Serving Paraguay: Who you are is what matters

Dear family,

I don't have a ton of time to write, because I was fixing the pics so you can see them. I think I fixed it.

I hope you are getting better, mom! (She has the flu) The Lopez family, who I had Christmas with, their mom has Dengue! So we went over and visited her this week. What a coincidence. Dengue is a huge problem in Paraguay. Their hospitals are full of people who have it and a lot have to be quarantined and kept so there are a ton of people sleeping on the floors. We are putting on mosquito repellant on in the bucket-loads so I think I will be okay.

This week we had a bunch of lessons. We ran in-between appointments and didn't meet too many new people. Raquel is doing great and she brought her sister out to church with her family. Her husband didn't come, though, and so his baptism is being pushed back again. The Spanish is coming a little faster, I think, and I can pretty much understand everybody. Elder Brown and I are getting along well and I am learning a ton from him. We had a lot of incredible lessons where it seemed to be just what the person needed to hear in order to change some things around in their lives.

Something I learned this week as I was teaching is that religion cannot be tailored to suit the wants and desires of people. Its a place to meet the wants and desires of God. The true church of God is the one that shows us who God wants us to be and how to get there. By the right kind of obedience to the Lord's commandments and teachings, we in turn become something greater than we thought we could. That is a huge misunderstanding of religion, I think. A lot of times we think of the rules or commandments of God as a checklist of things needed to get into heaven, but I don't think God will have a checklist. I think it will be just you and him, and who you are is what matters. And in the end the Lord's way is a lot easier and more rewarding than our way.

I love you guys and I put more pics in dropbox of Aregua beach and other stuff. The big building is the biggest hotel in Paraguay, I think.