If Missionaries Were Ninjas...

Hey everyone!

Well the Physical Therapy continues (and I love it every time - It reminds me of summer time and working at the American River clinic! :) However, I have been told to rest 1 to 2 weeks at home..  yeah, thats right, it's a bummer and talk about HARD!!  I don't like sitting still!!  Haha!  But, when things get hard, if you look closely and carefully, there's always something really cool to encourage us... and this time is that it's really made us have to really ponder and pray, get creative and figure out how to keep working.  I may have to take a break from walking... but in no way does that mean to take a break from working!! :)

And since this work is not mine, but rather the Lords; as we have knelt down in prayer the last week to ask our Heaveny Father how He wanted us to keep working...  How we could continue to work just as hard, while following the doctors instruction to let the knee calm down...  we hardly got off our knees and sat down at our desks when the answer came!!  And with this new revelation, we have all ready had a very succesful week!! :) 

First, we dialed in Hermana Mera with returned missionaries in our branch while I stayed in the houses of different members (the Young Womens President, Relief Society President, and a few other leaders) houses. Hna Mera and the other sisters have been able to keep up on all of the visits that we need to have and I have been able to talk at length with the members about Mariano.  All of this exposure with the members has really been enlightening for both, the ward leaders to the needs of their members and for us regarding the things we can do to keep helping our brothers and sisters in our branch!! :)  It's really helping us with the goal of using all of the fueraza de la casa! :)

During the Christmas season we had our activity "tiza en la plaza" (chalk in the plaza) (or "Operation Christmas Tree" and Hna V and I called it) to spread the word and the video that Christ IS the Gift... Now (as I am sure you all know) there is ANOTHER video just in time for Easter, Gracias a que el vive (Because He Lives), and it's SO SPECIAL!  And becuase we want to share it with EVERYONEEEE, we are planning on having another activity in the plaza.  I'll leave the rest as a surprise to share with you later, but I am very excited and I think it should be a great way to spread the word that CHRIST LIVES and share His message!! :) 

Because He Lives - click here to go to the video

On a side note... the POPE is coming to Paraguay and he will actually be really close to Mariano... Everyone is going to go crazy!!  Haha!!  As if the semana santa wasnt crazy enough, we now have the POPE, and he's not just any Pope, he's the Argentine Pope of the people!!  Everyone is seriously freaking out!!  Haha!  Maybe we'll get to find him and have the oprotunity to share thoughts and messages of Christ with the Pope?  That could be cool!!  Haha!!

I also learned how to make chipa today... Yum!!  WE MADE SO MUCH!!!  We took a few photos, but they are on a members phone... so, I will forward them as soon as she sends them to me!

I love you all so much and I hope you all are oh-so-excited for General Conference!!!!  I know that I am!!  I can't wait! :)  Our Heavenly Father loves us so much.  SO much, that He gives us this amazing opportunity to come together as children of God and listen to the precious words and counsel that He has revealed to his servants, the prophets! :)  Do take the time to listen - You wont regret it!!

Have a fantastic week :) We will talk soon :)

Hermana Fardos

PS.  A housebound girl with a sword... good time to brush up on the Ninja skills!!  Haha!!

Just lovin’ on the people of Paraguay

Hi Everyone!!!

Well let’s just start by saying that - MOM, you are the best!!  Seeing those cheesey little slipper shoes in the Easter Box made me so happy!!  I can’t believe you found them!! It’s like I burned my shoes into nothing but ashes, and they magically materialized in your delivery!!  Who’d have thought that those cheap shoes from WalMart would end up being my favorite!!  Haha!!

This week has been a crazy one!  Lots of work and lots of things to do!

I'm still loving' on the people of Paraguay!

It rained one day - like completely out of the blue the rain started POURING and we were NOT prepared!!  Haha!  So, I took my comps bag and we RANNNNNN! Ha!  We ran to a members house and took shelter until it blew through! :)

We found the river... which was awesome, but what is it about the South American sky?!  It's so big and beautiful!

