This week has been CRAZY.
To start out, Tuesday we had changes and I left the Moroni crew to come back to my "birth" zone Luque A, to work with Hermana Noorda in Salado, Limpio. I am sad to leave Moroni - it was a really cool area and my companions and I had some good times - however Salado is awesome.
To start off our week Hermana Noorda and I finished teaching the missionary charlas to Noelia Gauto Benitez, an investigator of about 2 months and on Thursday she had her baptismal interview. Friday morning we came to the capilla to empty out the baptismal font in preparation for Saturday and, get this, the font had floating, rotting mango, orange peels and a living frog in it. WAKA-LA (gnasty in guarani). That night Hermana Noorda and I put up fabrics, blew up balloons and got everything set up for the wedding of Noelia and Juan Fransisco, her marido. We had a great turnout and had more non-members than members show up to the wedding, some of their relatives coming up from Ciudad del Este. It was a great gathering and Noelia, Frans and their three kids were super happy. It's something special to see a family united in marriage.
Saturday morning we participated in a Zone "Rescate" and went to barrios Huiguito and Emboscada to visit menos activos with the members there. Hermana Noorda went to Limpio with Hermana Rodriguez and I got to do a few visits with Hermana Pisco and the members just drove us around in their car to all the visits #PrincessMissionaries.
After we ate lunch as a zone we went straight to the capilla to fill up the baptismal font and do weekly planning - however about 20 minutes after it started filling, the water was cut in the area and we had no way of filling up the font. Noelia came at 3pm to be baptized and all we had was about 1 1/2 feet of water and the water dripping from the faucets that we collected with our water bottles and threw in. Noelia really wanted to be baptized Saturday and had an appointment later that evening, so we went for it. After two tries and having to have her lay down in the font, she was completely submerged and cleansed of all her sins. Sunday she was confirmed and received the gift of the Holy Ghost.
It has been a crazy, spiritually, physically and mentally exhausting weekend - I've had to use skills I never even thought I had #wedding planner - but we did and Noelia is now on the path to Celestial glory. We will be working with her and (hopefully!) her husband more in these coming weeks. We also have some baptisms planned for these upcoming weeks and we are working to help barrio Salado grow and be strengthened.
It's been crazy, but I love it! There's nothing like working for the Lord.
With love sent from Paraguay,
Hermana Carr
