Dallin's Blog (Paraguay Asuncion North Mission): Aregua: Week 1

Dear Family and Friends,

Time continues to fly here in Paraguay. And with the flying time, I got shipped off to a new area: Aregua. It's close to the major city, Luque, and is sweet. Villa Hayes was a super flat and dry area (except for when it rained). Aregua is super hilly and as green as Western Washington. There are lots of paths in my area that make me feel like I'm walking though a forest! The best part of all of that is that there is tons of shade. I'm still wearing my sombrero all the time, but it's nice to cool off in the shade on a regular basis.

Here in Aregua, my new companion is Elder Silva, a Peruano who just finished his training. That makes me senior companion... Really though, I feel like I'm the junior companion! Elder Silva is super humble, super hard working, and super on top of everything here in his area. Maybe I'm the senior companion, but I feel like I have a lot more to learn from him than he has to learn from me! I'm looking forward to the next month or two that I'll be spending with this Peruano.

It was surprisingly hard leaving Villa Hayes. Elder Parada and I visited our converts, some members, and even a few investigators to give me the chance to say good-bye. Goodbyes in the mission are just... crummy. You leave your old area and all the people you met to start over again somewhere else. There's really not much you can say to the people you met and grew to love to make up for the fact that you're leaving and you might never see them again.

One thing that I kind of struggled with in Villa Hayes was the fear that I didn't really contribute to the work. I had two companions who were both strong teachers with strong characters. I always kind of felt like they were the "main missionaries" and I was just kind of there. With that in mind, when I visited our investigator, L, my last visit of the night before going to bed and leaving Villa Hayes, I received a confirmation that I have done a little bit of good here in the mission. As Elder Parada and I were leaving, L said (basically), "Thank you. You helped change my life." Over the past months, I've had the privilege of watching L grow as a person. I might even go as far as to say that --though she didn't get baptized in my time in Villa Hayes-- she is a convert to the church. She's confessed to us that her participation in the church and her reading of the Book of Mormon has changed her life. The fact that she credits me, in part, for that change really hit me hard. Hopefully, I get a chance to visit all the people I know in Villa Hayes again!

I don't have a ton to report from Aregua yet. I'm new in the area, so this week I mostly spent meeting members and investigators and stressing over getting to know the area before Elder Silva gets transferred. All the same though, I did actually have some cool experiences.

One day, Elder Silva and I were walking past a house and a man in the backyard called us over. Elder Silva and I were both concerned that he was a priest calling us over to "destruirnos." But, seeing the black clothing he and the other people there were wearing, we realized they were mourning a death and they expected us to deliver an uplifting message. My first thought was, "What are you thinking, man? You can't really expect to call over two young, LDS men expecting them to give an on-the-spot uplifting message to 13 mourning Catholics!" But we did. And it was actually a really cool experience. At first, I had no idea what to do. Luckily, Elder Silva thought quickly and started sharing about our Savior and his love for us. I basically just sat and listened to him explain the Plan of Salvation without exactly explaining what salvation really is (because it probably wasn't the best time to say, "Hey guys, your church's beliefs about death are sort of off... Want to hear the truth?") until he turned to me expecting me to talk. To my surprise... I actually had something to say. I turned to John 14:27, the scripture where Christ talks about leaving HIS peace, not peace like the world gives, with the Apostles. I explained that when we do our best to keep the commandments and follow the example of our Savior Jesus Christ, we are blessed with real peace, even in times of trial and sadness. It was so cool to see the expectations that people --even non-members-- have of the missionaries. And on top of that, to feel words (in Spanish!) just coming to me to share with and help those people. As I spoke, I felt so warm and good inside. I knew I was teaching with the Spirit. Hopefully, I have a lot more experiences like that here in the mission!

I love you all! I'm going to have a lot of adventures here in Aregua, so I'll keep you all posted!

Elder Fairbanks

Family of Miguel, Jasmine, Veronica (not pictured) & Sebastian 3/13/16

"Familia Burgos & I. This family is golden. They are converts of 2 or 3 years; they have a son on a mission; they fed us every Sunday; and they're just the greatest. In this photo, I'm standing by Daniel. The other son is on the other side and his name is Manuel.