Training...

August 31, 2021

Hello everyone, this week was pretty sweet that's for sure.

I started out in Pilar saying goodbye to the Elders out there and we all headed back to San Ignacio. In San Ignacio we had some fun playing some games and eating some decent food. After that though I got on my bus to head up to Asuncion.

I was all alone in this bus for 4 hours so that was really interesting. Not having a comp and all of the Paraguayans near me we're passed out asleep so for 4 hours I was stuck in my own head. It was honestly kinda nice I listened to some music and just relaxed all the way up there. On the way there I was texting the elders in the office who were going to pick me up from the bus station. But I knew that I was getting in kind of late so I offered to just take a taxi to the office because that way I wouldn't have to make them drive down to the station to get me. So I hopped off the bus and into a cab and directed him to the mission office. On the way we passed by Burger King and McDonald's and I asked the taxi driver if he would stop at McDonald's but he said no because he was in a hurry to get back to the bus station to take more passengers and make more money. So I was kinda sad about that I really wanted to try some Paraguayan McDonald's but I still haven't had the chance.

Then I got to the office and was hanging out with the elders and sisters that were there. And I met my trainee. Elder Hall, he's a pretty cool guy from Logan Utah, he's excited to work and learn Spanish so what more could I ask for. We all slept that night and woke up in the morning and played basketball for exercise. Some sisters came down to play with us too because their apartment is literally like 3 blocks from the office. So it was really fun getting to play a real sport again for the first time in a while. After that we really just packed up and had to get back to the bus terminal.

But I did get to see Elder Elggren again which was awesome. He's an Elder from my MTC district that I haven't seen since we arrived here in Paraguay. He was passing through the office dropping off his old comp who was going to train as well. So I just saw him for just a minute but it was so sweet to catch up with him.

We headed down to the bus station where my comp, a sister headed to Encarnacion, and I all hopped on the bus and started the 4 hour ride back home. Being in Asuncion was weird. The size of the buildings there honestly shook me for a second, the pharmacy's are bigger than our biggest supermarket here in San Ignacio so it was super cool to see that. But I definitely like the small town vibes down here in San Ignacio. It was pretty fun on the bus ride down to chat with my new comp and Hermana Skinner who is going to be in Encarnacion.

It was definitely bizarre for a bit being the person who had to do all the talking with the other Paraguayans but I'm getting used to it now and I kind of like it because I know it's going to help improve my language very quickly.

As for training, so far it's been pretty fun, we practice Spanish a lot and how to teach the lessons in Spanish as well. We also had a day absolutely full of contacting which was awesome because there's no better way to learn the language than talking with people. Also while contacting you always meet the best people.

We met this old guy who told us we were two very attractive dudes and that he has 2 daughters for us to marry. "BUT one of them Is fat so we better fight over the skinny one." So if I come back with a fat Paraguayan wife, it will be obvious that I lost the fight.

But we also met some pretty cool people. We met this one husband and wife and asked if we could share something with them really quickly. They said yes which was cool so we read with them the story about the sick girl who touched the robe of Jesus and was healed. And talked about the faith this girl had to do that. The wife that we were talking with then told us that she has been struggling with sicknesses her entire life and that this scripture really touched her heart because she related to it. She said it was a sign from God that she needed start reading and praying again because out of all of the verses in the Bible we shared the one that she needed.

Having these experiences is always so cool and so spiritual because it's like an affirmation that we were in the area we needed to be in and sharing what we needed to be sharing in order to reach the people we are teaching. It's like a way of knowing that we're actually doing the right thing and listening to the spirit, it's pretty sweet.

Also one night our Paraguayan Grandma sent us a message saying that she fell while in her kitchen and broke her wrist. And asked us if we could come and give her a blessing if it wasn't a big deal. We told her that absolutely we would be there in the morning in order to give her this blessing and help her out in any way, shape, or form we could. It was super cool to see her faith in that all she wanted was a blessing.

Last Sunday I had to give a talk in church and the 2nd counselor in the mission presidency and his wife was there. Afterward the wife asked me how long I have in my mission and I told her 6 months. She was shook and said that she thought I was on my way home because my Spanish was pretty good I guess. Which is always super good to hear that people think your Spanish is good.

Anyway it was a super good week training is super fun. I love all of you guys and hope you write me if you want.

Elder Schofield