Short message: Sept 27

Hey everyone!

Well... this week. What can I say? We{ve been really digging down to find old investigators and new investigators to teach. Its been bit of a disaster on our part but these things happen. Not every week can be a great one.. We{ve been starting up a weekly night for recient converts and investigators and that actually has worked well. We{ve had some fun activites with the members. I think it will be a great help for the ward to unify the members and help the recent converts feel more welcomed and involved. Also, we had a service day in the stake. That was a lot of fun. I got to use a machete and everything hacking down weeds. That was before the members were able to find a weed wacker. Boy was I suprised to see one! :). I am pretty sure it was an Regional wide service activity, but unless the other Elder Watson did it, maybe it was just Paraguay. I am not srue there. But I am loving being here in paraguay with every chance that I have to learn.

It wasn{t the letter I promised, but I thought I would have more. Life is great! Hopefully I will have a lot more to talk about the next time I have a chance to write home. Take care of yourselves! I love you! More than I can say!

Con mucho cariño!

Elder David Watson

Joy - Bringing Souls to Christ!

Hola Familia!

How’s everyone? Things are just fine here. It sounds like you’re having a ball! Especially with In-n-Out. Woo hoo! That’s exciting that there are some new families in the ward. I’m sure that they are still getting accustomed to life in Fillmore, but that’s how we all are with change. If there is one thing that is constant in life, it’s change. I’ve sure learned that! But, truthfully, there is another constant in our lives too, and that is our Heavenly Father and His love for us. Just thought I throw that in there to mess with the popular saying. :)

Well... what’s new? Oh! Alejandro was able to go to the temple this weekend! That was exciting! It bummed me out that I couldn’t go with him, but he enjoyed the experience with all of the youth in the ward. I’m glad he was able to go and enjoy the peace and joy that the temple brings in our lives. It’s been so awesome to see him grow and progress. I really am beginning to understand the scripture in Doctrine and Covenants how much joy we can have to see one soul come unto Christ, and how much more we can have if we bring even more souls unto Him. It is a testimony to me to see how the Holy Ghost works in our lives and helps us to come closer to our Heavenly Father. I love being able to learn from the scriptures daily and have the assurance that I can ask my Father in Heaven if these things are true. We can have full faith and trust in Him and put our confidence that He will help us to where He wants us to be.

Also we had the temple president who came to visit us in our ward this Sunday. It was great to hear from him and his wife about their experiences with the temple. He gave a challenge for the ward to visit the temple as often as possible, as we are only about an hour away from it. The youth have plans to go every Thursday and as a ward 2 times per month. It was also great to hear the testimonies of the youth about how going to the temple has strengthened their faith in Jesus Christ and has helped them in their everyday lives.

Well... this is a short letter this week. I just don’t have anything to say today. I promise to write a better letter next week. I hope everything is going well for everyone! Have an AMAZING week!

Love you!

Elder David Watson

8 1/2 Months... Man Does Time Fly!!!

Elders Zambrano & Watson

Hola Familia!

It’s great to hear from y’all. School has started again? Already? Wow how the time flies!! I thought that school just ended for you. I’m glad that you got the classes you wanted! That’s always a good thing. I’m sure that it’s not fun to teach a class that you don’t really want. Wow! Flash took long enough! I’m glad that he has finally accepted Papa. Haha.

Everything is going great down here in Paraguay. Nothing really exciting. We had our ward conference the other day. It was great to hear from the leaders of the stake about how important unity is and how we can achieve it… I have really been enjoying working with Alejandro, ‘my’ most recent convert. It’s been so much fun to hear him teach and extend invitations to his friends and family.  The only bad part is that he lives on the OTHER side of our area, so it’s pretty hard to be down there all the time. It takes about an hour to walk to his house, so we try to work our way down there with our other appointments so we don’t spend an hour walking. I am really learning a lot from the people we teach. I think sometimes we learn more while we are teaching than those who are listening. I have really been discovering what this Gospel means to me and how it can help me in my life. It has also been a great blessing to see how the Gospel of Jesus Christ changes the lives of those we teach and who accept our invitation to pray to our Heavenly Father to know the truth of it for themselves. If they do that and have the faith and the true intentions of knowing and acting for themselves, the Gospel makes an enormous difference. Black and white. I’m not saying that just because I am a missionary from my church. I am saying this because I have done the same things I’ve asked the people we teach to do. If I can receive an answer, if Alejandro received an answer, if the people we’ve been teaching have received answers from our Heavenly Father, we can have the confidence and faith that Heavenly Father can answer every prayer that is said intently and truly.

It’s always great to hear from home! I’m glad that Spencer has finally got his call, and that he goes in on our birthday! It amazing to know that missionaries receive their calls to the place where our Heavenly Father truly needs them to be. I hope everything is going great with everyone! Take care of yourselves!

Con mucho cariño,

Elder David Watson

Surprise Change! New Companion - Elder Zambrano From Columbia

Elders Watson & Silva

Hola Familia!

Well, this week has been an interesting one to say the least. We got a call from the mission office Friday morning letting us know the Elder Silva had a couple of hours to pack up and be at the office for a special change. It was a big surprise on our part, but it is alright. I know the area and our investigators, as well as I should, I have been here for 4 months now, so it was a fairly easy change. The biggest difference is the way we teach, because obviously Elder Zambrano, my new companion, isn’t Elder Silva. Haha.

The Box Made It!!

There really hasn’t been anything new this week. It’s been work like always, but a whole lot better because I get to help the people become closer to our Heavenly Father. I am so glad that we can teach the people, and if they have a desire to know if it is true, they can ask our Heavenly Father directly. Like Paul said to the Corinthians, I know this is true because I have learned through the Holy Ghost that it is so. I have not been convinced by any person, only by the influence of the Holy Ghost. I am glad that we can have the confidence in our Heavenly Father to ask Him directly, and follow His guidance. There isn’t a need to believe blindly in the words people say. Like James tells us in the Bible, if we lack wisdom, we can ask God. Our Heavenly Father won’t lie to us. Like any father, He only wants what is best for us, and that we can return to live with him again. I love reading from the scriptures - the Holy Bible and the Book of Mormon. They really do support and testify one another.

I am really excited for Josh! Thanks for keeping me updated! I can’t wait to start hearing about his experiences in the mission field. I got a few letters, one from Annie Johnson and the weekly letter de los padres. I will be working on those replies! Promise! :)

Thank you all for your love and support! I really do appreciate it! Take care of yourselves! I hope that everything is going great! Enjoy the week! Chao!

Les amo!

Elder David Watson