about being put in a trio.  We gave our answer and basically said it was up to him.  As you know now, it didn’t happen, and to be honest, I’m relieved. Trios are hard to work well as I learned in the MTC.

On Monday we didn’t have much to do, so we hung out, and then headed out to a shopping area.  The shopping area is basically a black market.  It was cool to see and everything, but I didn’t buy anything.  That was about it for our pday.

Then nothing all Tuesday morning.  They even made us sit through district meeting without telling us about the changes, all so they could do some big reveal in front of everyone.  It was stupid, poorly organized and executed, so it fits in with mission leadership. 

I also had to deal with a drunk beggar who came into the building and wanted food money, anything really, and told me I didn’t believe in God because I didn’t give him handouts.  So we argued, and finally he took some water from the fountain and left. 

We lost power later in the week, so that sucked.  We continued teaching Brian and are now teaching his girlfriend. She answers and asks questions, so hopefully we can get them progressing and at least get him married.

We also had the fundraiser for the family that needs to be married as well.  They sold hamburgers, so naturally we bought a couple.  They ended up making enough money to start their paperwork, so hopefully they get married as well. 

Also during changes we found out Elder Turley, another friend in the mission, is coming to our ward but in a different area.  So that’s exciting -- unlike this blog. Ha ha.

Sorry this one wasn’t great.  Hopefully next week’s is better.

 

Love you all and have a great week.  Be safe.

Elder Frost

Week 83 (a bit late)

(NOTE:  This blog is from 2 weeks ago.  My dad and mom were in Hawaii, and so this blog post did not get done previously.)

 

So I did one of the hardest things of my life this week, and it was by far the saddest, most difficult, thing I’ve done in my mission.  But that didn’t happen ‘til Sunday, so first we start with Monday.

 

Monday was a good day.  We played soccer in the morning.  And while I didn’t even break a sweat playing goalie, which was annoying, I played well.  My time as a goalie had a crazy long unbeaten streak which only ended when I didn’t really try anymore. 

 

Then we got together with some mission buddies and headed off to the soccer museum I’ve wanted to go there forever.  But it’s only open at weird times, so it’s a little harder to do.  After overcompensating for traffic, a gift I’ve inherited from my dad apparently, we hung out and took some good photos outside.  Then it was time to enter into the museum.  I really liked the museum.  It had tons of stuff, including copies of all the major trophies, banners for all the club teams in South America, histories of great games, histories of the South American countries in soccer and ended with a movie talking about it all.  I loved it! I just wish it wouldn’t have been a guided tour.  They really moved us along and I didn’t get to read or really look at half the stuff I wanted to.  But I loved it!  I do miss the beautiful game.

 

Then we ate Burger King, which was good.  Although I made a poor choice on my burger as it had more patties, but was way smaller than what Elders McClelland and Singer got.  We had a nice leisurely walk home since it was rush hour and the buses suck at that time of night. 

 

Then we were late for our FHE, but luckily nobody else was on time either.  We got together with all the neighborhood families and even 2 investigators.  One of which was Brian.  We wanted the longer Joseph Smith movie but  we didn’t have it and we discovered the Emma Smith movie, which isn’t nearly the same.  So we settled for the shorter Joseph Smith one.  It went really well.  Our investigators really seemed to enjoy it.  If only we were in the states watching it on a TV instead of a tiny portable DVD player.  Lucky guys.

 

Nothing really big happened until service on Wednesday.  We went to the elder couples house and helped them build a bed for their garden.  But first they gave us some breakfast of hot chocolate and bread.  But hey, beggars can’t be choosers.  Then we scrapped away and dug little trenches where they wanted the garden.  Because the ground was so hard and rocky, they built a box and then we loaded and dumped dirt into the box.  It was interesting watching the debate between husband and wife about how it should be done.  Not surprisingly…the wife won.  So we had to scrap up a bunch of leaves and put it down first to somehow keep the moisture in the dirt?  I don’t know it seemed weird to me. Then more dirt. 

