Dallin's Blog (Paraguay Asuncion North Mission): Week 7 in Concepcion... Con Hijo

Dear Friends and Family,

One of my favorite phrases/words in Guarani is "che memby," which literally means "child of my loins" or something like that. Technically, only women are allowed to say it because men don't give birth, but I love the way it sounds so much that ever since I learned it, I decided that "che memby" would be my nickname for my child if I ever got the chance to train...

President & Sister Evans and Elders Smith & Fairbanks

Well, now I have my own che memby! His name is Elder Smith from Utah (a city called... Tuwilla or something like that a short drive west of Salt Lake) and he is wrapping up his sixth day in Paraguay today! He studied Spanish for three years before the mission, so he's using words and phrases that I had to learn from experience and is communicating pretty well for a new greenie. All the same, he's been pretty frustrated with himself for not being able to understand the Paraguayans (who tend to speak a very sloppy form of Spanish). Seeing him worry about his language capabilities has really made me grateful for the gift of tongues here in the mission. As I learned and taught, I never felt like I had much help. But looking back, I started out understanding less than Elder Smith understands now, and now I don't have any more difficulty understanding Spanish than I do English. The best part of having Elder Smith with me though is that he has a really sincere desire to serve the people here and to work. So I'll only be here to help him develop his Spanish and teaching skills, not to teach him why it's important to be obedient and work hard.

This week hasn't been all sunshine, roses, and baby showers though; the roads to and from receiving Elder Smith were both long. My journey started out in district meetings here when our district leader told us our changes. Elder Brito was going to stay in Concepcion, I was going to leave, and everyone was shocked because our changes seemed all backwards... and we were right. A few minutes after learning our changes, our zone leaders called us laughing to tell us that all the changes they gave us were backwards... So I learned that I'd be staying here in Concepcion one more change. Later in the day, I recieved a call from one of the assistants, Elder Crofts (love that guy) who said something to the effect of, "Elder Fairbanks, tomorrow you're going to travel to Asuncion and you're going to receive a trainee. Polish your shoes well, bring your suit, and we'll see you there.

We started our journey to Asuncion at 11:00 at night on Tuesday in the chuchi double decker busses that we have to travel in out here. It was a long ride, but interesting because on the way, I learned that 4 out of the 5 companionships in Concepcion are going to be training... that's a lot of new missionaries!

Long story short, we got to Asuncion; watched a presentation where we learned who was going to be our comp; I received Che Memby, Elder Smith; and we travelled back to Concepcion.

That's when the second suprise hit. Elder Barreto had learned earlier in the day of changes (Wednesday morning) that he wasn't district leader anymore. We figured that it was because being a district leader and a trainer would be a ton of responsibility and left it at that... but no. Elder Barreto actually got moved up to be a zone leader and... I'm the new district leader in Concepcion. I've got tons of new responsibilities now, in addition to making sure my "son" learns how to be a good missionary, but I'm super excited! I'm going to have so many opportunities to see how other missionaries work and to learn from them that no matter what, I'll become a better missionary during these next few weeks that are going to be super busy.

I've been super stressed this past week, but all the same, this was one of the most spiritual weeks of my mission. I've seldom seen so clearly the hand of the Lord guiding me to the places I need to go and helping me know what to say.

One of the first special experiences I had were baptismal interviews. As a district leader, I interview the investigators in my district (all of Concepcion) to see if they're ready for baptism. I never would have guessed a week ago that that would be my responsibility, so naturally I was kind of nervous. But talking to the other missionaries' investigators was an awesome experience. I seemed to know exactly what to share and say to each one.

After finishing the interviews in the center of Concepcion, I had to walk all the way back to my area (on the outskirts). It was late, and the people weren't super receptive, and I was worried that we wouldn't be able to find a lesson. Well, it's sort of a long story, but at one house, the family was home, but I stopped before clapping at their gate and said, "I don't know why, but I think we need to keep walking." So we did. We clapped at the houses of three more people -- none of them were home -- and ended up at the door of A (the guy I've bragged about so much lately). We clapped, he beckoned us inside, and when we entered, we were shocked to see that he was having a family night there with one of the branch's counselors, the young men's president, the teacher he's been spending time with lately, and her children. We watched some Mormon messages together and talked about patience and the Hand of the Lord in our lives. It was a super spiritual lesson, and A, the teacher, and her children all said that they think they're finding the place God wants them to be after years of searching and some pretty big familial trials. After leaving that last lesson, the first thing that Elder Smith said to me was, "That was exactly where we needed to be tonight." and I couldn't have agreed more. It was just an awesome experience!

So that's a tiny chunk of my crazy last week here in Concepcion! I'd like to end with a scripture that explains well what I've been feeling and seeing here in Concepcion. It's Mosiah 24:15: "And now it came to pass that the burdens which were laid upon Alma and his brethren were made light; yea, the Lord did strengthen them that they could bear up their burdens with ease, and they did submit cheerfully and with patience to all the will of the Lord." A lot of times in our lives we're going to feel burdened down by trails -- one of the promises of our mortal lives is that we'll pass through trials and afflictions. During my time here in Paraguay, and especially this past week, I've seen and felt that in the end, the Lord really does strengthen us and help us bear our burdens. All we have to do is be patient, and keep doing everything in our power to follow, obey, and love Him.

I love you all! Have a great week and remember that the church, with all its promises, miracles, and blessings, is true!

Elder Fairbanks