Email August 27, 2012

Hello Mom,

I am bald!!! hahahaha not really, but kinda. Look at that picture. Sounds good there in Utah and Bear Lake, Idaho. Well I am short on time this week, but I want to tell you that we saw miracles this week. 

First, I talked to Shirk, it was cool. Also, we had zone conference which was also great. President Madariaga talked about knowing, doing, and becoming. He also talked about the power of words and that we should have clean language, he mentions this a lot so I strive to make a conscious effort to be better. 

So Hugo will not be baptized this coming week. Turns out they are not married. They told us they were so we wouldn't drop cane on them to get married. That is why they stopped investigating last time. Liz's mom is coming from Spain in December and they want to get married then. We will see what we can do. But Hernan is going to get baptized this Saturday. Please keep him in your prayers, he is still searching a solid answer that Joseph Smith was a prophet. Also. Miracle of the week. Yesterday in church a woman named Rosi came up to me and said hey I need to talk to you. She is not member, but couldn't be baptized 3 years ago because she wasnt married and she doesn't have paraguayan papers. He was abusive, so she finally moved out about 3 months ago. she has been attending church as much as she could for 3 years, so she is basically member. She says to me, I want to get baptized. We meet with her that night, she tells us her story, her circumstances of why she couldn't let us in when we tried to visit her, and in the end she has a baptismal date for this Saturday as well. Awesome. The Lord is blessing us here in Paso de Oro. The work is taking off.

I read  a dearelder from Benny on friday about him teaching hundreds in Colombia on the coast. My desires to be a better missionary have never been so strong. 

Love, Elder Naegle

                                                          The branch president's son

Email August 20, 2012

Hello Mom!

Sounds like a fun time in New York. I just got back from vacation too... Hahaha just kidding. Still here in Paso de Oro. And things are really great. That is crazy that James is married now. I still havent seen a picture of the girl he married. How is Judd doing? Well I hope that the Yankees won the game you went to. That would be a bummer if they didnt, but oh well.

Well I am shorter on time this week. That is a picture of me eating homemade peanut butter. I bought ground up peanuts a while ago and made myself a sandwich. Turned out ok. A lot cheaper than buying peanut butter. 

Alright. I will start with the very funny story of the week. We got a reference to contact a house. Naturally we went and contacted. It was old Johnson's turn to contact, so he stepped up to the plate. He clapped, and a little girl came out. He asked if her parents were home. She didn't respond, and she had a look on her face like she was trying to think up a lie, so I said "go get them" before she could say anything. She said no. "Why not?" "Because I am a bad girl." was her response. A confused look followed by "what?" in guarani was my response. She then balled up her fist and tried to punch me where it counts! hahaha I dodged, then she went for the sand on the ground. She first threw at Johnson, he hid behind a tree, then she came after me. I took off running away from a 5 year old girl throwing sand at me!!! hahahahahahaha so funny. Finally the mom came out and started yelling at the girl or I think she would have followed me forever. You better believe we tried to contact it again 2 days later..... No luck. This time she decided calling Johnson ugly would be more fun! hahahahaha

So anyway. We also had lightning strike about 2 blocks away from us. Almost pooped my pants. That was scary.

So we had a great lesson this week with Hugo and Hernan. We talked about the Doctrine of Christ. Hugo already knows so much from being taught before, but it was a great lesson. The Spirit was so strong. Hugo shared his testimony with Hernan about how he came to know that the church is true. Hernan is so close as well. We were finally able to put a solid baptismal date for the first of September. They were both in church yesterday and from what I could tell had a great time. The goal of Hugo and Liz is to be sealed in the temple, it is awesome. But there is that step of baptism first Hugo... I am so blessed to be a part of the work here in Paso de Oro. The members are really starting to help us. Attendance was as high as it has been since Paso de Oro became a branch again, and members brought 5 new people to church that we will be visiting this week. It is so awesome. 

As for me. Well I am focussing on becoming more like the Savior. I have noticed my patience becoming thin, but there is no good reason for it. I am trying to have more charity as well. The Gospel of Jesus Christ is wonderful, it is helping me so much.

Love you all. Have a good week. Quick note. One year ago today I touched down in Paraguay. Oh yeah!!!

Love, Elder Naegle

Email Aug. 13, 2012

Hello Mom!

I am happy that all is well in New York. Sounds like a crazy time there trying to get Natali all moved in. Hopefully you are able to have a little fun while you are there too! Things are pretty much the same here in Paraguay. I found out last week that Shirk is coming down this coming week so that will be cool if somehow I can see him. His convert family is getting sealed. They are one of my favorite families in Paraguay. They helped me the most in Trinidad. It got me thinking a little bit, and well if Marisol and Mariano get sealed in a year, it would be like 1 week after I went home............. Good thing we can see each other in heaven!!! I love that family so much. Speaking of which, she gave me liver to eat this but there is no way I could give up a chance to eat my favorite dish. So you better believe I soaked up every last bit of juice with some bread. On another note, morning exercises just dont seem to cut it, my gut is still there....

