I will start this week´s update by saying that currently in the INTERNET CAFE I am at they are playing some Katy Perry Classics... 

And its distracting me (but I secretly love it)... soooo if this letter doesn´t make sense you can blame that Candy Covered "california girl", who does not want to be one of the boys! 

 So what happened this week... basically nothing. Oh WAIT! I had "my first baptism" (in quotation marks because I count Fransisca even though I wasn´t there) Johana Gabriella Godoy Cinturion was baptised by her Uncle. She is the 9 year old daughter in a less-active family. The Hermanas were teaching her before I came and we basically just made sure she knew what commitment she was making and told our Mission Leader to fill the font on Saturday. 

 I don´t feel like "Oh me, oh my, I am so connected to her and her journey!"... but its always a blessing to help people to come unto Christ, even if my ´role´ in the whole affair was seeminly minimal. I did try to make her baptism special and rememberable by making brownies, writing her name all pretty-like on the chalkboard and gifting her a "I am a child of God" bookmark along with a HLJ ring. Felicidades Johana! I love you even if I barely know you! 

 Also, we found this way prepared lady and her family, so ... keep Graciela Perez, her sobrino, Joel, and her kids in your prayers. Besides that I´m just chugging along, Little Engine style. "I think I can I think I can" I asked for a priesthood blessing on Sunday. During the blessing Elder Plasencia blessed that I and my Family would be comforted in this time apart. I thought it was interesting. I am so connected to you all that even when I ask for a blessing for myself it reaches to you all. 

 "WE ARE ONE" (LGM from toystory) We got called with "changes" this morning. Hermana L.... something that starts with an L (I dont remember)... is my new partner in crime. 

We will be going to the offices on Wednesday to "make the switch". I´m excited. I met her briefly during the "Day at the Terminal" my 2nd month in the field. My first impressions were that she is super tight and a jokester so... I am stoked. 

Plus she is from Columbia so she is basically Dad... except not bald and before the Lazer Eye surgery because she wears glasses. In other (Yby Yau) news: Fransisca is the new PRIMARY PRESIDENT! Her sister in now an Investagator. Her Husband is getting baptised this month The new Elder that is Presidente de Rama is from Guatemala! and Elder Muñoz.... is dead! 

AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH He "died" today! CRAZY! My chilean Mission Hero is "in a better place". haha There is a possibility that on Wednesday in the Offices during transfers I may see him and meet his Folks! I guess thats all. Thank you for the prayers, letters, love.... and some more prayers. I think about you guys all the time and always miss you! 

Love, Hermana Valenzuela 

 Shout out to Granee because I have a letter(s) from her EVERY time I receive mail, but she doesn't have Email. 

HELLO GRANNEE, I can´t always write you back but I want you to know I get all your lovely notes and I appreicate them. I love you very much. Keep cycling and reading the book of Mormon and el libro de Mormon and making afgans. Watch good TMC and good luck with your knees. 

 And Shout Out to Wyatt, The best ´Smash´-er in the world (regardless of injust 3rd placings) Let your ivy soar, Ivysaur.

Tami (Moms name) and I making media lunas... or as she says "vuelta lunas" like 4 weeks ago

This is at a restraunt we went to like 3 weeks ago. 

Been sucking at sending photos but... whatever. Pizza is yummy and this restraunt is AWESOME because its ALMOST feels like a real restaunt (not a "copetin" from paraguay)

H.B and I like to pretend we´re in Guatemala or something while we´re there. . . but the food takes 1 and a half hours (not a hyperbole) to get to you. 

Last week we went to the EXPO.... and then we found out its forbidden. 

OOPS!

A can of Prin-Gooooools (made me laugh inside for 12 hours... I didn´t outwardly show joy due to weird depression issues, but still... I recognize humor when I see it)

My shadow ( SEW ARTZY) drinking Malta aka; the most delicious warm beverage to tickle the tummy in the morning

My new Area is like... Crazy different from my last and its still costing me a little (lot-a) bit. Like... Weve got a ton of members and it freaks me out. The people speak spanish and not Guarani and... Thats weird for me still. Were in week 6 of our change so... well see if more change is coming or what. 

My Comp is Hermana Bautista. Shes like if a weird potato came to life and went on a mission... and really I say that with love in my heart. 

Were pushing through together at least and now we dont like argue or anything... but life is really weird.  She has depression issues and I think they might be contageous. Everyone in her Family keeps dying and so I dont judge or blame her... but I dont know how to help cause all I do it crack jokes and sometimes I try to lighten the mood and it DOES NOT work. Example: The other day we were walking and I asked "whats the dumbest thing you´ve ever done?" and she replied "Hate my Dad til the day he died".  Another example I shared a story about how one time Justiz and I accidentally dropped this Giant water balloon on the carpent in the living room at 3 in the morning!