There was one more thing I had to add to our list of things to do this week...  physical therapy!  Yeah, remember that knee pain I told you guys about a while ago?  Well, it never really got better, in fact it kind of, sort of... maybe... yea, it got worse.  So, I went to the doctor and had a knee examination (which was really kind of cool, because it was exactly what I learned in my Sports Med Class) and the doctor came to the conclusion that I have a torn miniscus.  So, for the last week I have gone to physical therapy and have 7 more sessions until I go back to the doctor and he will decide if I kneed (Haha! get it... knee/need?) an MRI.  We will see how all turns out, the joint really doesn’t feel good - but I have a lot of faith that it will all work out just fine. :) 

This week I actually had some really amazing tender mercies and experiences that strengthened my testimony of prayer so much - and just how powerful a prayer can be, especially, a prayer of faith. :)  I wish I had the time to tell you guys about all of them... maybe another day! :)

No need to worry about me (or my knee), I know if I am doing all that the Lord asks of me then everything will be A-OKAY, regardless of the outcome!  It’s like we talked about last week, we know who the winning team will be! :)  If the Lord is with us who can be against us?! :) 

I love you all!!

Until next week!

Hermana Fardos

Better Late Than Never!!

Hi Everyone... 

This update is late, but I wanted to let you guys know that I LOVE YOU ALL!! :)

This week has been crazy awesome!  My apologies for not writing yesterday, we had migraciones ayer... puessss we missed out on all the 'Ciber' time (the internet cafe) and fun PDay activities... but it was pretty cool to spend a solid day talking with Hermana Jones and a couple of the Elders!  It's moments like this that it really hits me just how cool it is to get to be a missionary and just how special this work is!

You guys.... I LOVE MISSIONARY WORK!!! 

I love it because this gospel is so true, I love it because we get to go out each day with the Lord's name on our chest... we are on the Lords team and if the Lord is with us, who can be against us!!  :) 

It made me think a lot about this one talk that Jeffrey R Holland gave (which one though, right? Haha! They are all so good)!  But in this discurso, he talks about teams.... how there are 2 teams in this world, we have the Lord's team and the adversary has his team... and how we all ready know what the outcome will be, we know what team will win... but right now we are playing the game, we are in the thick of it, we are playing, playing, playing... and its hard, the other team is pretty tricky, they don't always play fair, and they are giving it all they got... and at moments it can feel like they're ahead... BUT THEY CAN NEVER WIN!  We have the playbook, we have the winning plays - because we have the Lord guiding us!  If He, who created every one of us, who created this world, who showed us the plan, is guiding us...  How could we ever lose? :) The Lord's team is sure, His ways are solid, His perspective is eternal, His qualifications are the highest.

Lets keep playing guys, we are in the last half... sometime you get tired, sometimes it's hard, but we have to keep playing with the end of the game in mind!  We must take advantage of our breaks to rest, to study, ponder and pray, to refuel and receive more energy to keep moving forward!  We have the Book of Mormon, we have prayer, and we have the gospel.... USE IT!  And play hard!! Because I want to see you all at the post-game Victory celebration!! :)

I love you guys,

until next week...

Hermana Fardos :)

Become Even As Little Children!

Hola Familyyyyy!!

This week was HUGE, just like every other week!!  Haha!

The highlights were noche de hogan (family home evening) with familia Ferreira Pavon!!  These little kids are some of my favorites!  I just love them!!  Tami is the littlest one (she's four) and she now knows how to count from 1 to 10 in English!  Haha!  She is so funny - she always wants to play with her bag of little broken toys and talk in "English" where she makes up words that she thinks sound like real English words!!  Hahaha!

At major milestones missionaries like to ceremonially burn something, just for fun, to commemorate the occasion (like Elders might burn a tie or a shirt at the one year mark)... So, since I celebrated 6 months last week AND wore the first huge hole right through the heel of my shoe - I decided it was time to burn them!!!  Haha!  Hence the ceremonial shoe burning! :D

ANDDDD the best highlight of the week... Our lovely little 9 year old, Mariana Caballero Mencia, was baptized!! And it was SO beautiful!! :) She is so special!