Well. This week I focused on our mission emphasis. Exact obedience, the 8 fundamental principles, and working with members. In the center of that triangle is consecration  It was tough. But we had an awesome week. A couple of good things happened. I finally followed a prompting to contact a house that had some people living in it from Puente Kyjha. I actually know the guys family. Small world. Then Wednesday as we were walking, I was calling Elder Hill in my district, and I felt like I should contact this guy sitting in front of his house. I just let it keep ringing, but Hill didnt answer, so I turned and contacted the guy. He is very prepared. Bernardo is his name. Turns out his wife isnt so prepared.... But we are working with them. We had an investigator named Manuel tell us he received an answer when we thought he wasnt going to progress. But he lives with the 2nd counselor so naturally we are going to see him. he told us, and then said, I will see you in church on Sunday. Saturday we had a good lesson with our investigators Hernan and Hugo, Hugo is married to Liz who is member. Hernan is living with them and is a nephew. Hugo had to work Sunday to catch up because they were behind on some stuff, but Hernan and Liz were in church.

So basically, the Lord blessed us on Sunday. It has been a few weeks since we have had investigators in church and it was starting to wear on me a bit. Which in turn wears on a companionship naturally. This companionship having 2 companions who are very very very different hahaha. But I love the Oro. It is a great area. We are doing great things. 

I love the work. It is so rewarding. I love my Savior, Jesus Christ. He is the only way. I have really started to learn what true happiness is. You cant find it somewhere else. 

Love you Mom. sorry I dont have any pictures. I will do better.

Love, Elder Naegle

Email July 30, 2012

Hey Mom,

Here I am in Paraguay... And life is wonderful! Isnt it? We are so blessed. So what all happened with Nate's mission reunion? I didn't get any news. As far as investigators right now, we have several. The problem is that the church is very far away, so that seems to be the problem. We had several committed to go on Sunday, and it rained. I woke up at 4 am and heard thunder to shake the house, and I immediately rolled over and started praying that it would all pass. We had 8 people in church in all. Rough week. I gave another talk this week. 2nd week in a row! Oh yeah! I am going to make a tradition of it I think. 

Yes the branch president is fired up to work, but right now he has to cover for others at work because of vacations, so he his super busy. He is a security guard at the temple. 

Alright. As far as my week goes. well last monday I got an email from old Elder Billy Belnap, and this is how it closed, " Love you all my friends, we are all doing pretty well. But we can do more." The truth is, I can do a lot more. This statement hit me pretty hard. So I went out and gave it %110 this week. Just when I did that, every single thing that we planned fell through. It was a rough week. Saturday in my studies, I realized as I studied in ch2 of PMG that my studies are not nearly good enough. It says that our studies will give us the strength to endure to the end. So I studied harder. Went out and worked. Everything fell again... But I kept a smile on my face and kept going. And you know what?? God blessed me for that. We were able to finally talk to Hugo Gomez. His wife is a less active member, and due to a misunderstanding the missionaries thought they weren't married and dropped them cane until he stopped investigating. We have been doing what we can to try with them, we did a service project there, but it didn't seem like it was going anywhere. Then Saturday night we tried again, he came out, let us in and we sat down. They explained what had happened to them and that he wants to get baptized and go to the temple. He accepted a baptismal date for the end of August. Unfortunately the rain deterred them from attending church, but that is ok. I am very grateful for tender mercies. 

Well. Love you all. Have a good week. I know Jesus Christ is my Savior.

Love, Elder Naegle

p.s. I did a division with Elder Olds this week. He has relatives from Toquerville/southern utah area. He got a picture from his family of a war memorial with a bunch of Naegle's on it or something. I can't remember. But maybe Grandma and Grandpa know some Olds down there.
Also. That is one big spider. I found one equally that big in my house last night. I burned him.... And that is pique on my foot... hahahaha

Email July 22, 2012*

Hey Mom,

Well I was going to send you pictures today, but there is a happy little virus that runs around Paraguay that hides everything so you cant see your files. The guy in the cyber is taking it off for me right now, so hopefully it wont delete everything. I have most of it backed up. We were able to do quite a bit of service this week, and that is what the pictures were of. 

The funny experience of the week. We were with Mariano and Marisol´s family, and their son was taking out some trash so to speak. So I offered to do it. Basically that means go dump the trash on the huge trash pile in front of the house that everyone dumps their trash on. So that is what I did. As soon as I did, an old woman comes out of nowhere and starts yelling at me. Calling me "uneducated" and telling me to dump the trash in front of my own house. Chewing me out, half Guaraní and half Spanish, not letting me defend myself. Hahahahaha so funny.  Then she and Marisol started yelling at each other in Guaraní, oh man it was funny but I felt bad. As it turns out, the lady just has it out for Marisol, and she is a drunk, so I wasnt in the wrong. They always dump their trash there. hahaha. Anyway.

