#pleaseread

Sometimes, life goes by so fast you just can't possibly keep up. Everything passes by in a blur and you can't remember what you ate for breakfast or why you walked up the stairs. Sometimes, you try to keep up; you run really really fast, but everything keeps passing you. Like this past week for instance...

It started off at 6am (last Thursday actually) as we were running in el parque Ña Guasu. Elder Ticeran and I were running on the terribly-paved windy gravel track, ahead of Elder Parada and Hunsaker to where they couldn't actually see us. I'm a soccer player, so naturally I like to run more with a ball at my feet so that's what I did. We were running at a good speed, really pushing ourselves to keep up with life (or all the calories we eat up in the office). Like I mentioned, it is hard to keep up with life. One second you feel like you're ahead and the next your somehow tearing up your hands and stomach on the gravel track...which is what happened to me. Elder Ticeran was nice enough not to laugh (out-loud at least) and made sure I was ok. But life doesn't stop, oh no. I had gotten up by now, crouched over staring at the blood dripping from my hands wondering how I could be so clumsy. My mom always asked me how I played soccer because I could never stop tripping over the couches, chairs, counter tops...Then, slowly but surely Elder Hunsaker comes around the bend, sees I'm on the ground and asks if I'm ok. I don't really give him a response and he keeps on going without stopping his step not having a clue what happened. Then Elder Parada comes sprinting by(he was doing intervals) gives me one glance and a smile like Usain Bolt in the Olympics and keeps going. Elder Ticeran proceeds to give me my water bottle, expecting me to somehow hold it with my fingertips and jogs off. Just like that, life has passed on, not slowing down for anything. Now I'm sitting there a little angry, not at my comps but at myself for falling. (Ok, maybe a little annoyed that I have to somehow carry this water bottle with 3 fingertips, but hey, that's life and you gotta get back up and keep on going.) It doesn't matter how hard you fall, it only matters how epic the fall was. And folks, my fall was so lame. Luckily Hna Evans was there later that morning to take out all the rocks and pebbles buried in the craters in my hands. 

Continuing with the "life flies by as fast as a cheetah runs" theme. This week was change week. it started off bright and early at 2:30AM Monday morning to pick up some elders coming down from the Chaco. At 3:10am, they informed us they would be late so we waited in the no parking zone with our hazards on. I was so scared to get a ticket I had a hard time sleeping. Finally after watching 50 taxis come and go, I feel asleep only to be woken up at 4:30am to someone knocking on my window. Well crap-instantly I knew. I actually debated pretending to be knocked out to try and get out of the ticket. I gradually opened my eyes to be pleasantly surprised by Elder Vela.

Every night after that, sleep was cut to a max of 4 hours, sometimes 2. Now come Thursday morning at 4:30am at the airport, I was feeling just a little tired. One leaving hermana had me write my email and social media stuff in here journal...I fell asleep 2 different times before I even wrote "brodyzaugg". I got back to the house for 1 hour of sleep to then drive back to the airport. I was so tired that when I went to pay for the hermana's bag, he told me "$82". So I tried giving him 820.000gs...which is like $150. 

I was stoked that day because I knew that night I would get a full night's rest. Then, at 5pm, I got a call from the church center in Asuncion that the auditor from SLC wanted to do a surprise mini audit with me the next day before he headed back to the U.S. Awesome...My sugarplum dreams were literally snatched up by the Grinch.

Now it truly is amazing I was able to give you as many details as I did because honestly, it flew by faster than Lighting McQueen. But, after looking back at the week last night, it made me realize and appreciate all the small and simple blessings God has given me every day. 

• For instance, that historic wipe out I had--I scraped up my right elbow pretty bad, but I missed the 2 screws by 1/4 inch. Direct impact with that and I would have broken it again for sure. 
• The knock on the winder..it turned out to be Elder Vela and not a grumpy old police cop. 
• Then there´s the airport. Somehow I couldn't stay awake to sign my name but yet driving to and from...I had not an ounce of sleep. Anyone that knows me knows that I was pretty bad at falling asleep while driving..I'm sure Bre could give you some funny stories.
• Then there's the bag checker. He gave me back my money. That's a big blessing.
• And then for the audit, luckily I learned from my soccer coaches to not skip corners(learned the hard way) and so when I received the call, I really didn't have much to do, just organize and recheck a couple things including my brain. 

Life hit me hard this week, but I guess what I'm trying to get across is that even in our trials, God is blessing us. Sometimes, it takes us awhile to see it, we let out a few yells, get a little frustrated, but then suddenly, we see how merciful He is. I somehow found time to look back at the week and it instantly made me so grateful to my loving Heavenly Father. He loves me and is always watching over me, and I know He is doing the same for you. life doesn't slow down, take a moment to look at the scenery(your blessings) every once in awhile and you'll be amazed how beautiful your life really is.

