Hermana Ross in Paraguay: Week 22

Dear family <3 * (Hearts and Stars)

Well, I would say this week has been a good one. It was honestly really rough for the first few days, but it finished off strong. I`m in week 5 of this transfer now (out of 6), which is nuts! I can`t believe that transfers are coming up so soon. Anyway, I`ll get to all the *exciting* details of my week now.

Paraguayan hospital: Heyyyy, so I never mentioned this before on account of it`s not really a super big deal, but I have had kind of a weird bacteria/infection thing on my skin for a few months now and it`s made my lips hurt super bad and look super feo. So anyway, I`ve talked to the mission nurse and also the Mish Prez`s wife about it a few times, but TBH I think the mission is kinda just one of those "suffer through the pain" types of things. But anyway, por fin the nurse was able to set up an appointment for me to go see a doctor. So we went to Asunciòn on Wednesday and I was able to talk to someone there. I was pretty nervous, on account of I`ve heard sketchy things of Paraguayan hospitals and such. But it wasn`t really that bad, per se, and I got prescribed some stuff that seems to be working really well. The doctor here said it is some kind of allergic reaction, but a doctor from Salt Lake said it looks more like a bacteria. Anyway, it`s fine, so don`t worry. But yeah, it`s been an "exciting" experience in my life.

Language studies: Oh man, we`ve had some good language studies this week. I`ve been trying to help my comp more with her English, because honestly I`ve been forgetting because I`m obviously more focused on trying to learn Spanish. But anyway, I`ve been teaching her basic conversational things, and it`s real talk hi-larious. Seriously, sooooo funny. The pronunciation is just too much for her. She says every W like a G and every TH like an F, etc. She literally cannot pronounce the word "with" in any other way besides "gif." It`s pure comedy, and we are both just cracking up the whole time.

#missionlyfe: So this week the Bishop asked if I could give a talk in church. Omheck, can you imagine? And he was like "Don`t worry Hermana, only for like 10ish minutes." Hahaha like I can speak in Spanish straight for 10 minutes. Lolz. But what better way to celebrate my 5 month anniversary with the mission than to do something slightly uncomfortable that puts me out of my comfort zone, amirite? Fitting, to say the least. Anyway, the topic was how the spirit can help us make decisions, which is a pretty bomb one, so that was at least fortunate. The other fortunate thing was that I had enough advance notice that my comp could help me translate some stuff and I could try to incorporate scriptures and quotes. But just keep in mind that our barrio isn`t just like typical South America 10 people - there are like 60 people there. Which I guess is NBD, but I was still kinda nervous. Anyway, it actually went really well. For sure the spirit was there, and that`s the goal. But it`s funny because I also obviously have to play piano still every week in Sacrament meeting, and also direct the hymns in the other classes, etc. The missionaries are really important in the wards here, actually, so that`s good/can be bad. But yeah, after my talk was over I felt so much better. It`s like in Harry Potter when they were wearing the horcrux locket and then when they took it off they just felt happier and less angsty.

Familia Figeredo: So we`ve been working a lot to reactivate this family, because they have so much potential. The dad is an RM (returned missionary) and knows his doctrine like fer realz. Anyway, we`ve been visiting with them for quite a bit, and the past few weeks they`ve been coming back to church! I`m pretty sure they`re legit reactivated, because the dad of the family is acting really serious about his commitment, and he`s not one to mess around. So that`s been something exciting happening with the work here. (They`re the ones with all the pitbulls, btdubs).

In other news, our district is super bomb. It`s really small (just 4 Elders and us 2 Hermanas), and I honestly prefer it that way. It`s easier to plan activities and talk to our DL (district leader), etc. Today we had an activity together and had another PK futbol tournament, and I won again! Guys, this is seriously big news. (Sidenote, PK stands for penalty kick. Really nobody knew that? Colin, how`reya gonna make it to FIFA 2022 if you don`t know basic soccer vocab?! Get on it, broski.) Anyway, it was a good time. And this coming Saturday we`ve been organizing a bi-ward activity to watch Conozca a los Mormones. Gonna be a good time, for sure. Hopefully I don`t cry during it again, but let`s be real, I probably will. Oh yeah, I for sure cried during my talk, just in case you thought I didn`t. Lolz, I`m becoming one of those people.

Ok, well those are pretty much the noteworthy things from my week, mas o menos. I`m feeling pretty good/normal, and I`m hoping this week will be a good one. I`m sure it will be, on account of "life`s what you make it (so let`s make it rock)."

Love you a lot,

Hermana Ross