WEEK 9......225.1 miles walked Paraguay

Hey everyone! Hope everything is going great in the states! And I hope you guys all have power!!! (We just got power after almost 24 hours without it. We were told it was because the EPP a Paraguay terrorist group bombed a power station but I have no access to valid news so I cannot be 100% sure)

(..........YES it is true :(  )

Yes, the awkward chair story. So we were walking to lunch this week. We saw one of less active members that we have been teaching with her sister in law carrying chairs. So we offered to carry them for them. Well, they were each only carrying one plastic chair. It was like 2 pounds but we just wanted to help them out! So I offered the sister in law to carry it for her and she said yes but only wanted for me to carry half of it. So, we walked for about 5 minutes each carrying one arm of a 2 pound chair. Meanwhile, my comp just walked behind us laughing and about 5 people were yelling from a factory shouting and laughing. It was pretty embarrassing but I am looking back on it now and laughing so hard.

This week while I was reading the Book of Mormon I came across 2 Nephi 9 talking about the Plan of Salvation. Christ suffered for us and overcame death so that we might be forgiven of our sins. So why don´t we take advantage of his Atonement and repent of the wrong decisions we all make every day. God loves us so much so he gave us a way to return and live with him after death and the way is through the Atonement of Jesus Christ. A lot of us may think that we are going through something really difficult but I want to testify to you that there is one person who has been through exactly what you are going through. Christ knows you perfectly and if you let him, He will relieve you from the pain! I am so grateful for his sacrifice for me and for the opportunity I have to be forgiven of my sins through the Atonement of Christ. I love serving a mission in Paraguay, and hopefully I can bring this message to some of the people here!

Thank you all for your support and emails!

I would send pictures but the computers aren´t working well today, maybe because of the power outage situation! But there are more pics on my blog, thanks to my wonderful parents! Check them out!

Elder Zaugg

Question and Answer

1.  Does the toilet work?  What are you doing if not???

yes, it does now. We had to go to the church and use that one...

2 Do you find that it is hard to budget your $?

So far it hasn´t been.

3.  What type of groceries do you buy?

honestly don´t really know..I buy apples and rice and beans (I need some recipes on how to cook beans and rice haha) and oatmeal and some potatoes (also a recipe for diced potatoes or something like that)

4.  Are you eating enough?

yes so far I am eating enough! I love when members feed us but it does not happen too often

5.  How is Spanish coming along, do you feel like you can converse with people yet?  How about the other two languages?

I am finally starting to be able to understand more people. I love talking to the 8 to 10 year olds because I can actually have a conversation with them, and some of them remind me of Buddy!

6.  What are you studying on your personal study time?

I am reading the Book of Mormon in spanish and also studying the attributes of christ in PMG,  (Preach My Gospel) which are awesome. I passed page 100 in my libro de mormon the other day so I am making progress.

7.  How often do you teach English classes?  How many people do you typically get to come?

just once a week and about 10

8.  What service have you been able to perform for the people there?

not much yet, but we have 2 or 3 this week and a district one in 2 weeks! A new service program in our district(basically a stake) just got started yesterday.

9.  Have you been bothered by the bugs?

Yes and no...the ones in my house yes. The ones outside not really. The mosquitoes are not bad in Pedro Juan!

10.  Have you liked your shoes?

yeah the shoes are great!

11.  What is your typical breakfast?

yogurt (not normal yogurt, like a milk basically) and an apple..and usually the protein but I am out of it now!

12.  What is something you have loved about Pedro Juan?

The weather has been great, the members are aweseome in our branch, and I love the food because it is very normal 😁

13.  How many wards or branches are there in your area?

 5 ramas! (branches)

Step STATS for the Week!

Monday 22217   12.2 miles

Tuesday 14707   8.0

Wed.     17535    9.4

Thursday 18841  10.4

Friday     18957   10.4

Sat.        19399   10.6

Sunday   19266   10.6

If my math is correct again (I assume it was last time because Grampy did not send an email correcting me) I had 130,922 steps this week and 71.6 miles!

WEEK 8 ...153.5 miles walked in Paraguay!

