Hola!
This week we received the sad news that Elder Harmer is going to be transferred out of Ita Paso. Luckily he won’t leave until the 20th so we still will have a week to work really hard with our investigators. I consider myself to have two different trainers. In Ohio, Elder Harper taught me what it meant to be a missionary, how to keep your head up in the midst of adversity, and how to love and have a ton of fun being a missionary. Elder Harmer has taught me how to love those whose culture seems to be different from mine own, whose language it may be difficult to understand, and how to adjust to entirely new situations. With me staying in Ita Paso, and Elder Harmer leaving it’s almost like being out of training again. The counsel that I have received will be invaluable and I have already grown a ton. I chuckle to myself when I think back to my first day in Mansfield and my first day in Paraguay. I am so thankful for the great missionaries that I have served with and the blessings that I have seen. Even more awesome is seeing the change others make from being of the world to simply in the world, taking upon themselves the name of Christ and desiring to endure to the end. Being a missionary is simply amazing.
Because this week was the last week of the transfer, and we just got out of quarantine, we did a lot of exchanges this week. The zone leaders had an exchange every single day, which is kind of ridiculous. We did exchanges with the 2 Elders that cover the areas downtown. On Tuesday I went with Elder Johnson, who came to Paraguay with me and is from the Reno mission, downtown to work in his area, and I met some awesome members and investigators in one of the other branches here. It’s crazy going from Ita Paso to other areas in the Zone because Ita Paso is very… rural. On Friday we did exchanges with our Zone Leaders. We both went downtown and worked super hard in their area. I was with Elder Meaurio, who is from Paraguay. It was the first time I was with a missionary who doesn’t really speak any English, and it was way cool. I was surprised with how much I was able to communicate with him in my Spanish. I, and many other missionaries, can truly testify of the power of the gift of tongues. Without it, I would not be near as effective as I am now.
Elder Harmer went on exchanges here in Ita Paso with Elder Johnson’s companion, Elder Cartwright. They found a man who expressed interest in talking and we have visited him twice this week. On the 2nd visit we had a lesson on the Plan of Salvation. The earlier lesson he told us that his wife had passed away a few weeks ago, and we said that we would discuss our belief about the afterlife with him when we returned. The first thing he said when we sat down was, “Ok Elders, where is my wife?” We talked about our belief in the spirit world and missionary work and baptisms for the dead. He then told us about how people in one of the churches he attended told him that his wife was doomed to die because she wasn’t baptized and was cursed because of the sins of Adam and Eve. We turned to 2 Nephi and read from verse 22 which says,
“And now, behold, if Adam had not transgressed he would not have fallen, but he would have remained in the garden of Eden. And all things which were created must have remained in the same state in which they were after they were created; and they must have remained forever, and had no end.”
When he read this verse his eyes lit up as he exclaimed that he has always told people this, that the fall was a good thing and it helped the plan of God progress. We then affirmed his belief, explaining the importance of the fall and why we are here, quoting verse 25 saying,
“Adam fell that men might be; and men are, that they might have joy.”
At this point of the lesson the spirit was so strong, and he was amazed that these truths that he had held in his heart were right there in The Book of Mormon. He then said, “But that isn’t all, because of the fall we all die and we all sin, and that’s where Jesus Christ comes in, right?” And we simply said, “Read the next verse.” Verse 26 states,
“And the Messiah cometh in the fullness of time, that he may redeem the children of men from the fall. And because that they are redeemed from the fall they have become free forever, knowing good from evil; to act for themselves and not to be acted upon, save it be by the punishment of the law at the great and last day, according to the commandments which God hath given.”
Before this lesson, he had been a bit apprehensive about The Book of Mormon, as well as our beliefs compared to other churches. But this doctrine of the Plan of Salvation and why we are here softened his heart. The Spirit was strong, easily the strongest out of any lesson I have taught in the mission. It made me realize how much I love the Book of Mormon. Answers people have been seeking for centuries are taught to children in Primary because of the doctrine found in the Book of Mormon. I know that the church is true and that through the Atonement of Jesus Christ we can live again with our families. I hope you all can find out or reaffirm the truth you already have by reading the Book of Mormon and asking the Lord if the book and the church is true. I know it is true, as the Lord has manifested it unto me and so many others.
I hope you all have a good week!
Elder Watson
