Juan Ray'u

So we finally got permission to drink Maté in the mission--which is something that all of the missionaries of Latin descent have been dreaming about for years. It's a pretty big deal because the whole point of not allowing Maté (or its cold counterpart Tereré) has been a big part of not only the mission's rules but also it's culture. It was a symbol of obedience, a symbol of sacrifice, something that says I can do hard things. I don't have to do what I have been doing for years before. 

I can change

We are only allowed to drink or "intake" (as the direct translation would say) Maté and Terere in our own house and using our own "equipo" or set up. You can't just throw the herb in a cup and start swigging. There's a process. You have choose which cup or "guampa" you're gonna use. Are you gonna drink it warm? Most people have an automatic boiler which is actually a pretty nifty and cheap way, but I prefer drinking it cold. The classic way to get a cold jug of water in this country to arm your set up is pre-freezing plastic water balloons and then smashing them on the floor at the time of use to break it into pieces. Cubes are rarely used here. 

In my last installment I mentioned the latest side hustle of selling coke bottles filled with gas on the side of the road and pretending it's cleaning product so the police don't get mad. But the real side hustle is selling yuyo (jew-joe) on the side of the road. Which is basically home remedies to put in your terere or Maté which consists of plants that have "special healing properties"--

 

They sell grass on the side of the street and say it will cure diarrhea. lol.

Crazy how cheap they sell it but they get it for free so the margins are high and so is the demand. I actually have a sneaky suspicion that yuyo masters are better off then hype beast gas sellers. 

Encarnación continues to slowly sink into winter. The sun drags its feet up to the horizon every morning then passes through the clouds and quickly sinks into the city of Posadas, Argentina in the mid afternoon. The daylight passes by so fast it is almost shocking. It has been cold and wet for almost a week now. It's nearly impossible to find anyone to teach at night so we try to set up as many appointments possible after 6. It's been a good pace of work. I feel more and more comfortable as the days go on. I would have never been able to be this consistent as a new missionary but it was always the goal. I would always ask myself when I first got here, "What am I gonna be like?" 

Although I feel like I have changed I never thought it would be this much. God is truly a God of miracles. I think back to the scriptures when Paul once said something along the lines of "he saved a wretch like me." What a concept. God can use the most useless objects and have them do miracles things. Such as the Liahona for example. Sometimes God floods planets, sometimes he destroys entire nations, sometimes entire nations ascend to be with him.

And sometimes he leads a couple of families through the desert using a brass ball.

There is a relatively new missionary named Elder Correa serving in my Zone. He is so humble and diligent but knows absolutely nothing from the scriptures or really the gospel.

He has never read the Book of Mormon.

His first name is Hyrum which he thought was from the Book of Mormon but it's the name of Joseph Smith's brother (which is in the Book of Mormon if you count the testimonies of the witnesses)

He asked me who Isaiah was

Etc.

I asked him once "why are you here?"

He said, "I want to baptize 100 people"

I love that answer.

I've learned a lot about setting goals recently. I'm in an actual position in the mission where I lead along with my companion a group or "Zone" of missionaries in the Encarnación area. One of my responsibilities is representing the zone in front of other leaders and setting monthly goals for baptisms. Our zone in the past has been pretty lackluster. 4 or 5 a month. The goal was usually around 12 which is 1 baptism for every area. 

We wanted to change things up.

We asked each area to pray and find out a goal for baptisms for the month of April. Eventually after trimming the number down a bit we set the goal of 22. Which was extremely high compared to other zones. It was what the whole zone worked for. For an entire month we were all focused on that number. We may have not been perfect but the goal was not seen as a limit but as an opportunity.

We ended the month with 13. The most in the mission.

I used to think that setting high goals was discouraging. What's the point in setting a high goal if you can't achieve it? Why would anyone set themselves up for failure? 22 baptisms--there is no way you can achieve it. At least not on your own. The thing about the gospel is that you CAN achieve it. The Lord wants us to have 13, 22, 43, 107 baptisms in a month. He can help us do it. It's his work too. 

If we had set only 13 baptisms I'm sure the result would have been lower. I've humbly come to the conclusion that goals are the ceiling but the closer the ceiling is to heaven, the closer you'll get to heaven, even if you don't quite get there yet.

