Monday, December 28, 2015

week 38 (12/28/2015)

Hey everyone! 
I hope you all passed a great Christmas, now we are on to the New Year! I just wanted to take a moment to thank you all for being a part of my life. For the things you have taught me, and for the times we have spent together. I am grateful for the opportunity that we have to go into another Year all together!!!
I know that this life isn't always easy, I know that sometimes we feel overwhelmed, tired, and stressed. But I also know that together everything is possible. If you feel like you can't keep going forward, the best thing to do, is look for someone who needs a helping hand. I promise you, that there is nothing that will help you faster, nothing that will cure you better than helping someone in need.  



I hope you all have a great start to the New Year! 
Remember that you are never alone. 
I love you all!! Thank you for everything!!! 

With love, 

hermana speakman 

ps: If you are trying to think about what goals to make this year... a great one is to read the book of mormon everyday!! I promise you will see a grand difference in your day and life. 

Christmas dinner with Antonella and Lu. 
 Fireworks after dinner which is eaten at 11:00pm on Christmas Eve..
 Christmas dinner
 Zone Activity, gift exchange

Monday, December 21, 2015

week 37 (12/21/2015)

Hi everyone! 

Well... this week is going to be Christmas!!! :)
 Its the best time of the year. Even though its hotter than I thought possible.
 I have a feeling this Christmas is going to be one of the best Christmases of my life. I am so grateful for the opportunity that I have to be out here in Paraguay this Christmas season and for this year and a half. The things I have learned and seen and felt, are indescribable
 I know, that Our savior lives. I know that He came for all of us. That we are in this life with much more purpose than just to live, we are here to learn, we are here to grow, and the most important is that we are here to one day return and live with our Father in Heaven and his Son our Savior again. I know that He loves us, every single one of us. That it doesn't matter what we have done, or haven't done, that He is always there for us, waiting with arms wide open and more than anything in the world, He wants us to return and live with Him. 
I know that this life isn't easy, sometimes it seems like we won't be able to make it much longer, but I also know, with all my heart, that Christ came for those moments. For when we feel like we can't take another step, to carry us. For the moments when we feel lost without direction, to guide us. We just have to trust in Him. And He, Him, His life, His sacrifice, is why we celebrate this Christmas season. 
I hope you all have a beautiful Christmas, remember how much He loves you.
 Remember that He came for all of us.
 I hope you all have an amazing Christmas this year. I miss you all!! I love you all!!! :) 

Feliz Navidad!! 



I hope you can watch these short videos they are only 2 minutes each :) 
 
❤
 They are the best, so crazy but every time we walk through that area to go teach Javier they all came to his house to listen, they are all cousins that live in the same house 

 family Rios, the one in blue pants just got back from her mission! 



 Javier (recent convert) and Celsa 


 Osmar!! Hes going to be baptized on Saturday :) 


 Rosa, Yenni, Celeste (investigators)


 Belen, Mesaiel, michel, mauro 
(investigator and sons or hermanos of investigators) 
Mesaiel is who threw a rock at my knee once hahah hes the cutest one in front 
 
 
 Less active members Gilda and Fatima


We went to a Christmas concert at the temple with an investigator and a recent convert that left the church for a while but wants to come back now. It was great, it was really pretty.

Monday, December 14, 2015

week 36 (12/14/2015)

Hi Everyone! 

This week has been a great week, full of adventures as always the time is flying by.
 As I was studying this morning, reading the Ensign for last month that has the talks from General Conference the Talk from President Uchtdorf stood out to me, when he told the story of the young girl who went to live with her great aunt and learned how to be happy. I have learned the truth of this story out here on the mission, I know it is true with all my heart, and I want to share what I have learned with you through this talk as well, because if we are being honest, he speaks a whole lot better than me :) ...