Elder Zaugg

Quick shot outs to The UVU soccer team for the stellar win last night against Washington!!!!

Also to Buxty for the fight he's putting on. Love you man, you're in my prayers!!

squad

Another great and interesting week in the office because of changes! We had special changes for missionaries that had to get home to go to school, and then have normal changes in 2 weeks! So that always makes the office crazy. All the pics are of us waiting for the missionaries to get out of the temple, so we decided to take a photo shoot of the office elders+APs. We had a good time haha. Pretty sad because it looks like the group will get split up in a couple weeks as Elder Ticeran will probably leave the office for a change before he goes home! He is such an awesome Peruvian! After the temple we went to Paulistas. Man that is such great food:)

On Wednesday though, we had the highlight of the week as we had a lesson with "M" at President Evans house! We watched Joseph Smith, the Prophet of the Restoration. The spirit was ever present and so strong. It was awesome to hear from "M" that he knows the Book of Mormon is true and that Joseph Smith was a prophet. Like him, I know that Joseph Smith is the profeta of the restoration of the gospel. I don't have any doubt and the Holy Ghost confirms it to me each and every time I watch or read something about the First Vision. He truly did see God the Father and His son, Jesus Christ. 

Sorry its such a short letter this week,

love you all!

elder zaugg

So I hear the premier league is up and at it again... #chelsea

PICS: 

So Pokemon Go just made it to Paraguay last week. Its like the big thing here too. All the churches are like Poke centers or whatever so as we were taking a pic at the temple, someone happened to be catching a pokemon....

(it is actually Travis, President Evan's son..)

My companion, Elder Hunsaker

 The squad!

Bananas

So, the life of an office elder can be quite frustrating when your driving from place to place in Asuncion...more like waiting around because there is always terrible traffic....in a van that's AC is not working when its so stinking hot and humid. So, we drive with the windows down, doesn't help a bunch but hey, we gotta try something. This week, however, turned out to have a pretty funny experience. On every street light their are vendors walking up and down selling bananas, strawberries shaped into a pyramid, cauliflower (ewww) and lots of other things. Seriously some of the things they come up with is insane. So anyways, we get stopped at this light and this guy sees me in the drivers seat and yells, "RUBIO!" I'm pretty sure the whole intersection turned because it was so loud. Then he yelled, "MISIONERO!" He then came up into my window and put a bag of 15 bananas on my lap. "Look at this beautiful bananas. They are yours for 10 mil. You are a misionero and help people. Come on, help me out." Now if I said yes to every person that gave me bananas or fruits and stuff I would be flat broke....well more broke than I already am as a misionero. I said, "You know, I'm ok. i really don't need 15 bananas right now." He replied, "Come on. help me out, 10 mil." Then I remembered the money I had, honestly though I only had bills of cien mil. And so I told him, "I don't have sencillo." This guy, such a sly cat, "Oh don't worry I have some!" YES the light turned green. I pointed to it and said I had to go. Now this guy wass a real dedicated man. "Don't worry!" AND HE STARTS SPRINTING. He leaves the bananas on my lap and starts sprinting. We drive about 3 lonnnnng blocks before hitting a hault and he runs the entire way to sell me these bananas. How can I say no to that dedication? I gave him the bananas as he got there, and then said I'd buy them. After he gave me change he started walking away with the bananas I bought!!!! I called to him and he brought them back, but he was a very sneaky man and a good salesman. He reminds me of Cutter haha. 

Well, we wouldn't want a good story to stop there would we. So we'll continue to the end. We drive one more block and about 10 people are walking down the roads to wash windows. Another thing that happens at every corner. I tell the guy no. My windows are still down by the way because its too hot out. This guy passes by after I says no, then stops, leans his neck and head back and says, "pass me the bananas". hahahaha He was walking super fast and stopped dead in his tracks to slowly lean his head back, smile, and tell me to give him some bananas. So I gave him some bananas while Elder Parada and I were just laughing. It honestly was so funny. 

