Ethan's Team!

Hola familia!

This week has been really tranquilo. This week I wanted to tell a little funny story that happened during this week!

So we contacted this house and got into a lesson with a lady named Gizel and her 8 month old baby.  We were teaching the restoration and were about half way in. Meanwhile she was holding her baby on her lap just listening to us. Half way into the lesson the baby chillin on her lap just started peeing all over haha it was running all down her leg, but the best part was the lady Gizel totally tried playing it off like nothing happened and she didnt even flinch! haha so we just kept teaching!(yeah super alkward i know) The babys down here just have shorts on and not dipers because most their parents are too poor to afford them.  So we just kept teaching, then about 5 minutes later the baby started makeing these funny faces and groaning sounds.... yeah turns out it was totally going number 2 while sitting on her leg! And at this point I almost let out a little giggle because the lady just kept acting like nothing was happening!  Then after 2 lonnnngggg minutes straight of these super loud groaning, ¨number 2 making¨ sounds and funny faces, I almost couldn't keep a straight face anymore! But the lady Gizel couldnt either.... She ended up just busting up laughing- hahaha and all of us started busting up and the little dude was still going strong! hahaha man the things you see in Paraguay......

I had a really cool expierence this week though. We were in a lesson with a couple, Pedro and Karmen. We started talking about the Plan of Salvation because that's the way things were just going. We had a really good start and we're trying to follow the spirit to find out what their needs were. About 15 min. in Karmen finally came out with the need. She had a ton of problems that were going on that we were trying to sort through but it ended up that the recent death of her mother was the cause of all these problems. I don't have lots of time to finish writing all this but in the end, because of my testimony of the Plan of Salvation I was able to comfort this person and really help her. To me it's still really sad to think about all the people in this world that don't know what is going to happen after death, or if they are ever going to get to see their family again? In this moment, seeing the relief on Karmens face that she will get to see her mom again is something I will never forget.  If you really think about it, I wouldn't have even close to as strong of a testimony that I do about this without the expierences that I have gained in my life so far.  And really it's because of 2 of the coolest dudes I have ever met in this life, KJ and Ethan I have this testimony, and I have the opportunity every day to share this testimony that I have gained and to help all of our other brothers and sisters that don't have this knowldege so that they can come to know for themselves too.

I hope you all are doing great and have the best week coming up:)

Elder Nyberg

We love Ethan's Team!

Valentine's package in March.

Pictures from his apartment in Concepcion.

6 MONTHS

hola familia!

This week has been a super great one! there has been tons of work and lots of people to teach in my area and its seriously a giant blessing! I still remeber the first couple weeks of being here and how hard it was to just find one lesson or one person to talk to. But this week past by my 6 MONTHS! haha not like im counting or anything;) But serious its been 6 whole months since i left..... man its so crazy to even think about. I have already finished 1/4 of my mission.  But the best part to think about is i still have a year and a half more!  Im so stoked to see what the future has in store for me. More adventures, more fun, more crazy stories for sure. 

This wednesday I did a division with my zone leader Elder Page from colorado. I probably worked the hardest yet in the mission. Just because he is a super hard worker too and the both of us together is just insane haha we gave out almost every folleto(pamphlet) we had and taught a lesson with each one and the books of mormon too! You guys should see my agenda haha its just crazy, we set up citas too fill completely the next three days! It was just a super great day, i really love this area out in Concepcion.