 (In Saltillo, Remember Z?) 

She laughed and said one time the sink in her house broke and her mom (who is also now dead) blamed her and beat her. Then the plumber came and her Mom found out it was the pipe, not Hermana Bautista and felt bad. Also her grandma died our first week together.  so......Its a really tough crowd Im living with. ALL DAY!  I´ve been like super stressed ... then I get stressed about being stressed and its awful.  Our District and Zone leaders dont help much either.  It was inevitable that I would miss my Chilenos and my "Santa" Santos, but... I was not prepared for such a... stiff group. Im trying to losen them up, but its tough and they bajar la caña a lot and stress numeros ... which makes me feel dumb.  but whatever.  My mission President said it sounds like maybe I have some symptoms of perfectionism so now I have to talk to a pychologist once a week. Crazy? Basically life is NUTS and apparently so am I... but all I can do is keep the faith, keep on fighting and pray like crazy! 

 But a pesar que todo esta Loco ahora, I love my mission. Seriously. THE BEST. Like... I am learning a TON and getting super close with Father in Heaven and relying on the Savior COMPLETELY for strength. I know I am recieving help because I could NOT do this alone. No way.  Maybe only fellow missionaries (Or RMs) could understand that EVERYTHING can be falling apart, but as long as youre giving it all you got and leaving the rest to Him, Missions are awesome and life is good  ....HARD, but Good :) All in All: The mission rocks and the beat goes on.  Dont really know what else to say. but.... Thats my life and I miss you all and Im going crazy, but... I trust that Jesus can and wants to help so I just pray like... 24/7 and sing hymns and plead for help. The Savior said He would lift our burdens. I trust in that promise and now I must let Him. It´s easy to trust in the Lord when everything is going your way, but there are times when the challenges and difficulties of life can leave us physically, emotionally, and spiritually exhausted. Knowing where to turn is not enough; we must allow the Savior to rescue us. In Matthew 14 when Pedro walks on water he experiences what I am talking about.  HE,Peter, was walking on water! Awesome, But then again He, PETER, WAS WALKING ON WATER and it freaked him out! He saw the waves and the storm and began to lose faith that HE,Peter, could do this! I don´t think his "little faith" was that he doubted in Christ´s magificence, I think that he began to doubt in himself.  and so... begining to sink he cried out: "Lord, Save me" C.S. Lewis taught:  "Only a real risk tests the reality of a belief. You never know how much you really believe anything until its truth or falsehood becomes a matter of life and death to you. It is easy to say you believe a rope to be strong and sound as long as you are merely using it to cord a box. But suppose you had to hang by that rope over a precipice. Wouldn’t you then first discover how much you really trusted it?" I am stressed. I am tired. I am worn. My heart is heavy. I can not do this anymore, at least, not on my own.  It´s time for the handcart to start pushing me. I am now, more fully, practicing what I preach. I am trusting fully in Him. I am grateful for this new, unexpected but very real emotional crisis because as I trust more fully in Him I have more opportunities to witness miracles. As I lean on Him, I have a chance to feel His support. As I look to Him for comfort, I find His love really is endless.  I trust Him.  I trust in His promises (1Ne 3:7). I know I will soon be over this hill (and on to the next), with more experience which will allow me to testify with authenticity of His infinite love.  Well I am not sure if any of this made sense but I miss you all a TON and love you forever.  Thank you for your prayers on my behalf. They are heard. 

I know they are heard. I am (Metaphorically speaking) walking on water and so, obviously I am getting a lot, a lot, a lot of help because I DO NOT KNOW HOW TO WALK ON WATER!, but somehow, I´m doing this!  I´m on a mission! I am serving the Lord (best I can) day by day Hermana Valenzuela

Elder Meller holding down the fort

Fransisca Vera being baptized in Yby Yau

(Ross voice) ....Hi.

 Still not quite getting the reins here. Stressed and worn, but trying my hardest everyday. 

This week was fine. We did have some REALLY REALLY awesome lessons. 

One with an investagator named Emilia. We taught her about the restauration of Christ´s Church and about the Book of Mormon. I will NEVER forget her expressions throughout the lesson. She is so cute! She just kept saying "I´m so embarrassed! I didn´t know [that Christ came to the Americas]!". I finally said "it´s Ok that you didn´t know! That´s why there are millions of jovenes with black name tags walking around the whole world...because God loves you and wanted you to know!" 

I like when people really listen to our message because it really is a marvelous one. 

God loves you. 

He loves us all. 

He always has. 

Doesn´t matter when you live(d) or where. 

He is Our Father and He loves you. 

Because of this love, He wants you home. He has set up a plan to help you get home and central to this plan is His Son, Our Brother, Jesus Christ. 

