Another week

Here is another update! Enjoy!

Hola familia! ¿Como Estan? 

Things here in paraguay are great! It is an adventure every day! New Experiences, sights, and everything.. haha.Still lots of cows, dogs, flip flops, dirty feet,  stinky garbage, and great people! I love the branch i am in, even though half the time i don´t know what people are saying to me.. Although it is getting a little bit better! Another thing i forgot to mention last week, is crazy drivers! And lots of motorcycles! I thgouht high school students were bad drivers, but on the other hand paraguay drivers are worse and crazy! Especially the people that drvie scooters and motorcycles! they be weevin in and out of cars! haha it is scary. And they don´t move out of the way when you have to walk on the side of the road.. ya.. Scary! 

O yes, and happy Halloween!! Just another normal day here in Paraguay! 

Okay so last monday after email, we went and ate at the market with all the other elders in the district. Everything I have eaten here has been good, and hasn´t been fatal to my stomach.. So that is good. Many empanadas and other good things. Then we bought our food for the week, and i got stuff to make Steak and Ramen!! haha With what we had in our apartment..O yes, and the oj they have here is way better than in the states! There´s these cookies too that we buy at the market and i am like addicted to them.. haha sooo goood!

Okay also monday i experienced my first paraguayan rain storm! HOly cow! and it was a big one! I have never seen it rain so hard in my life. and thunger and lightning like every second! haha. It was crazy! WE were sittin g under this roof and all these bugs were flying onto the wall, and then all these lizards came out, and started eating the bugs! Made me think of rhett trav and annie! :)

Alright tuesday, I made my steak and ramen, without a wok, and without broccoli. They don´t have broccoli. Comp said he has only seen it once, and it is r eally expensive. Tasted like ramen noodles with steak and carrots thrown into it.. haha. Not as good as yours mom and dad! Miss it, this week I have been craving some of your homemade meals! :) 

So the temperatrue has cooled down a lot, because of the rain, which has made it a lot nicer to do our work.. But come december and enero we will be expecting hot hot hot.. 100 maybe.. We shall see. We are teaching a family, Fam chaparro, all are members but the mom. She is pregnant. WE invited  her to be baptized, and she said yes. but after she has her baby.. So were excited..

WEdnesday! So for you trav, i have learned there are 2 big soccer teams here in paraguay! Olimpia, and Cerro Porteño! You like one or the other, best to not chose in my case.. They don´t like each other. When one team plays everyone goes to the food markets on the road, and eats and drinks beer and watches the game. Impossible to contact when the game is going, and everyone goes crazy if their team scores. TOday i had my first meal at a members home.. Rice and beans! It was good! And we drink soda with everything so that will be hard to work off in 2 years. But ya, tasted different, but was really good. O and we eat rolls or bread with everything too.. The old man, with the tarp wall, said he would get baptized! His first language is guarani. He learned spanish so, it is hard for him to understand me.. I will ask him a question and sometiomes he just stares.. haha BUt sometimes it is hard to sleep, and hear people as well, everyone blasts their music here! In their cars, at their homes! It is crazy!

Thursday we had our planning for the week. that is long, 3 hrs.. We went to the Branch Pres home and painted their little market shop. His wife gave us what they call ensalada de fruta.. Fruit salad, it is soo  good! I will make when i get home.. Lots of fruit cut up and mixed together, it is like a drink kind of... That night we taught another  part member family.. They are so nice, watched the special witnesses of christ with them.. Made us popcorn, and drank fanta.. haha. 

Okay so there is this guy- His laugh sounds just like pappaps! Everytime he laughs it makes me grin,, cause it makes me think of pappap. It is also hard for everyone to say my name. SO lots of people call me Elder Van (Ban) is what it sounds like.

Friday was good. We taught this family, husband has been baptized, but is less active, and we invited the wife to be baptized and she said yes! Also recited the first vison too them durin gthe lesson. It was cool. Ya, new sights and adverntures in paraguay! haha  

Friday, lots of teaching, more guarani! haha. Gotta learn my spanish first! That night, kind of funny, we taught a family, and they all wanted me to try to roll my double r´s.. I can´t they all thought it was soo funny.. it was fun. And saturday we had a lot of teaching and stuff... USed the pedometer thing.. Took 19642 steps on friday.. 

Yesterday, my highlight was teaching this family. SHared the scripture alma 37:6.. Small and simple things... Likened that to my spanish and how we can do anything in the strength of the lord! It was great, they were like you can learn! We got faith in you! SMall and simple, great things are come to pass.. I know that is true!

Okay, gotta run! thanks for the support love you all!!!!