“But,” Eva said, “you can’t just flip a switch and go from sad to happy.”
“No, perhaps not,” Aunt Rose smiled gently, “but God didn’t design us to be sad. He created us to have joy!3 So if we trust Him, He will help us to notice the good, bright, hopeful things of life. And sure enough, the world will become brighter. No, it doesn’t happen instantly, but honestly, how many good things do? Seems to me that the best things, like homemade bread or orange marmalade, take patience and work.”
Eva thought about it a moment and said, “Maybe it’s not so simple for people who don’t have everything perfect in their lives.”
“Dear Eva, do you really think that my life is perfect?” Aunt Rose sat with Eva on the overstuffed sofa. “There was a time when I was so discouraged I didn’t want to go on.”
“You?” Eva asked.
Aunt Rose nodded. “There were so many things I wished for in my life.” As she spoke, a sadness entered her voice that Eva had never heard before. “Most of them never happened. It was one heartbreak after another. One day I realized that it would never be the way I had hoped for. That was a depressing day. I was ready to give up and be miserable.”
“So what did you do?”
“Nothing for a time. I was just angry. I was an absolute monster to be around.” Then she laughed a little, but it was not her usual big, room-filling laugh. “‘It’s not fair’ was the song I sang over and over in my head. But eventually I discovered something that turned my whole life around.”
“What was it?”
“Faith,” Aunt Rose smiled. “I discovered faith. And faith led to hope. And faith and hope gave me confidence that one day everything would make sense, that because of the Savior, all the wrongs would be made right. After that, I saw that the path before me wasn’t as dreary and dusty as I had thought. I began to notice the bright blues, the verdant greens, and the fiery reds, and I decided I had a choice—I could hang my head and drag my feet on the dusty road of self-pity, or I could have a little faith, put on a bright dress, slip on my dancing shoes, and skip down the path of life, singing as I went.” Now her voice was skipping along like the girl in the painting.
Aunt Rose reached over to the end table and pulled her well-worn scriptures onto her lap. “I don’t think I was clinically depressed—I’m not sure you can talk yourself out of that. But I sure had talked myself into being miserable! Yes, I had some dark days, but all my brooding and worrying wasn’t going to change that—it was only making things worse. Faith in the Savior taught me that no matter what happened in the past, my story could have a happy ending.”
“How do you know that?” Eva asked.
Aunt Rose turned a page in her Bible and said, “It says it right here:
“‘God … will dwell with them, and they shall be his people, and God himself shall be with them, and be their God.
“‘And God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes; and there shall be no more death, neither sorrow, nor crying, neither shall there be any more pain: for the former things are passed away.’”4
Great-Aunt Rose looked at Eva. Her smile was wide as she whispered, with a slight quiver in her voice, “Isn’t that the most beautiful thing you’ve ever heard?”
It really did sound beautiful, Eva thought.
Aunt Rose turned a few pages and pointed to a verse for Eva to read: “Eye hath not seen, nor ear heard, neither have entered into the heart of man, the things which God hath prepared for them that love him.”5
“With such a glorious future,” Aunt Rose said, “why get swallowed up in past or present things that don’t go quite the way we planned?”
Eva furrowed her brow. “But wait a minute,” she said. “Are you saying that being happy means just looking forward to happiness in the future? Is all our happiness in eternity? Can’t some of it happen now?”
“Oh, of course it can!” Aunt Rose exclaimed. “Dear child, now is part of eternity. It doesn’t only begin after we die! Faith and hope will open your eyes to the happiness that is placed before you.
“I know a poem that says, ‘Forever—is composed of Nows.’6 I didn’t want my forever to be composed of dark and fearful ‘Nows.’ And I didn’t want to live in the gloom of a bunker, gritting my teeth, closing my eyes, and resentfully enduring to the bitter end. Faith gave me the hope I needed to live joyfully now!”
“So what did you do then?” Eva asked.
“I exercised faith in God’s promises by filling my life with meaningful things. I went to school. I got an education. That led me to a career that I loved.”
Eva thought about this for a moment and said, “But surely being busy isn’t what made you happy. There are a lot of busy people who aren’t happy.”
“How can you be so wise for someone so young?” Aunt Rose asked. “You’re absolutely right. And most of those busy, unhappy people have forgotten the one thing that matters most in all the world—the thing Jesus said is the heart of His gospel.”
“And what is that?” Eva asked.
“It is love—the pure love of Christ,” Rose said. “You see, everything else in the gospel—all the shoulds and the musts and the thou shalts —lead to love. When we love God, we want to serve Him. We want to be like Him. When we love our neighbors, we stop thinking so much about our own problems and help others to solve theirs.”7
“And that is what makes us happy?” Eva asked.
Great-Aunt Rose nodded and smiled, her eyes filling with tears. “Yes, my dear. That is what makes us happy.”

