This story should go in the Liahona! Julia Acosta was baptized this past Saturday, and I can not believe the adventure that my companion and I took to help her achieve an understanding of the gospel. We are very happy for her. Again, my companion continues to teach her with his unusual gift of pronouncing the Book of Mormon, and she is understanding very well. I remember thinking that it must be impossible to teach the people that only speak Guarani, but more and more each day I am reminded how NOTHING is impossible when we trust in our Maker.
I
am not sure if I have mentioned Corina yet, but she is one of the most
incredible investigators we have had here in Katuete, and she is from
the little town called Agua Blanca. She read the Book of Mormon and was
instantly in love. She asked God in a humble prayer if the book was
true, and if this was the church that she should join, and she received a
clear answer from the Lord that this is His path.
Ever
since that day she has spent her time studying studying and studying
the Book of Mormon, and has grown so much in her knowledge. She often
teaches me new things that I didn't know! The only problem was that her
husband has a very strong catholic tradition in his family. He didn't like the idea of his wife getting baptized in our church. To be
able be baptized she was going to have to marry him,
but he did not want to do that for some reason. Finally, unsure what would be the next step for her, we challenged her to fast with us. She
agreed and we fasted. Later on in the day we received a call from her
and she told us that they had decided to be separated so that she could
be baptized. This was very sad for us as well as for
her. Later on in the week, Corina told us that
her husband had a change of heart. He came up to her and said, "I don't
care what my family says anymore. We are going to get married, you are
going to get baptized, and we are going to go to church as a family." I
was shocked when I heard this, as he has only agreed to shake my hand
one time, let alone come to church.
I know that God answers our fasts and our prayers.
Finally,
yesterday was Pascua... or Easter. In South America, it is a very big
holiday, and EVERYONE participates. The tradition is... not do anything
for the whole week, and then on Sunday everyone has family over.
Here
in Paraguay, the people are so nice, that when we contact houses we
literally have a probably 8 lessons in every 10 houses that we contact.
Yesterday... I felt like I was in the United States, or Great Britain,
or Russia or something! Literally no one let us in! It was crazy, but I
loved every moment, and my companion and I somehow had a blast getting
rejected. That might sound weird, but I have always wondered what it
would be like to be rejected a lot like they always say happens in other
missions!
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2. Send letters through the Church Pouch Mail Only postcards or one-page correspondences (no envelopes).
Fold the letter in thirds, secure the long side with tape about one inch in from each end. Do not seal the ends. Stamp and address the blank side as you would an envelope. Use the following mailing address:
Elder Taylor Graves
Argentina Posadas Mission
POB 30150
Salt Lake City, UT
84130-0150
2. Send letters through the Church Pouch Mail Only postcards or one-page correspondences (no envelopes).
Fold the letter in thirds, secure the long side with tape about one inch in from each end. Do not seal the ends. Stamp and address the blank side as you would an envelope. Use the following mailing address:
Elder Taylor Graves
Argentina Posadas Mission
POB 30150
Salt Lake City, UT
84130-0150
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3. Physical Mailing Address:
Elder Taylor Graves
Córdoba 1243
Posadas, Misiones 3300
Casilla 12
Argentina
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