Hola Todos

Happy Monday!

Today we helped clean a house. I'm not sure we should have been cleaning without gas masks or those yellow toxic suits, but whatever. I'm not sure she has thrown anything (really, I mean ANYTHING) away in the past few years, but it was fun to hear the stories behind everything and see some of the pictures.

It has been raining crazy hard here this past week, and three days we had to stay inside because they cut the power and it was raining super hard. We got to go out for a few hours, but there really wasn't much we could do.

We went on divisions this past week, so I got to spend a day in Encarnacion (Paraguay). I also got to wear a straw hat because the sun is super bright and hot. Hna Craven lent me one, but I'm thinking about buying one of my own soon. Enjoy the attached picture haha.

Being in the mission I get a very good idea of my own weaknesses and shortcomings, and lots of the weaknesses and shortcomings of other people as well. I (like everyone else) absolutely loved President Uchtdorf's conference talk when he asked us to stop judging others just because they sin differently than we do. I found these scriptures enlightening as well "For whosoever shall keep the whole law, and yet offend in one point, he is guilty of all. For he that said, Do not commit adultery, said also, Do not kill. Now if thou commit no adultery, yet if thou kill, thou art become a transgressor of the law." James 2:10-11. God does not look upon ANY sin with the least degree of allowance. Whether I go about stabbing people with knives or whether I go about hurting people with words the result is the same. I am acting contrarily to God's will. My Heavenly Father is merciful, loving, and kind, but He is also perfectly just. We must always attempt our best, and then allow the repentance process to heal us when our best is not enough.

I love you all! Have a marvelous week!

Hna Simmons

Here is the Casa de Oracion where we have our meetings. It's next to a beer store. We're on the second floor.

This is what the language Guarani looks like. We have a few copies of the Book of Mormon in Guarani, but hardly anyone can read it. Most people speak Guarani and Spanish, but only read in Spanish. For whatever reason, Guarani is easier to speak but Spanish is easier to read.