Picture Day

Italics are comments from the MADRE
que suerte para ustedes!! i love the beach!!! i hope you have fun and make sure you take a lot of pictures. tell everyone i say hi and i love them all. Brain Blast (I think that means he has an idea)have them write me letters one night. Like we used to have to do at Aunt Daynas and were always punks about it. ha that be sweet if not dont worry.

well another successful week down in Paraguay. thanks everyone for letters they always brighten my day. And make sure someone gives chelsea a fat hug for me cause she sent me two. i also got a killer B'day package and it reminded me that i miss skittles. they are the bomba. but even more importantly we were able to maintain those numbers that we had from last week. Which i was way pumped about, we missed one day of contacts which is kinda sad but ill get over it. k over it. Best part of the week was the two baptisms that we had on Sunday. they both passed their interviews with flying colors and were both super excited for Sunday. Everything with Diego went perfect except he was a little upset we didn't have white socks or a tie for him. but i gave him my socks and he was ok. he was smiling the whole time and was so nice to everyone there. Its amazing to see the change in these peoples lives as they start to accept and understand the Gospel. Now the day with jessica didnt go as smoothly as planned. for the past two weeks she has been waiting for her dad to get back from Argentina to ask for his permission to get Baptized, but he never come home so he wasnt really sure what she wanted to do. She had full support from her mom and other faimly members, but she was still worried about her dad. So she came to church and towards the end she started crying she said she wants to get baptized today (Sunday) but doesnt want her dad to be mad at her. We told her we can call and see what he says, she says no; we said we can do it with out calling him, and she started crying again. well we prayed together with President Armoa and his wife in his office and she said she felt better. we walked her home and she was still way nervous. We asked what we can do to help her and she said Fast and Pray. Which was amazing to me that she had a testimony that that would help her. So we didnt eat lunch that day and prayed like crazy until her Baptism. We got to the chapel at 2 an hour before it started to heat up some water to add to the font (note didnt help it was freezing!!) And the whole time i was there waiting i was so nervous i felt like i was going to throw up. I felt exactly how i felt before every swim meet but like a really big one. Like state times 10. i was hurting. But just kept praying that she would show up, and at 240 she walked in, still not completely emotionally ready but she was there, and that was good enough for me to know that she wanted to get baptized. the first 10 mins she was there she didnt say one word she just walked straight over to the baptismal font leaned her forearms against the railing and just looked at the water, thinking, about what i dont know. but after a few pep talks from my comp, PRez and myself, and then the one that probably help the most, from her mom. She got ready we took pics and she got baptized. and when she came out of the water she had the biggest smile i have ever seen on her. it made it all worth it. After words she was very content with her decision and loving life. Definitely top 5 greatest days of my life. now we just Pray that her dad will be ok with her decision if not it will just give her another trial and another opportunity to use her faith and receive more blessings.
(I had read a blog where the mom said her son had told her serving a mission in Paraguay was like camping in a suit for two years. I'm sure many of you who served missions in foreign countries felt those sentiments at times. I am so grateful when I read his letters at the joy he feels as her serves the Lord. It is humbling and amazing to watch the Lord guide this sweet missionary of ours through this experience.)

MOM QUESTION- do i feel like im camping in a suit for two years

the answer would be... somewhat. like some of times i feel like im camping since everyone cooks with charquel (carbon in spanish i dont know how to spell it in English) and we wash our clothes by hand also the inconsistent shower temperature definitely reminds me of Leo Carrillo, and i do walk a dirt trail all day. But then again we have a very nice restaurant up the street from our house, and some pretty descent size houses on the other side of the town. But now that i think of it you could say that it does feel like im camping. but in a really nice camp ground with maybe a trailer. Not a motor home thats to comfortable, like a fold out trailer. so i guess you could say we are camping "comfortable" for two years but i only wear my suit Sunday for 3 hours so change it to
"camping comfortable in white shirts for two years".
and i can testify for you.

well im out of here love you all

Con todo mi amor,
Elder Camba (means darkness in guarani) me and my comp picked guarani names last week. his is cambú´he´ë it means sweet milk or rubio aka white boy. ha Paraguayians find it hilarious. and so do i