It was a busy week in the office, looking back at it I learned the service to anyone will improve our day. I havent been able to go out and teach everyday because we are in the process of changing the beds for the missionaries. So, while I couldn't get out every night to serve the people of Paraguay, I still had the time to serve some missionaries. It is super super awesome to get a call from a missionary thanking us for the new bed because now his back doesn't hurt! Service truly does bring joy! Even when you have to carry bad frames and mattresses up 3 stories in tiny staircases. Seriously, Elder Parada and I carried them up 4 apartment complexes to the 3rd and 4th stories about 15 times on Thursday. Now that was a workout. We were sweating a lot and went to turn on the AC in the car only to see that hot air was once again blowing out. They are not the best at fixing things here, just hiding the problem for a bit. It has always been funny to have a one area receiving just one mattress. Seriously, every time we see that, we laugh. We know without a doubt, one of the two missionaries will say, "Just one? Well where is the other one? We need 2." They say that because they know someone will not get the new one hahaha. We always explain that was what was ordered during the house inspections but that we can check their bed to see if they need a new one as well. 100% they always say they need a new one as well. But then, you have the missionaries that give us food for bringing them the beds. Those entregas are the ones we cherish:)

I hope everyone had a great week! #USA #olympics

Elder Zaugg

Pics

1. a lady making a bracelet. Shes actually from the Macaw tribe, they speak a narly language. 

2&3. went to the zoo with the Evans this morning!

The Tasmanian Devil....Semana 57

Hello Hello! It was a super nice week here in Paraguay. First because the weather was not too cold nor too hot. That is very rare here. Also because this week we were able to get out of the office and work a little more! Right not the area is a little dull, we have a couple people we are teaching but can't seem to help them get to church! There is a 19yr old guy named Marcos. He is super super cool. We have been working with him for 2 months now. He has been reading the book of mormon since we visited him, he knows it is true, wants to be baptized, but can't seem to make it to church on sundays. He has been plenty of times to visit us here during the week, but come Sundays, he gets stage fright! He comes from a super Catholic family, and he is a little scared to upset them. But he loves the book of mormon, is in the process of a true repentance, seriously every time we go we see how he is changing. The first time we showed up to his house, he said many racist jokes (after asking us if we are racists), cussed a lot (mostly in english), and couldn't sit still. at all. But now, he actually looks us in the eyes, his vocabulary has changed 360 degrees, and he explains the scriptures that we left him to read in a way that truly shows his interest. We have been working with members lately, and it is helping. We are hoping and praying to see him at church tomorrow. 

Another family we are visiting are recent converts. Val and Alfredo and their 3 yr old son Yago. They are from brazil, speak pure portuguese, and are so amazing. Val tries her best at spanish but Alfredo does't try one bit. Luckily, I can understand 90% of what they say! But anyways, on Thursday they took a walk around the temple, and Yago saw Moroni on top. Now, he asks us and them about "Moroni's Castle" haha. This little kid is hilarious. He almost never sits still. Is always running around, screaming, throwing food, anything to make his parents mad. But when it is time to sing a hymn or read the scriptures, he runs to get the books and yells "Vamos cantar Vamos orar!" Last Sunday, he was running and screaming around church during the last hour, Priesthood. Alfredo was about ready to be ordained a Priest and he would not stop screaming. As soon as they put their hands on Alfredo's head, he was instantly quiet. It is amazing how innocent children are and how smart they are at the same time! 

Christ said, "Verily I say unto you, Except ye be converted and become as little children, ye shall not enter into the kingdom of heaven." Watching this 3 yr old boy turn from the Tasmanian Devil into the most calm child at the time of prayer is such a great analogy of conversion to me. When it becomes time for church, for the temple, for prayer, for scripture study-do we leave all the worldy things that cause headaches and problems outside the door? Are we able to turn from Instagram to scripture study without the urge to check twitter just for a second? (For me the whole insta/twitter thing is pretty easy right now seeing that I have no access to either.....) Are we able to turn our phones off during sacrament as we ponder the Savior's sacrifice for us? Are we able to leave our resentment with our Savior and our Heavenly Father as we speak to them in prayer? To allow us to forgive our enemies and pray for them? The gospel is all about conversion. It is all about putting our heart and mind into it, to learn more and become a better person each and every day! Life is not easy. People will cut us off while driving and make us mad but living the gospel is about being converted and living in a way the Savior would live. It is about changing our hearts for the better, literally changing them to think and feel happy all the time, no matter if our brother eats the last bit of ice cream in the fridge. Changing our hearts to be truly converted allows us to recognize the Lord every day in our lives, and recognize that his commandments are in place to guide us to true happiness. Being converted to the gospel allows us to see the blessings in our lives rather than the "poor me's". I have got so much more to learn, and such a long way to go to become what my Heavenly Father wants me to be. Conversion is a very long process, I feel like I just hopped on the train but I know it is worth it. Wickedness never was happiness, but doing the things in our every day lives to be converted to His gospel is. 

I love you all and hope you all take some time this week to become a little more converted to the gospel of our Savior Jesus Christ!

Elder Zawug 

 Elder Stanley is going home!  

Sweet Paraguayan shirt, looks like cruise material!