 

This week was awesome, as we continued working with Arminda who is going to be baptized on Saturday and Brian who is one of the most amazing guys I’ve ever met.  He’s 19 and has already sacrificed so much for the church.  He played soccer professional before and had a tryout for a team in the top league, but gave it all up for the church and keeping the Sabbath day.  Just an awesome guy and a good friend out here. 

 

Also we had an awesome moment on Sunday when a way less-active guy came.  He’s the husband of Hermana Adriana and the guy that gave me my holsters.  I’ve been working with him forever and he finally came.  Hopefully that continues.  Then we had an asado on Sunday which was way fun.  I like this ward.

 

Now for the sad part.  During the week we found out Brian is living with his girlfriend and she’s pregnant.  So ya, that got more complicated.  We had planned a law of chastity lesson but….now?  In church he heard that someone with a kid can’t serve a mission.  His head literally dropped.  So we had to talk to him about that.  He loves his wife and is excited to be a dad, but more than anything we wants to serve a mission in a year.  It was so hard to tell him that it wasn’t going to happen.  So we sat and talked all about his future and what’s best for him and his family.  But man was it the worst way to end a week - crushing a man’s dreams like that all for something he did before he knew the church.  Hopefully everything works out.  I’ll keep you posted.

 

Love you guys and have a great week!

 

Elder Frost

 

Week 84

Well y’all should be thankful there is even a blog this week. At one point, I was so mad at the events of this week, there wasn’t going to be a blog entry.  But I am wiser and more patient. 

 

So here it is. 

 

The week started fine.  On Monday we went to Shangrila, a Chinese restaurant in Asuncion.  We met up with Elder Turley and some other friends and had a good time.  It had a Mongolian grill type part, and then a bunch of other Asian dishes.  It’s all-you-can-eat in the whole restaurant for 60 mil or like 15 bucks.  I ate a bunch of chicken with sweet and sour sauce, rice, Mongolian grill and some bomb key lime pie and chocolate mousse.  I ate so much, I was full.  That is something that hasn’t happened since I left Anahi.  Maybe that’s why I’m losing some weight.  But it’s a good thing.

 

After that, we went to go look at some Nike stuff.   I went to the bathroom, where we happened to cross paths with Elder Wolfgramm, who was bowling.  I only make note of this because he told us he had interviews all day and couldn’t meet us for lunch.  You should have seen his face when we showed up. Ha ha. 

 

Then in the middle of the week we were consumed by service.  Tuesday night we went to the Hermana Racquel’s house to cut weeds.  Well, we ended up waiting for other missionaries, who never came.  So we started late, and we cut until we couldn’t see anymore.  Then we went back in the morning and finished the cutting.  It’s not even weird using a machete anymore.  That can’t be good, ha ha. 

 

Then on Thursday we had to go to Asuncion for immigrations.  Well, that went fine.  Then, I was just minding my own business in the office and talking to Elder Luke while he waited for Elder Yumar’s interview.  (sidenote: Elder Yumar decided to go home and end his mission).  Well, I decided to ask the secretary about my go home date, just to check and make sure I was still set for the 17th of December.  Well there was a problem.  So you can bet your bottom I stayed in that office until Pres was free to talk to him about it.  Well… things got palpably awkward when the secretary tried to shoo us out of the office.  The secretary said that the Pres might have changed his mind.  Well, it got awkward due to my response, ha ha.  I’m more patient and wiser, but I’m still frosty.  So finally I get into the President’s office, and we talk about it.  And I will have you know I handled it very maturely and professionally.  I didn’t even raise my voice.  But I left defeated and without what I wanted.  He explained that he messed up and couldn’t give me the 17th anymore.  But he would see what he could do. 

 

Then we went with Elders Luke and Yumar to BK (Burger King) to eat lunch before heading back.  Well on the trip home I got a call from pres.  The best he can do for me is December 26^th, or the day after Christmas.  This time I lost it a little.  But only because of the way it all went down and the fact he told me he did all he could for me, but wouldn’t let me fight for my right to go home early with the general authorities.  After our heated conversation, I may… or may not have… thrown a temper tantrum and called it a day.  I was pretty mad all through Friday as well. 

