Week 18: Glory Week!

Family!!!!!

So, as promised, this past week (well, it doesn`t end until tomorrow) has been La Semana de Gloria aka GLORY WEEK. It has been all it promised it would be. We upgraded houses level x100, we had pizza not once, but TWICE, we had a sick rooftop party with a fire and decor (just the two of us, lolz), and we read so. much. of The Book of Mormon. Here are the deets:

Moving: SO, we got the OK to move on Thursday morning, meaning that we were so excited we immediately started packing our stuff and taking it to the new house. Since it was just on the other side of our tienda, we didn`t even have to have a moving truck or anything, and we just carried everything by hand. It was actually kind of hard though on account of I`m not very strong, so that really brought me back to the #Provomovingdays. Not my favorite thing. But we had these guys from the ward help us move the refrigerator and dressers and stuff, so that was chill. Honestly, our new house is so freaking swanky. I mean it`s all relative, and the house is still sketch as all get out, but in comparison to our former dispensa, there IS no comparison. We have so many windows, I loovveee it. And our bathroom doesn`t make me feel like I`m going to get a disease just by stepping foot in it, so that`s a pretty big score. Anyway, so mostly on Thursday and Friday we just moved and set stuff up. It was way funny though, because our shower in the new place stopped working after Saturday (sadz), so we had to go back to our empty dispensa to use the shower there. And OHMYGOSH, it`s CRAYZEE how fast you can adjust and then unadjust to something. I practically felt like I did the first time I ever stepped foot in that bathroom, which was "Oh my gosh, how am I going to survive here?" Lolz. So obviously that just confirms how much God has been blessing me to be able to adapt to my circumstances. It`s so freaking awesome. I`m so so so grateful. 

Glory week activities: So mostly those just took place starting on Thursday when we moved, and then continued when we got pizza on Friday night and then did our rooftop welcome party on Saturday night. Good times. Also, mostly Hermana Valenzuela just had to pack and prepare all her stuff this weekend though, so that was pretty logistical. She also has been calling tons of her converts from other areas to set up stuff with them when she visits them with her parents this week. Crazy. We also had to finish all the work we needed to do in Anahi before she left, which included saying her goodbyes, having her final lessons with people, giving away stuff she doesn`t want to take with her, etc. So mostly I just followed her lead in regards to how she wanted to spend her last few days. Having a dying companion is an interesting experience because you always have to balance a lot of logistical things with "the work." Anyway, also this week I have been reading a ton of El Libro De Mormon, because I made it my goal to finish it in both Spanish and English in 12 weeks. And my 12 weeks end tomorrow, so I gotta for sure finish! It`s been a good experience. More to follow on that next week.

Ward activity: So the ward had a Father`s Day activity on Saturday that we helped out with a little, and it was so precious! Honestly, so so cute. I`m really proud of the ward for planning it, because it was definitely the most organized thing I`ve ever seen them do. It was all of the primary kids that put it on for their dads, and it was just too cute. They had a little talent show and played games and stuff and I was loving it. And afterward the young men from the ward were DJing stuff, and my comp told them I was a DJ, which finally let them know I have at least .05% of a personality! And now they have been asking me what equipment I know about and who my favorite artists are and stuff, so that`s been a step in the right direction of gaining back any form of sociability #workinprogress

Well in other news, Paraguay is doing really well in the Copa Americano Chile 2015! We made it to the final four!! And we can always tell if we won a game because people just light off tons of fireworks and stuff in the streets, and it kinda sounds like a bombing is happening. But that`s way exciting! Watch the games for me *single tear*

Today my companion had to go to migrations, so we (once again) had to do the dreaded 5am Asunciòn collectivo trip. Oh gosh, it was awful. Awful. It really was a flashback to the infamous temple trip. Except for that this time I didn`t get as car sick, so it was a little better. But honestly, I can`t even describe it to you. I feel like it reminds me of some documentary about India or something with buses packed so full of people you can`t breathe and then people hanging on the outside of the doors and falling out because there are so many people. So just picture that, because that`s honestly what it`s like. Anyway, but after we got there she left to do her paper stuff and I went on divisions with this super sweet Latina hermana who is just a change ahead of me. It was really nice to be forced to try and practice Spanish. I kind of think there`s no other way that I`ll learn, on account of the fact that I`m externally motivated with that type of thing. Anyway, we found out there were a ton of Elders playing ping pong in the cultural hall, so naturally I was freaking stoked and we went to go play. And let me tell you, it was a good time. It ended up being just all the elders trying to beat me, which was fun because sport-type things eliminate pretty much all cultural/language barriers #olympicstillidie #tokyo2020. Also it was the first time in like four months that I remembered what it feels like to have any talents, so that was a good feeling. And then Hna. Valenzuela came back and wanted to go to Pizza Hut for her last P-day lunch, so I left ping pong as the undefeated champ #winning. Then we just took like four busses to get to this ciber, and after this we`ll probs go grocery shopping and then to our recent convert`s (Edna) house because it`s her birthday. 

So that`s been the gist of my week! We find out changes tomorrow morning and TBH I`m pretty nervous. I`m sure it`ll be fine (knock on wood), but change is just always kind of scary to me. Especially when there are so many unknown variables. SO MANY. But it`ll just be #thewillofGod no matter what, so I`m just ready to do it already. I`m honestly wanting a Latina comp pretty badly at this point, because it`s for sure Spanish o`clock. And time is ticking. But it`s also one of those "be careful what you wish for" situations, on account of I might feel pretty lonely and frustrated if I do get one. But whatever, it`s time, and I just want to learn Spanish SO BADLY. It`s seriously such a desire of my heart. I`ve been praying for it so much and as usual, Heavenly Father delivered. So now I just want to put my desire into action and suffer through it. Get ready for a no doubt super exciting update next week #lolz. I don`t know how I`m not going to go through super withdrawls from Hna. Valenzuela though. I put so much of myself into our relationship, and I feel (once again) like I`m being cast out of the Garden of Eden into the dark and dreary wilderness. How does this keep happening?! Man, there`s so much I don`t understand. But yeah, so that`ll be the biggest thing happening this week. 

Ok, I love you all so much! I`m also so freaking excited to get my birthday package this week. Thanks a mili. Aside from that though, it will probably be a super anticlimactic birthday on account of I`ll have a brand new comp and no one will know it`s my birthday... BUT it`s fine, because I sort of definitely think birthdays can be overrated at times anyway. Anyway, hope you all have a great week! Keep living the American dream #pray4Holly

Con amor,

Hermana Ross

p.s. When we were in the offices, President was talking with Hermana Valenzuela and then he talked to me for a second and used a hashtag because I use them so much in my emails to him. lololololol. 

p.p.s. So I keep hearing Bad Blood by Taylor Swift playing here, and I just keep thinking "wtheck?" I feel like that`s like maybe the 7th or 8th best song on the album. I can`t believe it got popular before Wildest Dreams or I Know Places or like so many other songs. Anyway, I know this isn`t actually important, but still, it`s been noteworthy to me. Thoughts? I`d imagine it`s been popular in the states for a while, because all the music here comes like fourish months late #lovemelikeyoudo