Hola Familia!
¿Gosh how the heck are you? Sorry that my last letter sounded a little down, I just couldn´t think of anything really exciting that happened during the week, but this week was way good, so many great stories (I´m only going to be able to share a couple). But I´m glad to hear thanksgiving was fun. Thanksgiving here was weird because it was just a normal day, but we did have a great lunch with one of my favorite families (they´re both returned missionaries and they have a son that´s a returned missionary and they have two kids on missions right now, so they really hook the missionaries up). It was fun because the other Elders in our house and the Elders whose area touches ours came too, so there were 6 of us. Then we went out and worked, but We found this way cool guy named Seferino and we taught him. Also Seferino had a huge pet Turkey, the first one I've seen in Paraguay so I thought it was very appropriate that I saw it on Thanksgiving. As far as changes go, they happen every 6 weeks (so last week was the first week of this change). The way it works is you are almost for sure with your trainer for 2 changes, but a lot of times you are with them for 3. This change will end the first week of January so unless they do special changes for some reason I will for sure be here through Christmas which is awesome! I love Luque so much. I still don´t know how Christmas will work out but I do know that we will be doing skype. I believe you guys have to add me as a contact on skype, I just set up my account. Just add me and then we can talk on Christmas. I haven´t received my packages yet but I have to go to Asunción on Wednesday for zone conference so I will see if they´re there. I did get my halloween card and a letter from aunt Linda and Josh and Jamie today though, thank you very much! There has been a ton of rain this week and the nights have been pleasantly cool, but this week will probably be super hot and humid because of all of the rain, oh well. Better hot than cold right? They tell me that it gets super cold for a couple of weeks in like June and July so around then I would love some sweaters. Paraguayans are so funny because they are ALWAYS complaining about the weather. We were eating lunch the other day and the lady was going off about how sunny it was and how awful that is, then it started to rain and she was complaining about how it´s raining and there´s no sun, pretty funny. But hey Sergio and Nedia came to church on Sunday so they got confirmed! I´ll send home the picture of their baptism.
So one pretty funny thing that happened this week. We were out tracting and we clapped this door and this older man let us in. He asked us where we were from, then started telling us about how he´s mad because his wife left him because he drinks and she went to Argentina, but he swears he´s not violent (and he was saying all of this with a huge smile on his face and in a very cheerful voice, I believe he was drunk as a skunk). Then he asked us where we´re from and told us the same story about his wife about 30 times more. We finally left and went down the street to another house. We were in the middle of teaching a family when all of a sudden our drunken friend walked through the gate, took one of this family´s chairs, and joined in and started helping us teach the lesson. It was so funny and the family was just laughing so it´s all good. There are a lot of pretty funny people in Paraguay.
Well my times about up, but I want to share with you guys something that´s kinda been like my theme for my mission so far. It´s pretty daunting to think about doing this for 2 years, to be completely obedient for two years and walk around for two years, but dad before I left you told me to read a talk by Elder Christofferson called give us this day our daily bread. I printed that out at home but didn´t read that until my first or second week here in Paraguay and that has helped me so much. The theme is that we don´t have to worry about being strong enough for 2 years, we just have to worry about being strong enough for one day. For example one day I woke up at 6 29 (like I do every morning) and I thought "well I got up today but how in the world am I supposed to get up this early every day for the next 2 years!" It seemed like an impossible task and then I started thinking and I realized that if I worry about that then it might just be impossible, but I don´t have to worry like that. Every night now I ask the Lord to give me strength that I can wake up tomorrow on time, I don´t worry about waking up any other day than tomorrow. As I work each day and try to be diligent and obedient I only worry about it for that day. This applies to everything, take no thought for the morrow (3 Nephi 13 I think). This is such a true principle. Obviously we need to plan and figure things out for the future, but we don´t have to get overwhelmed thinking about how daunting a task is. I´ve learned so much about patience and chipping away at a big task a little bit at a time (like eating meals. I know that sounds funny but they give us such huge portions here and a lot of times there seems like no way to finish, but I just eat a little bit and keep working at it and eventually the food is all gone). Patience really is a blessing. I love you guys so much and hope you have a great week. I love Paraguay and I love being a missionary. I´m happy, don´t worry. Keep living the gospel the right way. and tell caleb reber congrats on starting his papers.
Con Amor
Elder Hulsey
PS I hope that Caleb Hulsey´s birthday was a success, I can´t believe he´s already 1. He´s only got 17 more birthdays until he´s out on his mission that doesn´t seem very far away with how fast time seems to be moving lately (haha sorry mom).
[Zack refers to 3 Nephi chapter 13 of the Book of Mormon in which Jesus Christ visits the Nephites after His resurrection and teaches them, among other things, the same things He taught in the Sermon on the Mount. Compare 3 Nephi 13 with Matthew 6.]
