Ralphs, Jay

Haupei! And Merry Christmas.  --> Christmas Eve we painted a wall. It was pretty dope. Then we went and spent Christmas Eve at a members house, which as Stringam put it was NOT a very silent night with all the bombitas (firecrackers) that all the kids liked to throw at us missionaries and us missionaries might have thrown back at them. --> Christmas, we woke up and got to call our family in the morning to celebrate with them... then out of nowhere we got a call to drop everything we are doing and be at the bus terminal in 20 minutes to go to Asuncíon.  Mba'e piko?!?  Sooo we packed up and scadaddled. It was awesome though cause we were in the office with all the zone leaders who had there leadership conference the next day... so everyone thought we were new zone leaders --> Thursday we fixed my visas which is why we were there in the first place and then we traveled the entire day. Howecer, I got to teach these two woman on the bus we were on which turned into th...

Haikue Pete (oh my) it's Christmas time!! Yesterday, Sunday, we had the baptisms of Ruth and Ramon. There faith is moving. Ramon's Baptism for me was especially touching.  First, Ramon is a humble humble man. He lives just down the street from our pension and works as a shoe peddler. He works from 8am to 8pm every day, and when he isn't working he cares for the 4 year old daughter of his boss, Anna, who absolutely adores him. The first time Ramon came to church, we walked to his house to walk to church with him at 8:15-30ish and couldn't find him. Assuming that he was sleeping and was not going to come with us, we went to church and to our great joy... he had beat us there. He had arrived at 8:00am sharp. The next day, Monday, walking back from grocery shopping we ran into him in the streets and when we asked him how he liked church the day before, he told us "Espectacular! Espectacular!¨ The faith of Ramon truly is Espectacular.  Second, Ramon was baptized by Heri...

"I saw the Spirit in a dream...  on a skateboard??" Perhaps the most random and funny conversion story I have ever heard from this very active older man in our ward. He was taking lessons from the missionaries and then... he had a dream, in which he said he saw the Holy Ghost, riding a skateboard, telling him the church is true.  ANYways we are back! This week I have been in just a goated trio with Elder Taylor and Elder Stringam. What an unforgettable week it's been. --> There is a guy in our ward that litterally is a Paraguayo Hawkeye who came in and taught lessons to a couple of our friends who stayed for second hour, (problem is we forgot his real name and so now we just call him Hermano Hawkeye between us), the resembalence is unreal. I mean asuming Hawkeye was a returned missionary and directed the music in church. --> In our ward we also have visiting lady, who comes every sunday and is just a bit, how do you put it, crazy. I walked up to meet here and said ¨...

Haupei!  Transfers are next week which just seems unreal. 5 Months ️ --> Divisions with E' Maldonaldo. We were walking and I had an impression to go back to this lady so we stopped mid walk, went back and taught her. And had an amazing lesson and she was sooo greatful for it. --> Wednesday was rough. It was raining and when it rains here the people just dissapear, so we falted on a bunch of lessons and were quite toasted when we got home. --> Thursday we had interviews with President which was awesome. Apparently there could be some major changes coming with transfers next week so stay tuned. --> Friday, we got thrown into a trio with Elder Taylor coming to work with me and Elder Stringam because his comp was finishing his mission and going home a week earlier to not be traveling for Christmas. So from now until transfers we are working not one but two areas. However since Elder Johns died, we got to loot all the stuff he left behind and Elder Stringam has a f...

5 months. Yesterday, Sunday, I bore my testimony in Church. It was surreal experience for me because yesterday I hit exactly 5 as a Missionary. And for one reason or another, I found myself oddly reflective and I wanted to share briefly one of the testimonies that I shared with the ward yesterday.  I know the Book of Mormon is true. I know it is true not only doctrinally and theologically as the word of God, but as Scripture that changes behavior. "It is not as much if the Book of Mormon is true" Jared Halverson expounds: "but if the Book of Mormon WORKS" (Kudos to Gallacher) I think, unintentionally, we sometimes disconnect scriptural principles from our lives and live them only as intellectual truths, forgetting that they can and should impact nearly EVERY desicion we make. We say "Oh, yes I know Patience is important" and intellectually connect with that principle, and then in the first trial of our patience we forget it. God cares far less about what y...