I hope you all have a great week this week, I know that when we put others first and lose ourselves in the service of our Lord, we will have the happiness we so desperately long for. I love you all!! If you are feeling down, not sure what to do, put my testimony to the test, try it out. I promise you will see that what I have said and so many leaders have taught is true.
Love you all!!!!! have a great week :)
Love, Hermana Speakman

Monday, December 7, 2015

week 35 (12/7/2015)

Hey everyone! Well another week has come and gone, and it has gone so quickly!! I hope everyone is well, and enjoying the Christmas spirit!! 

This week has been quite the week, full of many adventures.... some more fun than others haha. 
This week as we were studying a little more about our baptismal covenant, and about the importance of going to church every Sunday to renew this covenant. 
I found a scripture that I would like to share with all of you that is found in the Bible in Isaiah 58:13-14.
There was a quote in PMG that says, "that our actions on the Sabbath day show our devotion towards serving the Lord,"... I began to think about my actions. What I did on the Sabbath day at home, and what I would like to change, to be able to do as it says in the scripture, "the Lords will," instead of my own. 
I truly know and testify that when we do the Lords will instead of our own, when we put Him first, we will be full of joy, hope and love. And there will be a different light in our lives, as we begin to really see and understand more fully our purpose in this life, and live up to our divine potential.
 
I love you all! I hope you have an amazing week. 
Don't forget His love for each and every one of us. 
I hope this Sunday you can all find a way to put His will first, find a way to help someone in need. I promise you will feel a difference as His light fills your life.
 
With love, 
Hermana Speakman 

Our back yard was flooded, it is very deep, the water was literally crashing through our yard it was crazy. 
When it gets super hot and humid, it means the next day its going to rain. The rain is the hot type .

Monday, November 30, 2015

week 34 (11/30/2015)

Well... I have officially finished half my mission.

The time is flying! Faster than I ever imagined. I still remember when I first started my mission and everyone told me enjoy it because the time flies. I thought they were all crazy and a bunch of liars. But it really has been flying and it really has been one of the greatest gifts of my life to be out here in Paraguay. I wouldn't trade this experience for the world. I miss my family and my friends of course, but I know with all my heart that one of the greatest gifts the Lord has ever given me, was giving me the opportunity to come out here to Paraguay to serve Him. I learn new things everyday, this week was one I hope to never forget.

This week we had the opportunity to visit an investigator named Angelina. Angelina is about 50 years old. She's bigger has diabetes and lives in a house that isn't a home that would be legal for a person to live in in the United States she doesn't have a kitchen they cook outside on a fire, she has 3 rooms for more than 8 people. But Angelina has something that many of us don't have, something that matters more than anything else, something that, out of all the people I talk to everyday and all the people we meet and teach I have never found before. Angelina has a love for God, a love and a trust stronger than I have ever felt or seen before in my life. As we talked with this sister she bore testimony to us that she Knows that He lives, and that she knows that He loves her and He listens to her, and when she said it, there were tears in her eyes and there was a spirit about her that testified to our hearts that what she was saying weren't just words, but that she truly knew it and she could truly feel it. This woman who has almost nothing, who, passes through trials I could never imagine passing through, never lost her faith or her hope, she continued forward never asking "why me?" because she knows that everything, every single thing that we go through, every trial, every disaster, every pain, they all have a purpose. God loves us, He never ever wants to hurt us, he never wants us to leave his path, He is always there to help us. The things we go through are to teach us. To strengthen us, and to help us one day return to live with Him because, to accomplish that, it requires an effort on our part.