Elder Van

1st Week in Paraguay

Here is Elder V's first letter from Paraguay! Enjoy :)

HOla familia! How is everyhting going in provo? Spring time here in Paraguay and it is already really really hot... It is killing me, but you know I got my sunscreen so I am surviving. .

Here is a recap... WEll first about paraguay comp, companion. Then i will recap.

>First off be ever so grateful for what we have.. Because these people have nothing. Like i am shocked, we have so much compared to what they have.. I mean, ya i can´t really talk about it.. Paraguay, few words to describe, hot, sunny, cows, wild pigs, billions of dogs, flip flops, dirty feet, lots of trash on the ground, filtered water,derere which is a drink with herbs and water they drink out of a big metal straw.. 

Okay so my companion is from Chile. When i saw that pres. callan put me with a native i was excited and scared.. I don´t speak spanish.. haha. But my companion speaks pretty good english so it has been a good deal.. MAKing it.. Surviving getting used to a new and only one companion, but it is well.

>Apartment... haha O my. Okay so I walk in WEdnesday afternoon and am like o no.. haha. ITs okay now compared to what other living conditions i have seen some of the paraguayans in.  So kitchen is very compact, not clean, haha. Not much food in the fridge, thank goodness were going to the grocoery store. NOne of the water is clean, unless bought from the store, and it is sealed. I use my filter water bottle for everythign, brush my teeth, drink etc. I included a picture of a lovely cockroach that made its way into the kitchen one morning. >freaked my out! really disguesting! haha THen the bathroom, open, against the wall is the sink, then the toilet, with a string above your head you pull to flush.. and then there is the bodet.. like we had in our house.. Don´t ever use it. And the cold electric shower, with no curtain.. haha. WE do have 

AC but only where our room is.. but its okay.. haha RECAP

<monday and tuesday, was our long travel. WE flew to dallas, and then got stared at by everyone. It is good, all part of the process. ATE McDonalds for the last time.. CAlled the fam, let me tell ya it was way good to talk to everyone! Then we got on the flight to Sao Paulo.. 12 hours or so. It was really long.. haha. I sat next to a lady from there, and we talked for awhile, she was really nice. Knew about motab and loves them. çknew about our temples and what not. Talked about why  i am serving and why i chose paraguay. explained how i didn´t choose. It was good. She gave me her email and a nice note.. Offered to give me brazilian money, but said i was fine.

So we get to paraguay, flying in there are a lot of shacks... I will talk about it more.. BUt we get thereget through customs and in walks Pres. Callan, big smile. Doing well, happy gives us a hug. Nicest people ever! Go back to the mission home, eat, orientation, go to bed all that good stuff.

WEdnesday: Get up that moring and study for awhile. THen we went, he paired us up with the companoins, and took some pictures and off we went.. OFf the the bus station, and trainer bought me some food, empanada, and some sandwhich pretty good. THen a 2 hr bus ride to Coronel Oviedo. Slept most of the ride, but as we got close i woke up and asked him what all the dirt mounds were in the cow fields, Ant Hills... haha MAssive like 2 feet tall.. NASty! THen changed out of my suit and we went and tracted.. Thursday through saturday kind of a blurr. lots of tracting and teaching.. I will talk about it.

Okay so we went over into the really poor parts.. really poor. We went and taught this man...He lives in a little wood shack, one of his walls is a tarp, i am guessing his shack is smailler than the size of rhetts room. So it is tiny, a lot of the men, don´t wear shirts. Sit in the shade and drink derere. He only has one chair, my comp sits on the grass, grabs me a stump to sit on with ants crawling out of it.. ahhh and ants in the drit. O yes, most of the roads are dirt.. I am just praying that the ants don´t go in my pants! haha. SO i can´t understand anything.. I just smile, all the  paraguayans want me to pray.. So i am always saying the prayers.. I teach little bits.. BUt ya, people don´t have anything here.

We taught english classes. That is funny trying to hear peple speak. Guess it is the same way with my spanish..

Thursday i met a member,  he speaks english! HALLELIJAHUAjadsfkdf.. ha. can´t speel that .. I am good friends with him.. Everyone asks to see my pictures, so i started carrying those in my backpacks.

Sunday:  church started at 8. First priestood, the lesson taught, was everyone took turns reading a paragraph out of an article by pres. Monson. O ya our little branch, it like a garage thing. Cement floor, fans in the cieling.. just different. Then combined sunday school. And sacrament. I had to get up and introduce myself share my testimony.. went good i think. O ne of the branch presidency members who is 20, came and said good job.. I think.. haha Then more lessons and contacting that day. Haven´t had any appointments so no strange food yet.. >But ya, gotta wrap up.