 

Luckily, we had a baptism interview for Arminda to get me out of the house.  As we filled the font, it practically boiled from how hot I was.  I called pres, and once again I remained composed and asked for an interview. 

 

Then on Saturday we did some service for Rodrigo.  He has some of the weird Paraguayan brick with holes for his house.  There were some places the cement didn’t seal, and mice had been getting in.  So we went and basically threw mud at the walls to seal the holes.  Paraguayan construction truly is something else.

 

Then we baked a cake and headed to the baptism.  But of course, right at 4:00 it opens up and starts dumping rain.  But the baptism went well; she was happy.  Elder McClelland did the service, and I gave a talk.  It was also the moment I felt the spirit strong enough to let go of my anger, which is good since President McMullin called me early Sunday morning for our interview. 

 

He came down to Luque to handle it. I was glad to know a pissed off Frost still gets some respect.  I was afraid I’d gone soft.  Once again I was the perfect gentleman and once he explained the hows and whys of everything.  I was able to move on.  But I am still not his biggest fan though.  So my new date for coming home is December 26th.

 

Then after church we went to a BBQ lunch birthday party for Rodrigo - which was way fun.  So all-in-all it was a good week.  Even if I did spend a good couple days foaming at the mouth.  I hope your week was better and will be better.

 

Take care and I’ll see you guys someday.

 

Elder Frost

 

Week 82

It was hot this week.  Like insanely hot, for a supposed winter. I can’t believe I’m saying this, but I’m actually looking forward to the cold Montana winter and the snow.  

 

Sorry about the blog last week as well.  I went to go get ice cream and when I came back the internet had gone down.  Hopefully you all still enjoyed it, even if it was a little later than normal.

 

We also did one of the saddest things  I’ve ever done in my life. We bought soy burgers.  Now before all my relatives disown me, it was on accident.  We wanted hamburgers to eat and so we just grabbed the cheapest ones.  Well to my surprise when I went to cook them they were soy burgers.  Not very good ones at that.  But with enough cheese and BBQ sauce they were edible.  Never again!

 

Later on Monday, we had a really fun F.H.E. with the Acosta family, including Nahomi and Ivan the kids we baptized.  We wanted to do a fun lesson, but also teach them about choices and consequences.  So I shared some scriptures and then we had an activity.  We bought some cookies for them.  And then played a game where we put a coin in one of my hands and if they guessed which hand they got a cookie.  Well once all the cookies were gone we pulled out an even better brand of cookies and they all got excited.  Well… these cookies had a catch. They could either walk away with the cookies they had, or gamble it all on the new cookies.  Naturally they chose to go for the good cookies.  Well as any gambler knows the house always wins.  We won since my comp kept the coin therefore ensuring our victory.  They were outraged, but we had won.  So we explained all about choices and how Satan will tempt us and the consequences of our actions and then we all ate some cookies.  We are probably the only companions that would actually teach a lesson while gambling, ha ha.  But it worked.

 

Then on Tuesday I went on the slowest bus of all time.  I literally could have run faster for most of the trip.  Extremely annoying!   I’m not going to miss the buses at all. 

 

We also had some really cool things happen this week.  So we’ve been working hard, but not much to show for it until now.  When we got 3 references from families we’d been working with, and all 3 asked us what they need to do to be baptized.  It doesn’t get any nicer or easier than that.  The first one is named Arminda.  She’s 13 and has come to church forever.  In fact I thought she was a member, but she’s not.  She’s really smart and picking it up quick.  We are excited about her.  The next is Brian.  He is a friend of Beto, a recent convert and 19.  He’s come to church twice now and on Sunday, he asked us to baptize him.  So we need to finish teaching him and then he’s good to go.  Then the 3rd is a kid named Kevin who came to church as well.  We are just beginning to teach him.  All-in-all it should be an exciting, good next couple of weeks.

 

Also this week, Rodrigo did indeed receive the Melchizedek priesthood so he can start preparing to go to the temple and be sealed with his wife.  We are super excited!  We’ve worked really hard to help them get to this point, and he’s a great guy.

