A Great Mother

What a great week! The first week having President Evans in the mission, and I can tell the mission is not going to slow down one bit! We are super excited to have him here to help serve our Savior here in Paraguay.

Well, today we hit 40 days in the office since the last crash of the van. We are super happy about that achievement. Unfortunately, we have changes this week....and that is when it all seems to go down hill. But, luckily I will wash my hands clean of anything during changes because I won´t be driving everyone around! 

Well. this week, like always the duties of being the financiero continued. I had to go pay all the power bills for the missionary houses. So, we get all the way there, I had the check to pay and everything, and realize I forgot all the bills at the office. Man that was embarrassing, and frustrating having to take the long drive in traffic back to the office. Seriously, traffic in Asunicon is terrible, worse than California. And the people don´t know how to drive. They are awful, not sure if they are bad as the college drivers in Provo though...(shout out to Tbro. you're a witness of that)

This week I got to teach President Evans on the finances and such of the mission. He was definitely overwhelmed (who wouldn´t be) but is learning super quick. But it was a very cool chance to talk with him. He is such a humble guy, and super ready for this new calling. But, with finances, he basically told me he would need a lot of my help, and that I would be here for a very long time...Luckily, I really like the office still! haha

Today I was reading in Luke, when I came across this verse:

28 For which of you, intending to build a tower, sitteth not down first, and counteth the cost, whether he have sufficient to finish it?

To be honest, there are a lot of times where I read over scriptures without thinking about it, but this one, I read it 3 or 4 times to really understand its meaning, for me. I´m not an interpreter of the scriptures or anything, but it really meant a lot for me (not exactly at the moment of reading it, but later on in the day...it did). For me, it really helped me understand that all my decisions need to come after properly analyzing them. Any purchase, project, want-analyze the pros and cons and make sure there are more pros to cons. Do I really have sufficient to afford/finish this? Do I need this? This is a way to help us all improve in our decisions daily! Like today, I wanted a pair of shoes! Like these shoes were fresh. Going to the bank in these shoes would have been awesome, especially because sometimes the people at the bank treat the missionaries like dirt ha. But, these shoes had a cost...it was a nice pair of brown dress shoes that would have been perfect for after my mission too, but they were a little pricey. Luckily, I consulted with my mom first because I would have just bought them...But I didn´t because my mom is super smart and probably understands this scripture really well. And then after not getting the shoes (feeling a little bummed but knowing it was the right decision) this scripture came to my mind. I didn´t really sitteh myself down and counteth the cost; I just wanted to buy them. But my mom somehow knew these were not shoes that I needed. So, another shout out to my mom for always teaching me, even when shes however many kilometers away from me right now. Being a missionary doesn´t mean I´m perfect! There is so much more I have to learn, and learning to analyze a project, purchase, or want before making the decision is one of them. I hope everyone of us can read the scriptures to really apply them in our lives. And even if we don´t understand them right away, Heavenly Father will always send someone to help us and guide us in our lives because He loves us and wants to help us grow and learn!

I love you all!

Elder Zaugg