The Book Of Mormon testifies of this same Christ. You can read it, meditate on it´s message and pray to God in the name of Christ to know if it is true.

 If it IS true (and I, Libertee, testify that I know it is), that means that Joseph Smith, who translated it by the power of God, really was a prophet of Our Father in Heaven and that the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints really is God´s kingdom on Earth. 

 Read the book and ask God if it is true & if you really want to know the answer God the Father will reply and by the power of His Holy Spirit, you may know the truth of all things.

 I know, I know, I sound like a broken record: READ THE BOOK OF MORMON, READ THE BOOK OF MORMON... But honestly, It just seems so simple to me. 

So perfect. 

I can´t understand why one WOULDN´T read it & ask to know if it was true, but I guess that´s just how people have been since forever. 

 I am reminded of the people in the dispensation of Moses who would NOT look upon the brass serpent. LOOK and LIVE! or, better, READ and KNOW! I testify once more and will continue to testify that it REALLY is that simple. I love the Book of Mormon. I love my Brother and Redeemer, Jesus the Christ. I know Him better because I have read BOTH of the testiments that record His mortal ministry. He lives. He came and completed the Father´s will. He saved us all. 

I share these truths in His name, Amen.

Last week: My companion thought the Internet Cafe closed at 8, but really it closed at 6... so... we ran around and looked for an alternative and as a result, No Letter last week, but... Basically I did missionary type things last week. As for THIS week... I also did missionary type things. hahaha I am slowly adjusting to the new Area. I survived my "trunkiest" mission day;The Fourth Of JULY. It came without Parades! It came without Rodeos! It came without Lagoon,Fireworks or COUSINS! The first time in 20 years I´ve missed it! I wore a red, white and blue blouse and that´s about as crazy as it got here. Fransisca Vera got baptised on the 5th. The first Baptism since November in Yby Yau. I wasn´t there because I am in Mariano, but I got to call and say congrats. I remember clapping at her door with Hermana Willis, pretty scared because we had been told she only spoke Guarani. Our first lesson with her we taught about Tithing... (whatever the Spirit dictates, right?) During the next visit with her we were running late for a funeral so we taught VERY breifly about the Book of Mormon and invited her to read and left. When we came back we found out that she had done as we said. She had opened the book and read! She had read about Korihor, The Anti-Christ, preaching that there was no God. I remember thinking "Oh boy, we´ve lost her!" But then she said: "I was so confused by what I had read because you had said this book testified of Christ. I figured obviously I had missed something. I turned to the start of the chapter and read from there. I read three more chapters and then I understood... Korihor was a bad man and Alma was like a priest who taught of Christ...right?" We got her reading the book and the rest is history! I am a terrible, terrible teacher. I try really hard but, I have no idea what I am doing. All we did was visit Fransisca often, always inviting her to read more. We invited her to Church and told her that if she prayed and asked God, He would answer and that´s the only way she could really know if this church was true. I am so happy that she listened and that she chose to act! I know God loves His children. He loves us! And if you ask Him in the name of Christ, with a sincere heart, with real intent, having faith in Christ, He will manifest the truth unto you by the power of the Holy Ghost. And by the power of the Holy Ghost you may know the truth of all things. I know God is mindful of each and every one of us. He has a plan for us all. He sees the "bigger picture". I am happy to be a little pawn in His loving, kind and marvelous hands! I am so very blessed to be able to see His miracles unfold. I am glad I have such a solid proof of His love to take door to door. I love the Book of Mormon. I don´t know what I would do if I had to "convince" people the Church was true. I am so glad that´s not my job. I invite people to come unto Christ. My fanciest invitation is a 2nd witness of His Glory and proof of the restauration of His Church and Priesthood power on Earth.It is a book that testifies of Him and records His ministry to God´s children in the Americas and ends with a promise that if the reader would like to know if said record is true, they need but ask God in fervent prayer and they will recieve an answer. I don´t convince people, I invite them and when they act upon my invitation (which only echoes invitations of others before me) The Spirit converts them. I think my "job" is really cool. So... That´s what I mean by doing "missionary type things"... just going around telling people that God is grand and trying to show them just HOW GRAND! And, Here I go, off to do it for another 7 days. Until Next Time XOXO, Hermana Valenzuela

It´s me, Lib, coming to you LIVE from Mariano Roque Alonso.

Well ya`ll... My life is weird again and I´m that awkward uncomfortable new girl again... I hate being her, but I can´t seem to lock her away. She comes out when Big scary changes happen and Lib can´t handle it... So Lib hides and boring wierd Drone Donna comes out. I first met Drone Donna when I was punched in the face by culture shock standing in the Super market of Hong Kong. Drone Donna has also made special guest appearances in my life whenever I am faced with that big ol´ "C" word, CHANGE.