 

Also some sad news, an Hermana is going to get her electricity turned off, and another girl is threatening to kill herself. We are doing everything we can to help, and hope we can turn things around with them. 

 

We also had a special stake conference this weekend with a broadcast by Elder Bednar.  It was really good and should help a lot here in Paraguay.  It was even better for me as a package from my family came, and I was able to eat good American food during it. Yum yum!

 

Well that’s it for now. Talk more next week.  Take care, and be safe.

 

Love you guys!

Elder Frost

Week 81

Started the week off right, with a great p-day! We went into town and met up with a bunch of buddies to buy supplies then we went back to the house for a BBQ.  Now it was only some cheap hamburgers and some fried mandioca (Yucca in the U.S.), but it was still a blast.  We ended up having only 5 people come, but hey, more food for me – right? We just kinda hung out and ate and talked football, and it was good.  And that’s the only good thing about Paraguay winters -- it’s still so hot you can have a BBQ.

 

After the BBQ, we had a pretty normal day in town before coming back out for an FHE with the Fernandez family. They are a family we inherited from Elders Jimenez and Laurente when the areas got combined.  Most of the family are recent converts and the parents are just waiting on some paperwork to be married and then they will be as well.  They invited us and the Arguello family over for the FHE.  And, being the amazing delegator I am, I convinced Natalie Arguello to be in charge of the lesson and the activity.  So we just showed up and had fun!  It is so much nicer and stress-free that way.  It was a good lesson on patience, and then we played a game where we had to change seats and stuff.  It was a good night and a good p-day.

 

Then on Tuesday, we had no water.  So we went to district meeting nice and smelly and with some 5 o’clock shadow.  I can’t wait to have my facial hair again.  We also have had problems with our sink not draining, but we’ve temporarily fixed that.  This house just keeps giving us fits.  It’s kind of annoying.

 

This week was also Día del Niño (NOTE:  In Paraguay, Children's Day is celebrated on August 16 in remembrance of the Battle of Acosta Ñu.  It is said that 20,000 men from the Triple Alliance [Brazil, Uruguay, Argentina] during the Paraguay war (from 1864 – 1870) were stopped by a Paraguayan force made up of 3,500 children ages six to fifteen.  They protected the escape of President Solano Lopez).  Children's Day is a national holiday, used to remember an event which happened during the five-year war. That is where they celebrate kids since kids fought and died in some war they had forever ago.  But it’s more annoying as a missionary than anything since like every holiday buses don’t run and everybody just gets drunk.  The ward threw a party, but we weren’t invited.  So it was just kind of a downer all around.

 

Then we did some service on Saturday by helping a guy build a foundation for his house. Basically he dug trenches then filled them with a mix of rock and cement.  Didn’t look great to me, but hey, it’s Paraguay construction!  We spent the whole morning moving rocks for him.  I felt like a mix between Fred Flintstone and a member of a chain gang in prison.  But we helped, and it felt good to do something…even if it killed me.  My muscles literally don’t exist. 

 

Then on Sunday, we had a good meeting in church when we decided to go to the family history/temple prep class with a family we are teaching.  It turns out I don’t know nearly as much family history as I thought.  For example, I know most first and last names up til great grandparents.  But I only know the first name of 1 of my great grandparents. I have no idea on birthdays for aunts, uncles, grandparents, or even my mom.  Well, in my defense, her’s is in April, but it’s tricky. Ha ha.  (Note:  It is not that tricky since his Aunt Liz (15^th), Mom (16^th), and Grandmother (17^th), are all in April).  So that was cool to realize I have some work to do there. 

 

Then we had a birthday party for Luis Alberto, one of the recent converts of that Fernandez family.  It was fun.  It turned out to be like the whole ward was invited, so it was just a big party.  We had fun talking and kicking it with the youth there.  Then a visit with Rodrigo went awesome, as he asked us to pray for him so he could get the Melchezidek  priesthood this weekend.  Later that night, he found out his record had been found and he was going to be able to receive the priesthood.  He says it’s all due to our prayer.  So that’s legit.

 

That’s about it for this week.  Take care and have a great week.

 

Elder Frost