I dont know if you guys remember the Montero family that me and my last comp help find, but today i past by their store and something super cool happened when i saw the sign sitting in front of their store. It really made me think about how the gospel can really change us, if we let it.  So when we first started talking to this family the dad told us he was on the brink of sucide, the mom would fight with him all the time and said she was about to leave her family and find another guy. The kids were just as you would imagine with this stuff going on in their family enviornment, super far apart from each other and getting into bad things. Since then its been about 2 months. And now the dad is about the happiest guy i have ever seen in my life, he is filled with the love of christ. I see him all the time asking if anyone needs help. He stops by our place and gives us free food all the time, just really THE nicest guy. And his wife, she has completely changed into the picture perfect mom. The love that she has for her kids now, you can just see is filling their home completely. This week she donated time and money to help out some less fortunate people in the rama here, i can really tell she is happy, you can just see it. And for the kids, They actually get along! It caught me super off guard the first time but they were actually hugging each other being nice! You can tell their relationships in their family have grown alot. So the question is, what happened in these 2 months to cause this huge change! Really the only thing that can make this big of a change in people are the teachings of Jesus Christ. But practically everyone in this whole world can get their hands on the bible or have heard about the things that christ taught. I mean I've always had a pair of scriptures somewhere chilling close in my house. I think the only way we can really change is if we apply the things that Christ taught into our own lives(1 Nephi 19:23) The gospel is already here, we have heard it, we study it and read it, but if we dont apply it into our own lives and really live it, it doesnt help us at all. The gospel has the potential to change us completely for the better, if we let it.

Love you all so much!!:)

Elder Nyberg

Crazy chicken

Hola familia!

This week has been a really good one! It went by super super fast though and it was pretty much just a blur. Once you just get in the rythem of things, going out and working all day then coming back over and over things start to blur together haha. I dont have tons of time but i want to share a little story that happened yesterday on sunday!

So this day was just a super tranquilo sunday. The day before the pres of the rama called and assigned my companion Elder Granados, to give a talk.  It was super funny this sunday morning because he was totally stressin over a little 15 min talk on missionary work haha and he already speaks spanish! I still remember when i had to give my first talk in front of like 130 people without knowing spanish at all haha, yeah that was a fun expierence im not gonna forget. Today  the presidents wife was sick so we couldnt eat at their house like we usually do and play some uno too. So instead we got invited to go eat at the house de family Franco. Their family is super rad. They are all super crazy and something funny is always going on, they remind me alot of you guys. Well during lunch were just eating all normal, talking to everyone sitting all around their table with tons of food and everyones plates lined down the whole make-shift wood table. Then out of nowhere one of their chickens jumps up on the table, running around everywhere knocking down all the food, flapping its wings like crazy and making these screaming chicken noises hahaha. I dont know if youve ever tried catching a chicken before but its alot harder than you would think!  Everyone was screaming trying to get it off the table shouting all these things in Guarani (which sounds like straight up jibberish). The best part was when  we finally got the chicken off, we were all just looking around at each others faces in this moment of like alkward silence..... thinking what the heak just happened¿¿¿ Then all of us at the same time just start busting up laughing haha i swear it was probably the hardest i have ever laughed in my whole entire life haha! Man it was all super great. The Paraguay life is just the best. 

Anyway i hope you all have a awesome week coming up! and dont forget to keep smiling;)

Elder Nyberg

Work in Concepcion

Hola familia!

This week was a really good one. Who would have ever thought? Out in the hardest zone in the mission but the work out here is actually picking up alot! We got a super cool reference from a hermana in the other rama close to ours and its turning out to be sweet. Her name is antonia and has a familia that are super tranquilo. I can see them progressing really great but the big trial for us is the dad is a heavy alcholic and has been for 10 years. We also have a teenager named lucilla that is way cool too! We found her and her family a couple weeks ago. Since then Lucilla has gone to church every sunday and has been progressing really well but we are really trying to focus on the family as a whole espically her mom. Her family has been really difficult for us because of the mindset of her older siblings and are really not the best example at all. Please keep these people in your prayers this week and hopefully we can work through these problems that are ahead of us. But i want to share a couple expeirences that happened this week. 