Wow I am loving Paraguay! I have now been here for almost 2 weeks and I still love it, so I would say that is pretty good since I am going to be here for a lot longer..

This week I met a lot more people here and met a lot of people to teach! On Wednesday, the Assistants to the President were in our area and I went with one of them. We were walking to a lesson and saw this family and decided to talk to them. We were talking with the Dad and Mom while an 11 year old girl was standing behind the door listening to us. We had a lesson about faith. We explained that faith is to believe something that we cannot see but we know is true. Faith is an interesting concept. The thing I like most about faith is that, like it says in the bible, Faith without works is dead. We can say we have faith in Jesus Christ and Heavenly Father but unless we do something other than say we have faith, it means nothing. We need to show our faith in him everyday by ways as simple as just serving others. When we are serving others, we are serving Heavenly Father because we are all His children. The father was playing with a baby duck the whole time (the last of 3 because the others got eaten by a cat). He told us he did not care much for religion. So we had the conversation with the mom the whole time and she was interested to hear more. We had to go because we teach an English class on Wednesdays but invited them to come. We walked to the church and guess who beat us there: the 11 year old that was hiding behind the door. She stayed for the English class and the Noche de Rama, which is where we have a Spiritual thought and then play some games as a branch. We went back and taught the family on Saturday and asked them to come to church and the girl said, " I am already coming!" Sure enough, she was at church the next day. She said she loved church and was waiting for us to come back and teach them again this week!

Some interesting things:

1. I think the dogs multiply like rabbits here. There are so many dogs it is insane. 

2. I experienced my first rain here. It was sprinkling for about 30 seconds and then all of a sudden it was coming down the hardest I have ever seen rain fall.

3. Our toilet has not been working for a week now...

4. I gave my first talk in Paraguay! The people really wanted to hear my try to speak the language..

I know The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints is truely Christ´s church. I know that through Jesus Christ, I can be forgiven of the wrong things I do each day. I am so greatful for his suffering for me, and for each and every one of you. I challenge you all to show your faith in him this week by following his example and serving someone in need!

Elder Zaugg

STAT STEPS FOR THE WEEK! 

 Monday-41562--21.3 miles
 Tuesday-14740--8.1
 Wednesday-18457--10.1
 Thursday-15233--8.3
 Friday-18320--10.1
 Saturday-22236-12.2
 Sunday-15294--8.4

If I did my math right it is 145,842 steps and 78.5 miles this week!

 153.50 MILES SO FAR IN PARAGUAY 

QUESTION AND ANSWER 

1.  Favorite food you have eaten.  

Empenada (but I haven´t eaten a variety of food here) except the members cooked some food that was amazing but it was just rice beans and chicken but it was so good.

2.  How long you study each day?

4 hours...its a long time

3.  Something you love about your companion? 

he loves the people and knows the gospel really well 

4.  Where is your companion from? 

 Utah

5.  Something you loved about your mission President?  

He is so caring and wants to help

6.  How do you communicate with your Mission President? 

just once a week by email

7.  Have you found the China store that imports all kind of american products?  Cody Jones said they have great rootbeer! HAHA
Yes we went today I was in heaven and got a lot of american candy. I wanted to get skittles but it was $14 (US) for a small bag so I decided not tooo...

WEEK 7 I LOVE PARAGUAY

Wow I love Paraguay so much! My area is Pedro Juan Caballero, right on the border to Brazil. It was an 8 hour bus ride from Asuncion. They speak Spanish, Guarani, and Portuguese here and I really don´t understand most of what is being said because they love to interchange the 3. But, I have loved it here. The people are so nice. One thing I noticed is that time does not mean anything here. The only thing people have a schedule to be on time for is church (unless it is raining. in which nobody goes).

Random Facts

The weather in Pedro Juan has been great. About 75-80 with a lot of wind. It is super dusty here, mainly because the roads are dirt with some having basically a poor man´s coblestone on it. Everybody and their dog has a motorcycle. They don´t have speed limits or traffic rules. The police don´t do anything but drive with their lights on all the time. I have never seen so many dogs, of every kind. They burn their trash, There are a couple really nice houses, all of course belonging to drug traffic people (especially in Pedro Juan). Any place worth remotely anything is guarded by a man with a shotgun.

