End of an Era...

September 28, 2021

This week was full of interesting things.

To start off I promised someone he would walk again. We went to a lesson with our buddy Luis who is in a wheelchair. And we went with our branch president. While there, after the branch president shared something, it was our turn to share and we began talking, and miracles just kinda came up. So we were talking about that and then in my mind a thought just popped up, "tell him he can walk again" and I was like WOAH no way am I going to tell him that I have no clue if that will actually happen. So I continued talking and the thought came back. And I rejected it again, but then it came back and I was like alright I guess we're doing this. So I told Luis that if he continues down this path, and keeps the commandments he will one day walk again. And while saying it the Spirit was super strong so I know for a fact that one day if he does what he needs to do I'll see him walk again.

We also had District Council and talked about working with the members and how important it is. And especially to be a part of branch council because using that we can talk with all the leaders of the branch and have them help us in the missionary effort. The Elders from Pilar told us that their branch has branch council but the branch president never invites them even when they ask. I ended up calling the branch president in Pilar and talking to him for a while asking what I can to do help the missionaries over there more and then he asked what he could do to help. I asked if he would invite them to branch council and he said he would. So I'm really hoping he was telling the truth and actually invites them.

After that we went out to Pilar to do splits. On the bus out there was a movie on the TVs in the bus and it was a hilarious Chinese knock off of The Good the Bad and the Ugly. But all of the words were still in Chinese so it was very interesting. Thankfully they had Spanish subtitles, but it was so weird and ridiculous and the fact that it was in Chinese made it all the better. In Pilar we got yelled at by some dude in half English, half Spanish, half guarani. And then flipped off multiple times, and it was one of the oddest experiences of my life haha. I also saw a Toyota Tacoma in Pilar. The first one in a really long time and I can say with confidence that it made me the most trunky out of anything else out here. I was out there in Pilar for a week at the beginning of this transfer so I built some decent relationships with some members out there. It was super cool to see them again and talk to them again. There were a couple of them that requested that we went by to their house and it was actually really cool to see that in such a short time I could mean so much to some people. One of the members out here I'm actually really sad I'll never see her again at least not for a long time. She is super cool we had some really great lessons with her.

Then the rest of this week has been full of work and saying goodbye to people because I'm going to leave San Ignacio. Which I halfway can't believe is true. I've been here for basically 6 months and have never had another area. So to leave here and go to another area is going to be wild. I am going to be in a city called Caaguazu as a Zone Leader with a guy named Elder Coumans.

It was so insane, we were just walking around one night and all of a sudden our phone rang and our Mission President was calling us. Which never really happens so we knew something was happening. I turned to Elder Hall before answering the call and joked "if he calls me as a ZL" completely as a joke. But 5 minutes later that's exactly what he did. After the phone call I sat in the middle of the street for a second taking it all in. That I would actually be leaving San Ignacio, and that I was going to be a Zone Leader. I still can hardly believe it but I am ridiculously excited to get up there to Caaguazu and start working.

It's been big sad saying goodbye to everyone because I feel so close to so many people here. A lot of them had a big role to play in me learning Spanish and feeling comfortable here in Paraguay. There are a couple families here that truly feel like my family and to know that the chance I will see them again is extremely thin, is a very sad idea. It's truly an end of an era out here in San Ignacio. There's a couple people that I will never forget who truly have changed my life. And we will be friends until the end of time.

I gave my last testimony in church today and a lot of the members were really sad to see me go and during my testimony I got really choked up. Knowing that it was probably the last time I would ever be in that chapel and ever talk to or see some of these people was hard.

I love all of you

Elder Schofield