Things are well. Miss ya alll sooo much! Give my love to everyone! Thanks for the support, keep praying.. ANd for strength.. 

Con Amor Fam keep busy love hearing from ya! 

Elder Van Leeuwen

Last Letter Til Paraguay

Sorry for the delay in posting this letter :\ Life has increased in busyness lately. But Elder Van Leeuwen is now in Paraguay. He wrote us all this week a brief message to let us know that he had arrived safely. We are still waiting for our official email from him to see how his first week was. But, here is his last letter that he sent from the MTC. Enjoy :)

Here is my last email! Crazy! haha. Busy week. Will get more crazier with infield orientatoin all day tomorrow packing today and what not.

Last Friday! Such and awesome day! It was our last TRC! And as youve seen in past letters TRC is like the highlight of every week. WE were fortunate enough to be able to teach Natives again. They were all from Peru. Very soft spoken. haha Small people. But We taught a couple and just another sis. that was there. Our leccion was on prayer. They shared so many experiences, and I shared my experience about my sophomore year about whether to play ball or clear up time to go to the temple and work and what not. It was cool. The couple spoke a lot the whole leccion and and we did. But the mid twenty year old was like quiet the whole time. So near the end of the leccion after we had all shared our testimonies, the spirit was strong, it was awesome. Right before we asked if we could end with a  prayer. The Sis. Said, ¨¨Would it be all right if I shared my testimony..¨¨ It was soo awesome to hear her open up. Shared a personal story, I didn´´t undersstand it that well..  haha But I could feel it! Then we talked to teh Aragons who we had taught the 2 weeks previous. His wife started to cry talking aobout how she loved the spirit we had when we taught. He got our names down and siad he would write us! Love Latino People! Love everyone! That is my next theme.

It is sooo important to have a love for everyone around you! WE need to have that Love of the Savior just shining in our countenance. you know we need to Love like our Savior. Love as he would. Love everyone!  We need to have that good  influence in the Lives of whoever we are around. Love everyone your around. ¨¨What would Jesus Do..¨¨

Now a funny thing. I can still jump. haha. And I survived the MTC without injuring myself like all the other missionaries.. haha.Dunked in gym several times. Caught an alley ooop from elder call and threw it down 1 handed. O and I commited some people to some sunday dinners when they get home... Hope thats okay... hahah

Tuesdya we had our last devotional. Sis. Beck Relief Soc. PRes came and spoke about the importance of temples and ordenanzas. It was sooo good! Monday, we host the new SR. Missionary couples. haha. They are getting sent like all over the world. Greece, S. Africa, S america! Its crazy.They all have different personalities. haha. It is pretty funny.

Love ya´ll! Till Paraguay!

Con Amor

Elder Van Leeuwen

Great to hear from Elder V

Hey Family Friends loved ones everyone.

Everything in the MTC is well!

Sunday we had fast sunday so we had our 2 hr mission conference in the morning. That was a good meeting. Then we went back to class and studied mas. Pres. Bullock in the branch presidency had each companionship teach him the first lesson.The Joseph Smith first vision part. The spirit will never miss that opportunity to bear witness of Joseph Smith, and that he truly did see God the Father, and His Son Jesus Christ. I know he did. There is so much power when you say Joseph's words. "Este es mi hijo, Amado, Escuchalo!" Thats the end. Then we had sacrament. Another good testimony meeting. Sunday night we got to hear Stephen B. ALlen speak. Head of Missionary Dept. in SLC. Something I liked he said, serve with all your might, that when your mission is over, you can have the spirit and Lord testify saying to you, "Well done, my good and faithful servant.." I hope I will serve in that way and fulfull the Lords will for me.

Friday was the TRC. Probably my favorite when we teach the volunteer member. The 2 we taught were natives from Mexico again. A lot it is hard to understand. But the spirit is there. One of the guys we taught was a stake pres. in Mexico. Such a strong spirit.

Tuesday, we had devotional. Elder Don Clarke from the seventy. He expressed about having a love for the people. After each devotional there is a branch testimony and review. I talked about how lucky we are to be albe to see how well have a front row seat to seeing how the gospel changes lives! Love the people! I am sooo excited! Get my travel plans in like a week from today.! Stoked! Stoked for Confereence!

Wednesday, we had class all day! 6 hrs of class back to back. But it was good! Enjoyed it! Love it! MTC is awesome! Can't wait to tget to the great land of Paraguay and have people speaking Jopara! The mix of spanish and Gurani.