The day turned out to be a little crazy!  Hna Mera and I ran all over the place to make sure everything was set (because naturally, things fell through last minute!  Ha!)  But it didn't even matter or even begin to take away from her baptism! :)

This little girl has such a special connection, a personal connection, with all things spiritual!  Like the first time she ever prayed she ended the prayer in tears... When I asked her why she was crying, all she could manage to say was "because I am just so happy, I got to talk to my Heavenly Father and I know he loves me"!  And the day of her baptism - She came out of the font with tears streaming down her cheeks and she gave me the biggest hug in the world!  I asked her again why she was crying... this time all she could say was "Thank you"!  She later told us just how happy she felt and how she knew she was part of Chirst's church!  And again, after her confirmation... it was maybe even more special! :)  Mariana explained to us what it meant for her to be able to have the Holy Ghost - She just blows me away!! :) 

It's so special to see somebody, even one so young, recieve such a personal and spiritual witness.  It really proves to me just how real it is when the Spirit testifies.  And when the Lord states that we must become even as little children...  become humble, meek, mild, ready to recieve and act on the instructions we recieve from our Heavenly Father...  He means we should be just like Mariana! :)

I love you all! I hope everything is well with everyone! :) You guys are always in my prayers!

XOXO

Hermana Fardos

Ch ch ch ch Changes!!

HEY THERE FAMILIA :)

Well cambios came again... and there were definitely changes in Mariano... Along with a few little milestones. 

The 6 months mark flew right on by!  Boy is that weird! Haha!

La Hermana Valenzuela was transferred to Capiata! 

I am still here in Mariano Roque Alonso...  but now I am Training!!!!

I have a HIJA (daughter)! Her name is Hermana Mera, she is 23 and from Mexico! (In the mission, when you become a trainer, they call the new missionary your child... so, I have two mothers, Hna Curi and Hna V, and they are now 'grandmothers' to Hna Mera!  Ha!)  Today marks her first full week in the mission!!!! She is so awesome and so cute.  It's funny because Mexican Spanish and the Castellano we speak here are soooo different, so some days she says something and I am like "okay wait.. I have no clue what that word is" ahaha!  And then within a few moments we come up with what it is here and then we just laugh and keep going. She has such a desire to work and I love it!  She is teaching me so much!

Being a trainer, I feel such a strong responsibility and desire to help her learn all about how the mission works and to love it.  I want to give Hna Mera an atmosphere of love and apprenticeship, without pressure and stress, so she will be prepared to enthusiastically move forward in the work!  And love it like I do!!

The mission is going so fast, and time flies by... I am about to walk the first big hole through a pair of my shoes... It really makes you realize just how much time you spend on those feet!!

We finally got a new pair of Elders here in Mariano too! (we were a little short handed for a while)... So, now there is Elder Goss and Elder Carpio, as well as Elder Calderon and his new Comp from Peru, he is new and I can't remember his name right now, and, of course, Hermana Mera and me.  We all get along great - so, it's nothing but awesome over here! 

This change, I dont know why.. but we all just feel revitalized!  It's like someone turned the air-conditioning on!!  Haha!!  It's this new vibe of energy and encouragement -- and we are more than excited to be here!!  We just feel so excited about the people here and we are ready to get out in the sun and get to work!! :)

We found a beautiful family this week, and are getting ready to have our first official visit with them!

I love being a missionary! I dont know how else to say it. I love this gospel, I love the people here in Paraguay, I love the Book of Mormon, I love my Heavenly Father and I love my Savior Jesus Christ.

Keep on being awesome you guys! :) And always remember to turn to your Heavenly Father, He LOVES YOU!! :) 

and I love you guys too!!

XOXOX

Hermana Fardos