She lived my first few days in the CCM. Elder Muñoz remembers Drone Donna my first month or so of Yby Yau (and does a super hilarious impression of Her awkward quietness and blank-face expressions)

And now she is making "friends" in the big city.

I hope I get comfortable soon because I´m so fetching awkward when I first meet people.

My new Area is still very very NEW.

It´s giant and I never know where we`re at and then we turn the corner and suddenly BOOM it´s the street of our house. Idk how it happens or how I`ll ever manage... but I`ll cross that bridge when I come to it.

It´s weird to have members and I am so awkward it physically pains me. 

Lunch appointments are cool though. I will try not to becoms a Fatty Fransis.

On Sunday I had to stand in front of 5 billion people (the MASSIVE ward) and tell them who I was. I tried to drowned out Drone Donna so that they could meet Lib... Idk how well I did.

I told them my name and that I was born in Michigan but moved various times in my life, included a couple times in Mexico which is where I learned my Spanish. I said my family lives now in Utah, but I don´t think I´m from there. I´m not from anywhere, but if you ask me who I want to win the Mundial it´s Mexico! 

I told them that my family is cool and that my brother will be going to the DR soon.

I said that I was "born" (mission-wise) in YbyYau and that I had been there the last 6 months, that now I feel like I am a greenie once more because it is so so so different here, a whole new mission... including the Language! 

Then I bore my Testimony in Guarani.

I didn`t cry. Not one tear!

Then I sat down.

It was probably the scariest 3 minutes of my life. Not really. but. there you go.

Wont say much more about my area. It´s just really different.

My companion, Hermana Bautista, is nice. I got another Guatemalteca... but she´s the opposite of Hermana Santos. 

Life is really mellow and I cry and miss the jungle, but I´ll adjust.

My last days there were the poster-child of the word "Bittersweet".

 I said goodbye to my dear friends. Anacleto, Dahiani, Romina, Fransisca, Leandro...I hope to return to my little town of Yby Yau with my folks at the end of this 18 month adventure (and maybe live there forever).

 Hermana Santos and Elder Benavente, with luck, I will see in the offices during changes at some later point in the mission. (Plus I call Hermana Santos sometimes and we continue our plans for a trip to Mexico together)

But all the same, my heart broke over and over with each goodbye, 

and finally shattered with my last solid "adios" handshake with Elder Muñoz.

He "dies" after this change.

Elder Muñoz is my hero forever. He goes back to Chile the day before Z leaves for the D.R. 

All I had to offer him was a pop-tart and a bag of Sprees from my B-day package (which was AWESOME. I got it on Wednesday. Thank you)

It`s not much... but I hope he knows how cool I think he is. 

Then I was shuffled here and there with my suitcases. At some point we got in a van and I tried not to cry too much because I think I was making Hermana Bautista, my new district Leader and his comp very uncomfortable and somewhat depressed with the water works.

¿Why am I such a llorona?

My new house is Yellow, so that´s awesome. It´s 3 times the size of my little blue shack in the jungle. 

I unpacked and Hermana Bautista helped me. Awkward small talk was exchanged.

That night I read the goodbye notes Santos, Benavente and Muñoz had written me and cried and wrote words in my journal. 

The next day I pulled myself together and tried to keep my cool. I was Drone Donna... but at least I wasn´t Teary Tessa.

Then it was night time and as I unpacked my last bag I found a secret goodbye note from Leandro.

More tears.

I am so grateful God let me go to that stupid jungle town I hated so much upon arival and meet those incredible people and share those amazing moments. I know I could be mad that I had to leave, but instead I am happy that I even got to go.

I am honored to have been called to serve the Yby Yau-ian people and alongside Paraguay´s grandest and noblest missionaries. 

I have faith that my Father in Heaven knows what will make me happy better than even I do!

I wouldn´t have ever chosen to go to the Jungle out in Yby Yau, especially not for my first area and never for 6 months... but God knew. 

And he was right

And now I wouldn´t choose anything else. 

I can´t wait to see what wonderful blessings He has for me here.

I can´t wait to learn the lessons He has for me to learn here.

I can´t wait to meet the wonderful people he has prepared for me to love here. 

I think I need a bigger heart because right now, It´s all full!

until next week,

Hermana 

"Drone Donna"

Valenzuela

The last photo in my house in Yby Yau.... ;(

The Last photo with my Chilenos and HERMANA SANTOS 

This was my cute welcome form Hna Bautista

It's way colder here so the footie pajamas.... best idea ever. 

Also the pizza socks OBVIO (PIZZA PIZZA PIZZA!!!!!!) and the snickerdoodles.... omg. YES.

Side note> this was the first picture I asked Hermana B to take of me.

I make really good first impressions.