- Today was my first division in concepcion where i had to stay in this new area by myself and be senior comp for the day.  I can proudly say that i didnt get lost even once today! haha Im really starting to finally get to know this area and these members and settle down here. Changes are coming up this tuesday so that should be fun, but i think i going to be staying here though. Anyway Elder Fausett came over to my area for the day.  He is zone leader here and super old in the mission, he only has 4 months left till he goes home and i only have been in Paraguay for 4 months haha. Last night there was a massive storm and in the middle of last night water started coming in all over our bedroom and we were all freaking out trying to plug up everywhere where the water was coming in haha everything got super wet but it was way funny. Our whole bedroom had a couple inches of water in it. Oh yeahh... funny story. So because it rained so hard last night all the streets were like giant rivers today and i was crossing this ¨Little¨stream only thinking it was like 6 inches deep and i take a step with my foot and my whole leg sinks in up to my waist and i completely got soaked haha it ended up bing like 4 feet deep or something. Elder Fausett was dieing when he saw me fall in haha it was a good one. Oh p.s This morning after my shower i went to grab my towl and i felt a little movement and picket it up and a 4 inch lizard jumped out and scared me so bad haha man Paraguay is the best! Im lovin it so much!

Sorry i dont have tons of time to write all the things that happened to me this week, But ive been thinking alot and just looking back on how far my testimony has grown since ive been out here and its so cool to see. Just seeing the progress ive made has been super cool for me and right now i feel completely firm, without any doubt at all. I know this church, la iglesia de Jesucristo de los santos de los ultimos dias is Christ´s restored church back on the earth once again. I love this gospel and the savior with all my heart. These things i know. I dont think ive ever been so sure about something in my whole entire life. I love to wake up everyday of my life and get to share what i know. The Mission is really the best, Im loving it so much out here. 

I love you all and miss you all soo much!

Elder Nyberg

from left to right Elder fausett, Elder Alulema, me, Elder Page

New companion

Hola familia, 

This week was full of suprises and lots of hard work. Sooooooo............. Changes!! One change in Concepcion so far and my comp Elder Alulema had 3 changes here. He got changed to a city called limpio by asuncion! He was a super sick comp and one thing I really learned from him was even though there are lots of rules and things we cant do as missionarys we can still have soo much fun! We worked hard every day but we played hard too. It really made a difference now too because it made working so much more fun. But for my new comp.............. I GOT A LATIN!!!!!!!! His name is Elder Granados and he is from Columbia. The best part is that he doesnt speak any english at all! He is a super chill dude and we get along really well. I could already tell this change was going to be a good one right when i meet him because he is super nice and super humble too. He always asks if i need help with anything or if he can do anything to help around and is just an all around solid dude. He has 10 months in the mission so not as much as my last 2 comps but its kinda cool cuz he has to rely on me alot to get around the area and to plan lessons and things. But im really exited for this change and the oppurtunity that i have to make my spanish and my accent alot better. yep, Goodbye english......... this next month and a half i get to speak in pure spanish and its going to be super rad. The columbian accent is a little different than here but it sounds really sick, hopefully with practice my lame american accent will start to go away!  Oh p.s my trainer Elder Hathaway just got changed from my last area to out here i concepcion too! he is in rama 1 and not too far away so i get to see him on pdays and stuff! 

Anyway as cool expierences go... our investagator lucilla got up in testimony meeting in sacrament and shared thee coolest testimony ive ever heard, i dont wanna sound like a baby or anything but legit brought tears to my eyes to hear everything she said. Its different when you get to see the gospel change peoples lives around you but when you get to be the missionary that teaches these people and are with them every step of the way, just watching them change is the coolest thing i have ever seen. Espically lucilla, she has a really hard life. There has been alot of bad that has entered her life starting when her dad abandoned her and i dont really want to talk about more because it is just a really sad story.  But just gettting the opprutunity to see the gospel heal the wounds that have happened in her life..... man i love being a missionary. We are still working really hard to help her mom, but she has been really difficult for us. Please keep this family in your prayers.

Just two lessons that ive learned more about this week,

Count your many blessings that you have in this life because there are always so much more than you think there are, you just have to stop and take a sec to see them. 

Dont be afraid to open your mouth to share the gospel, there are so many people just waiting for the chance to know what we already know and sometimes they are the people you would least expect. 

Anyway i love you all sooo much! Hope you all have the best week coming up!

Elder Nyberg