Another Week

Not much to write about this week. Hermana Garci­a and I have just been working, walking, and teaching. a lot.  (She is my second Latin companion. She's way nice.)

The fantastic part about being in Paraguay is all the fruit. Also, our apartment came with a blender. Every morning I drink a smoothie with fresh mango, coconut, or banana. 

Also, I got to ride in a car the other day! A real car! Not a smelly, nasty city bus, or a run-down taxi, but an actual car! I had forgotten that they existed. It's strange to realize now how incredibly convenient my life has been. And still is. I have grown a lot more accustomed to how most people here live, and it has only been 3 months. I’m a little nervous that after 18 months I am going to come back to the U.S. feeling completely out of place. My whole life I kind of laughed at the idea of the "awkward returned missionary," but now I can tell that that is going to be me!

The only thing that has been a bit of an inconvenience is that our power went out the other day and we haven't been able to get it turned back on. That means no refrigeration, no hot water, no lights when it gets dark, etc... Whenever I start to feel frustrated I just remind myself that this is all part of one big adventure. When else in my life will I ever get to say that I took a freezing cold shower in Paraguay? Or walked over an hour to tell someone that I know we have a prophet on the earth today? Or learned an entirely new language basically by just speaking and listening and lots and lots of prayer? Never! I am learning a lot and growing a lot and hopefully I will be able to become a better person by the end of it all.

Wow, sorry my letter is kind of all over the place! But I hope everybody is doing well! When do they break ground for the Meridian temple? Are they going to do any kind of celebration? Also, how long do they think it will take to build?

Found this scripture the other day, and I absolutely love it. Thought I’d share it. "Behold, I am the Lord, the God of all flesh: is there anything too hard for me?" Jeremiah 32:27

Love you all!

Hermana Simmons

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I always love your letters!

I love you and hope you are enjoying work! Eat a couple of s'mores for me! (marshmallows don't actually exist here)

XOXO

Hermana Simmons

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Here I am with Mariela and Fernando and their family! When I left Santo Tome we had taught Fiorela (the older daughter) and Macarena (the younger sister). The two of them had baptismal dates. We also had started to work more with Sebastian. They are awesome!!!!

Here I am with my Paraguayan Zone. We went out for pizza after a zone meeting. The Hermana sitting next to me is Hna Garcia, my companion!

i have been trying to send this picture FOREVER. i took it back in June.

Hna Tapia and I found this grafitti back in Santo Tome. If missionaries did grafitti, it would look like this.

In argentina, overlooking paraguay