¿Winter Wonderland or Summer Paradise?

Hahahahahaha BUT honestly I am truly asking this question because IT´S OFFICIALLY WINTER!!!!!!!!!! However, winter in Paraguay is NOTHING like winter in the good ´ole states where there is snow and all! Here in Paraguay it doesn´t get too cold and in fact, the first few days of winter have been pretty hot! Hahaha

What a crazy week this was! I seriously can´t even believe how fast it went by! It seems like I just blinked my eyes and it finished... Haha I guess that´s what happens when you are busy every second of the day! This week we had the chance of having 3 divisions and we had prepared to have 2 baptismal services, but ended up having only the one of Saturday, but to say the least, it was a great week! On Tuesday I went to Anahi 2 with Hermana Pacheco! She has been in the mission for 2 months and is from Bolivia! It was fun getting to be together with her as she was able to lead the area on her own for the first time. It honestly brought back memories of when I did that for the first time! She was super nervous, but did such an amazing job! It´s cool to see how much we can progress as missionaries through time and practice! She is able to lead the area without a problem! We had a lot of fun together gettin to meet the people in her area! We also went to an investigator´s house and she treated us to Paraguayan Cheese with Honey..... Now, I´m not gonna say that it was the worst thing I´ve had, but it sure wasn´t my favoirte! Hahahaha On Wednesday I had divisions with Hermana Diaz here in Yspay! Hermana Diaz is from the DOMINICAN REPUBLIC and honestly just reminds me of my grandma! Hahahahaha She has been in the mission for 10 months now! It was really fun getting to work together and just talk about all of the different events that had happened to her recently. Though she was still very sad to have left her trio in Bella Vista, she is trying to handle this pink wash like a pro! She wasn´t very happy with what the missionaries had done before the pink wash, but I tried to inspire her with the chance that she gets to see the area change through hard work! Hermana Diaz is a great teacher! I was able to learn a lot from our division together! On Thursday I was reunited with Hermana Torres! Hahaha it was weird being apart for a while. We went to have 2 baptismal interviews and they both went fantastic! We were really excited to continue preparing for the baptismal service and all. Iris, who was supposed to be baptized on Thursday 20 June 2019), did not show up to her baptism. We were very confused to what might have happened with miscommunicaiton or if there was a problem at her home. (She used to live with a less active family, but moved home so that she could be baptized). We were pretty sad because she genuniely wanted to be baptized and was ready to make all of the changes in her life to be baptized. Though her mom was very accepting and willing to support Iris on Sunday, something must have changed... It was pretty heart breaing honestly. BUT we have an amazing ward who was very supportive and awesome! On Friday I had divisions with Hermana Noriega here in Yspay! Hermana Noriega is from Utah (her family is from Mexico so she speaks perfect spanish!) and she has been in the mission for 9 months! She is truly awesome! I was able to pick up some great things from her in our division! We even made some chocolate chip cookies together to finish the day! And because we were togehter for the 1st day of WINTER we took a picture with a banana tree! :) On Saturday Hermana Torres and I met up and finished getting the rest of the details set up for the baptism of Mathias! It was honestly so precious! He was so excited to be baptized and we were able to have good support from the ward! I just am always to grateful to see how excited people are to make changes in their lives to become closer to Christ! It´s such a beautiful thing to see! We were also able to find some more aweseome people to go teach! AND we found a good pizza place that just oppened up and is super close to our house! Hahaha Sunday was great and I reflected on the importance of the sacrament and just how important it is in our lives. Our Heavenly Father truly has so much love for us as to send His Son Jesus Christ to die for us and give us hope and the ability to conqure whatever battle that may be ahead of us. How greatful I am for that. I couldn´t be here if it weren´t for my Savior. It just reminded me of how grateful I am to have the chance of participating in the sacrament every Sunday to renew my baptismal convenant and find peace, comfort, and forgiveness each time. I hope you all had a great week and are enjoying the sunshine! I sure am here in Paraguay and challenge you all to pay attention more to the tender mercies that happen in your day to day life! I promise that if you do, you´ll start to notice just how many blessing you receive each and everyday! ROHAYHU, Hermana Mendoza