Teaching Story (You are going to want to read this)

So, my first day in Pedro Juan and the zone leader wanted to divisions. So I did not even get to be with my companion the first day haha. But the zone leader, Elder Aldraca, was so great. We had some really good lessons, some not so good ones, and some great chats (or so I was told because I didn´t understand most of what the people said) However, in our good lessons, I did know they went well because I could feel the Holy Ghost even though I didn´t know what was being said. Now, the funny story. We showed up to teach an investigator around 6pm. Elder Aldraca says to me,¨We are going to need to talk very slowly, and reteach a lot. This man thinks very slow due to past drugs and alcohol.¨ Well I was very excited because I actually understood that lesson as well. Anyways, we taught the Plan of Salvation and he understood everything! We asked him to come to church and he said yes. He went to get his phone to put our number in. While he left, Elder Aldraca told me that he is always confused when he comes here because the house is so so poor but they have nice trucks and there are always a lot of people around. He wondered if someone there was involved with drug trafficking. When he got back he says, ¨So marijuana is legal in the U.S. now right?¨ We look to each other and say wow that was random. We asked why he said that and he said, Öh my boss deals it in Brazil. We told him that we shouldn´t do that and he said ok. Elder Aldraca then said, ¨You don´t though right?¨ He said, ¨Well yes because sometimes I need the money! It is legal in the U.S. so it is ok right?¨ ¨No..definitely shouldn´t be doing that! What if the cops found out? What would they do?¨ He then responded and said, ¨They won´t find out. It his hidden.¨ Well, with all that being said, it was definitely a funny lesson. But it was very sad because he loved to hear about the gospel. He still wants to talk to the missionaries so we will see what happens from here.

Story number 2.

We taught a woman outside her house (so many distractions so it was very hard for her to concentrate. Plus she was holding her baby.). After about 30 minutes she said she is Catholic and doesn´t want to be baptized but her son could if he wanted to. He always talks about how great church when he goes to the LDS church on Sundays but he hates going to Catholic churches. Elder Aldraca then explained Priesthood Authority and we went into the Restoration of the Gospel. He then asked me to share Joseph Smith´s first vision. I was really nervous but I was able to share it in my broken spanish. At the end of the lesson, she agreed to be baptized but wanted to pray and receive an answer first. I could feel the Holy Ghost so much during the lesson. I want to share this with all of you and let you know that if we are looking for the Holy Ghost, or looking for good, we can find it. No matter all the distractions around us, we can choose to do good. I am so grateful to be serving our Savior, Jesus Christ. I love you all. Thanks for the prayers and emails!

Elder Zaugg

Brody took a pedometer with him, to see how much he walks!  Here are his stats for the week!

Thursday- 18564     10.0miles

friday-17602     9.6 miles

saturday-17222     9.5 miles

sunday-15809     8.6 miles

today-so far 34000.........

you might need to start walking a bit more to keep up with me....

 Pics:

1. Zone activity playing volleyball and soccer. It was so much fun and our zone is so great. Everyone loves to play sports.

Paraguay

Elder Justin Garner (from Mesa) was able to see Brody on the day he arrived.  Familiar faces are always comforting!

He got his first package... The ingredients to make no bake peanut butter protein balls.  YUM!

Streets of Pedro Juan Caballero--- yes that is broken up pieces of cobblestone

Week 6...In Good Hands ❤️

Dear Family of Elder Zaugg:

We are so happy that your son has joined us here in the Paraguay Asuncion North mission.  We know that as he commits to work hard and be obedient to mission rules, and continues to study and seek the guidance of the Holy Ghost, he will have a great experience on his mission.  He will grow to love the people, he will be willing to pass through difficulties, and he will come to know and love his Savior in a more profound way than he has ever known.

Their first day here, we were able to give all the incoming missionaries some training on staying healthy, finances, mail, etc.  Your son was interviewed and met his trainer, Elder Stanley, who was specially chosen for him.  He has been trained to help your son in all the skills he will need to be a good missionary.  We hope you will enjoy these pictures that we are attaching.