 Again love to hear how things are going! Thanks for all you do and the support you all give me everyday! In the strength of the Lord I can do all things! Your prayers are always appreciated and your all in mine as well!! Gracias

Buenas Suertes en todo cosas! Get my travel plans in a week. I'll give you details when I get em>! Thanks

Con AMor

Elder Van Leeuwen

Another tidbit

Here is another message from Elder Van Leeuwen! Sorry for the lapse last week!

Hola Familia, Amigos, y otro personas! haha. Sorry, thats probably all the spanish I can speak. haha jk. Where do I start. well.

Tuesday! We had another great and awesome speaker! Whoa we are lucky! We had Elder Russell M. Nelson come and speak to us. That means I am 3/5 on devotionals and apostles. haha. But he spoke about the importance of the Book of Mormon. You''ll see that in the October Ensign coming out soon. We all got copies, and I admonish all of you to read read read it! The Book of MOrmon has such a power in our lives, we cannot even believe if we apply ourselves, study it iout, and do so with a humlbe prayerful spirit desiring to learn more. Elder Nelson hit up on it hard. Through the Book of Mormon us missionaries are gathering Israel. Here's a question I want you to ask yourself, "What role has the BOok of Mormon played in your life?" As I ponder that I am like, wow without the book of mormon a huge chunk of me would be gone! 

I am sooo greatful for the message of Jesus Christ the Book of Mormon bears, and how privileged I am to share that message!

Um, lets see. Other experiences. Well me and another Elder in our district were teaching to other Elder too practice our Spanish, and you know, my espanol isn''t the best, but small and simple are great things brought to pass. I will keep at it.

So were teaching and the lesson gets over. BOth of the Elders we were teaching said, you know, I don''t think I understood a word you said.. haha. But I felt something. It is sooo important for me, when I teach I invite the spirit, that we teach by the spirit. There will be times where investigators will say, I didn''t understand a word you said, but I FELT SOMETHING.  I know those experiences will come! And I am sooo grateful for those opportunities.

Bless the lives of others, Read the Book Of Mormon! Please, it will bless you in so many ways now that I look back on my life! El Libro De Mormon es la palabra de Dios! Yo se que El Libro De Mormon es verdadero y puedo un fortaleza en mi vida! Love you all!

Con Amor

Elder Van Leeuwen

Letter from 9/8/11

Here is another week's tidbit:


Hey mom!! And family friends, whoever reads this. How is everything going 5 minutes from the MTC.. haha. So this week has been awewsome! It always is. Filled with so many good experiences. I will try to remember them all and get the most important ones. So Sunday was our first fast sunday here in the MTC. And to tell ya I wasn't hungry all day. When we fast with a purpose and continually have a prayer in our hearts about what were fasting about, you can get through it. Hey, the savior fasted 40 days, with satan tempting him. So why should it be hard enough if we keep the savior in our mind, and fast for 2 meals. So it comes time to bear testimonies by the elders in our branch. My heart just starts pounding, I can feel the spirit so strong in that meeting. It was like no denying it. Holy cow! haha. I couldn't sit in my chair anymore, so I went and bore my testimony in my broken Spanish that it is. haha. But that was a good experience.Next experience, day of joy and learning! So we have our investigator Pedro were teaching. And we are teaching about, well we kind of got lead by the spirit, and didn't rteach what we had prepared. So its going on, we ask if he would prepare to be baptized on the 24th. He just wasn't sure, he didn't know if God answered our prayers. So my companion asked do you want to know right now if baptism is what your supposed to do. So we go to on our knee's, Pedro offered the prayer. As soon as he finished, we asked how he felt, and bam! Rush of the spirit! It was sooo coool! Like there was no denying that the spirit was there. It was incredible. Love you guys, miss ya. Love receiving dear elders! So thanks! Try to better the lives of those around you!

WIth Love

Elder Van Leeuwen

9/1/11

Here is another little excerpt from Elder V's letter:

Welll time seems to be flying. But it is weird I have been here only 2 weeks. Esta bien. haha.But so the most exciting part of the week was the devotional on Tuesday!! ahhhhhhhhhh! haha. I loved it so much.

We had Elder Jeffrey R. Holland speak. Wow he is so full of the spirit, and talks with power and conviction. We were so privileged to hear from a mna likehim! It was incredible and something I will never forget. Yo se que JesuCristo es el Salvador! He Lives! (Tell people to dear elder. Its a bit easier.)

Mucho Amor

Elder Van Leeuwen

So to make things a little easier for Elder Van Leeuwen, we would like to ask everyone to not contact him through email. Due to the short amount of time they are given for emails, it makes it a lot easier if he can get mail through DearElder or through the MTC address provided at the right. That way he can spend time throughout the day reading letters that are actually printed, instead of using up all his internet time to read emails. Thanks so much for your support!