Tomorrow I will be announcing to the whole mission that our goal is 30. Some will call it a blasphemy or even a joke. But the Lord can do amazing things. He can even do the Impossible. He has grown trees where seeds never even sprouted. He sent seagulls in the middle of Utah when crickets ate everyone's crops. In 2018 the zone baptized 22 people in a month. The Lord can do it again. I know that.

One thing I've come to realize and one of my insecurities is the fact that one day I'm not going to be expected by anyone to study the scriptures in the morning for an hour. The importance of personal study for me has grown tremendously. It use to be something  I "had to do" but now it's something "I need to do" my parents gave me two identical leather journals yesterday. One for the first year in my mission and one for the second. At 20 months in the mission I finished my first Journal. I told myself that I wasn't going to miss a day until I went home. I used to be so good about writing in my journal but then I just got lazy. I even went through periods-- whole transfers--without writing. I should have written but I didn't think it would help. Now I open my journal everyday. I write about what I studied in Spanish on the left page and what happened on the right. On pday I write the names of friends and family I talked too. I'm running out of time. I have to make every page count. 

I study and write what I study in Spanish because it's the language that I developed my testimony of the gospel in. All of the spiritual experiences, all of the testimonies, all of the times I've felt the Lord's hand in my life happened in Spanish. If I wrote it in English it wouldn't capture the moment as well for me. It would almost be diluted. Even this blog to me is just slightly less meaningful because I'm translating all of the experiences instead of writing them.

But I am determined to finish my second journal before I get home.

That's what's been on my mind. Elder Correa and I worked together for a half day while we were in their area to do a baptism interview. We had a great day. He threw himself into a lot of awkward situations and I had to save him a lot but it was a great day. I probably would have been quite irritated with him if I were a younger missionary, but I admire his enthusiasm. He asked, "Yo Elder J how do I get as good as contacting as you... you're the best in the mission." 

I was rather flattered but I am NOT the best at contacting in the mission. I probably am not even the best out of the 10 or something missionaries that Elder Correa knows. 

But hey he asked me...

I told him that I've never had problems talking with other people. Yes it was a long process learning the language that is ongoing and still humbling but I don't have problems randomly talking to people. The good thing is that I never "randomly" talk to anyone. I look at someone and I think "does the Lord want me to talk to him" if the answer is yes, I go. It almost always works.

In my old mission speaking English I felt really good meeting new people and making phone calls. I would even say and I'm sure he would agree that I was the more social one when I was with my trainer Elder Dalton. But when the hour to teach came, I sort of held back.

I wasn't converted yet.

I tried too much to "normalize" the gospel instead of teaching it. Presenting it as a "noncomittal" way to enhance one's spiritual life. I was scared to teach something that I had given so little importance too as a teenager because I thought that everyone would accept how I had accepted growing up.

Of little use

I told Correa that the Gospel has to be your life. Just start teaching if you get scared. It's great practice even if the lesson doesn't go as planned. Never fall into the habit of "asking for water" or "asking if hermano blank" lives here. The spirit will put the words in your mouth. You are here to find teach and baptize in the everlasting gospel not satisfy your thirst or help complete the 2022 census. Take real interest in everything and every person you meet. Talk to people that are right in front of you. They are the people that God has put in your path. If the lesson doesn't go well. DON'T WORRY. there's always another. And another. And another. If there's nobody in the street go to the corner store. They know everyone and have nothing but time to talk. Be proud that you're from the united states it's a great way to draw attention and interest and people will trust you more if you take their criticism in your accent. The only person who watches you screw up is your companion and his job is to help you. Help him as well. Get up at 6:30 every day and workout. Start planning at 8. Learn the lessons so well that you can teach  them fully in under a minute. If you can do that you can find at least 5 new people to teach every day. Never be afraid of Success. Never be afraid of big numbers. I'll be proud of you but the Lord is the one who really cares.

It's something I wish someone had told me when I was new.

One day in the near future I will write my final words. My "Final Peril" of all the things I have come to know. I think of how my style has changed into almost a warning sort of like how D and C 1 is written. "Doubt not. Fear not" have been things that run through my head constantly. I love you all and I am horrible at responding to emails. Just know that I read or listen and cherish all of them. I will be much better at communicating when I have more than 6 hours a week to talk to whoever I want. 

I titled this blog "Juan Ray'u" which means "Hijo de juan" or Johnson in Guarani. It's sort of my Paraguayan nickname. Elder Juan Ray'u. I like it. It's got a good ring to it. Maybe I'll name my next beta fish after it or something.