Thank you for raising such a fine young man who is so willing to serve his Father in Heaven and be a blessing to the people here and to his fellow missionaries.  We truly pray for them every day and are committed to working diligently to help them in whatever they need to be happy and successful.

May the Lord bless you and your son for the sacrifices, the faith, and the love that you are extending to the people here.  Thank you for all of your support.

With much love,

President and Sister McMullin

Sister McMullin, President McMullin, Elder Zaugg & his companion Elder Stanley

Paraguay Here I come!!!!

Tender Mercies for these Missionaries.....

While on the Metro headed for SLC airport a man gets on and Guess What????

He was born and raised in Paraguay.  He lived there for 25 years.  He now lives in Germany and was just on vacation and happened to get on this Metro heading to temple square.  Elder Zaugg and his travel companion loved getting to talk to him.  Special Day!!!!

LAST DAY WITH MY PROVO DISTRICT! Hard to Say Goodbye.....

Such Great Memories!!!!

PROVO MTC

JULY 1st to August 10th

President Williams and Sister Sylvia Williams- Branch President

Elder Karren and Brody

Beautiful Provo Sky and Temple

Elder Karren & Brody

Sister Knudson, Sister Dean, Brody, and Elder Karren

The DISTRICT

Brody's companion Elder Tebbs

Apostle say what? Week 5

Wow. This week was amazing! First, I am leaving to Paraguay on Monday!!! I leave the MTC at 8:30am Monday morning and arrive in Paraguay Tuesday just after 2! The time at the MTC really does fly by. We had our last meeting with our investigator Gabriel this week. He is from Chile. He is so funny. He loves to joke with us and usually teaches us his chilean slang at the end of our lesson. We had a test imony meeting with him on our last visit and he bore his testimony of Joseph Smith and the Book of Mormon and started crying. It was super cool, "super bien" as he loves to say. (He says that probably 5-10 times a lesson.)

Last week we had a devotional and Sheri Dew came and talked to us. I didn't know who she was, but she told us she was the CEO of Deseret Books. When the MTC Presidency introduced her he started crying and said we were really in for a treat. He described her as "one of the best speakers in the church". She really was amazing. I loved her talk so much. She testified that sharing our testimony is the best way to help others feel the spirit. I have noticed that while I have been in the MTC. Sharing our testimonies really does bring the Holy Ghost into the room.

Ok. Now for the big news. Yesterday the MTC was buzzing. Why? Because we were told the devotional was going to be really good. Not to mention, the choir director told us the week before that we really should be in the choir this week. So everyone was waiting for the devotional guessing which apostle it would be. Holland, Uchtdorf, maybe Bednar? When we were at choir practice that day he told us who would be speaking: President Russell M. Nelson, just a few weeks after becoming the President of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles. Wow. His talk was so amazing. He came into the room, we all stood up and the Spirit filled the room. The one thing he talked about that I want to share with everyone dealt with the Atonement. He shared the story when Christ tells a woman, "Go, and sin no more. And neither do I condemn thee." He then testified that our Savior will never be disappointed in us as long as we desire to repent. I testified of that with so much love and everyone could feel the truth of it in our hearts. I know President Nelson was called of God and I can't wait to hear more from him at General Conference!

Less important news. I was able to play soccer for the first time without any pain. Yes, Mom, I am still taking it easy but everyone--it was a big step in the right direction. The Premier League starts this Saturday. Sigh. I didn't miss a Chelsea game last year so this Saturday may be a little difficult...haha. Also, shoutout to all my friends at UVU who started their season this week! Go win the WAC! Last item of business, my back is feeling so much better and I am praying I won't have any problems in Paraguay! I seriously can't wait to get down there! After seeing all the pictures from my friends in South America, I can't wait to be down there! 

Love you all!

Elder Zaugg

Pics:

1. We are with Gabriel! We saw him walking around the MTC and had to get a picture with him before we left

2. District temple walk while it was overcast was so nice

3. Last class with Hermana Bennett! She was our first investigator the second day and for the first couple weeks before we knew she would be our teacher. She told us she was from Peru and we really thought she was a native. Turns out, she just served her mission there and is actually from Provo, UT. 

Elder Semu Birthday

Brody will always be an ASU fan!  Go Devils!!