We also had our interviews with President Madariaga this week. pulled out my suit and found lots of mold and that these stupid bugs ate a bunch of holes in it.... hahaha. All I could think was, "ROY!!! INVINCIBLE!!!!!!" If you havent seen Shanghai Noon you should watch it. Sorry I forgot to mention that I am staying with Johnson. Hardly anyone moved in the mission. Tons of missionaries are going home for special changes this next month so lots of people stayed put. 

But back to my interview. I asked President how I can make my prayers more personal. He gave me some great counsel. He talked about how it is very easily to fall into a routine and talk about the same things. What he has found to work very well to keep prayers personal is to talk to Heavenly Father specifically about people. First and last names. But before he even starts praying, he takes time to ponder and write down things he wants to pray about. He told me to not be afraid to open my eyes during the prayer if I forget what I had written down. So using that advice, I tried it. It was great. I had a conversation with my Heavenly Father about my investigators, my family, my friends, church leaders, and myself. I have realized that it takes practice to be good at praying from the heart. Luckily our Heavenly Father understands us anyway, but it is good to be as sincere as we can.

Well I hope you enjoy that little piece of consejo from President Madariaga. Because it was something I really needed. I love you all. Have a great week. 

Love, Elder Naegle

Email July 16, 2012

Hello Mom,

Big news of the day...... I talked to KO on the phone about an hour ago!!!!!!!!!! OH YEAH!!!!!!!!!! It was so awesome. Hermana Madariaga called me and said that she had someone special for me to talk to. She passes the phone, I hear, "petey pablo, whats up?" So awesome!!!! He was at the dentist and he ran into her. I am so happy right now. But actually I dont think it happened by accident, I have a reference that I need to pass to San Antonino, but I totally forgot!!!!!!!!! hahahahhaha I am a terrible missionary.... So if you could please pass this reference Mom, to Pat, who can email him next week. Gloria and Mario Benitez. Apparently they were teaching them recently, so they should be in the area book if the missionaries were good. Maybe it was KO teaching them, who knows. but she just doesnt understand why we cant drink coffee. Her mother just died, and she is the cousin of some people we just baptized. Small world. Turns out I can get to Kelon's area in about half hour on a bus..... Too bad Kelon is so obedient.... hahahaha 

I don't have much else to tell you, so it is  a good thing that happened... I can tell you that it was branch conference yesterday, and I decided to be a half hour late.... Not my fault... But that is not the point. I was late, and that is that. The stare of the stake president was not a fun one.. 

Changes will be received tonight. We will see what happens. I believe I will be staying with my dear friend Johnson, but who knows? I love him to death, he is hilarious. He is far different from me, but that is what makes it fun right?

Jesus is the Christ. Joseph Smith was introduced to him by the Father. I know it. Can't deny it.

Love, Elder Naegle

Also, a woman cut and washed my hair for under 2 dollars today.  That is all.

Email July 9, 2012

Hello Mom,

Sounds like a good week there in Bountiful and Bear Lake. Here it is not so hot. The work is great, but man is it cold!!!!! Hahaha I must admit I am a big creampuff now though, so it doesnt really count, but still. My house is an ice box. The other missionaries in my district all have nice houses with ac units that double as heaters.... One day I will be lucky enough to have ac here in Paraguay.... but this way is actually more fun. It makes getting out of bed a real challenge that can only be matched by the klondike campout... Anyway.

I am excited to meet Joel too. Sounds like a cool guy. Ask him if he knows Arcadio Toledo from Paso de Oro. Coolest guy ever. Now the branch president here. Also, ofcourse we will go to the black market in ciudad del este, and also the falls, and the dam too. You gotta see the biggest energy producing dam in the world.

That is a picture of the Paradise Burger by the way. My comp worked at a restaurant in Burley, Idaho and he knows how to make a burger. 4th of July was great. Go America!

So this week. We worked really great with the members. We got them excited, and we  had many members leave with us. It was great. We had many people committed to come to church, and well, it was really cold. So, none of them came. I was pretty bummed when the meetings started. But a few minutes after sacrament mtg had started, our 2nd counselor in the branch presidency (paraguayan version of Kramer from Seinfeld, I love him) brought in a reference we had received from him. When we visited the guy with the 2nd counselor, he just wasnt interested. He is a former Jehovas Witness, and believes and holds fast that there is only the Bible.  So naturally we didnt go back. But he came to  church, and he loved it. I was able to teach Gospel Principles, which turned out to be on the Scriptures this week. Afterwords, I showed him the baptismal font and invited him to be baptized on the 28th of July. He accepted. It was a great lesson for me that the Spirit can soften peoples hearts, and members have a much bigger role than the missionaries.

The Church is true. The Book of Mormon is true. 

Love, Elder Naegle