As we talked with her and felt her spirit testify to us that what she said was true, the scripture that came to my mind was John 14:15. If you love me, keep my commandments. As we shared that scripture with her, we began to teach her that the best way to show this love and gratitude to the Lord is through our obedience. This humble sister had never been taught the 10 commandments of the Lord, but as we began to teach them to her she payed the closest attention to every word, yearning to know the Lords will. It was an experience that is hard to describe with words.
As I thought about this experience throughout the week in our studies, I thought about how I could apply it to my own life, and I began to continue reading John, and came to the scripture John 15:12. The commandment to love others as he has loved us, and then verse 13, that there is no greater form of showing our Love for others than giving our lives for them. In this scripture it is speaking of the sacrifice of our Lord dying for us, showing us His love. But as I read this scripture, a different point came into my head. That giving our life doesn't have to mean that we die for someone. Giving our life, means putting the lives of others their wants and needs ahead of our own. Just like the Lord did. If we are to truly keep all the commandments of the Lord we need to get out there and serve. A sister in our ward said something that really stood out to me. That all of us as members are supposed to be missionaries, that the missionaries with plaques, the only difference there should be is that they have plaques and are in different parts of the world away from home serving others. But that we as members of the Church, have made a covenant with the Lord to serve Him, and to serve his children. We have all been called to serve.
I hope this week you can all make your visits, you can find someone to serve, you can represent our Lord and savior through a kind word, a smile and a helping hand. Its never easy, this life isn't easy. But we aren't from this world, we are just living here in it. And we have been called here for a much greater purpose. 
Find someone, help them, save them. 

Keep His commandments, you will see the change it will make.

I love you all and hope you have a great week! 
Please, help someone in need. Share His love and you will feel it stronger in your life.

With love, 
Hermana Speakman

Monday, November 23, 2015

week 33 (11/23/2015)

Another week has come and gone.... where it went I don't know!?  The days are passing by faster and faster. 

This week we had our Zone conference. The mission president comes to our area and teaches us, then we have interviews with him and receive further instruction from our zone leaders, the presidents assistants and the leaders for the sister missionaries. 
This week our President talked a lot about obedience. One of the things that our mission struggles the most with is being obedient. 
A lot of the time the missionaries make a lot of excuses for why they couldn't be obedient, one of them is, "because its hard." Which is true its hard sometimes, but something that our Mission Pres. said stuck out to me:
"It wasn't easy for Christ, why should it be easy for us? This is the work of Salvation."  

Things are never going to be easy, but the Lord truly blesses us when we strive to be obedient. He has so many things prepared for us we just have to trust in Him, trust that He knows what is best for us. That these things He tells us to do, may seem annoying, may seem silly but at the end of it all, they protect us and He blesses us. 

Pray, Read your scriptures, go to church every Sunday! and watch, there will be a difference!! I promise you.

 He lives. He loves us. He knows us. and He will help us in all things! 

I hope you all have a great week! I love and miss you all!!! 
Thank you for your support and prayers!!! 
Love
Hermana Speakman

Monday, November 16, 2015

week 32 (11/16/2015)

Hey everyone!
This week flew by really fast! Sorry about last week I got a little distracted and wasted my time haha but, these past few weeks have been pretty great! 
I am still in Yukyry with Hermana Cornejo :) Things are going really well.... aside from the suffocating heat that makes me want to curl up in a ball and cry. But hey, what doesn't kill you makes you stronger... or tanner... or one of the three right?
These past weeks our mission has started a new program to help us study more efficiently, our mission president put together folders for every mission with exactly what we are to study and where to find it for every day for the next 6 weeks. I have to admit, when they first gave us the folders I was a little upset not stoked to lose my study time, but these past weeks have helped me to really understand clearer doctrines and principles and reaffirmed my testimony that our leaders really are inspired of the Lord.
This week, was a little frustrating. We have a family that we have been working with for almost 4 months and they have been progressing very slowly, but these past few weeks they were progressing a lot better they were attending church, praying and preparing to meet the goals we had set together. But this week, they did the same thing as in the beginning and started hiding from us and telling lies through their children haha it was a little frustrating I'm going to be honest. I was a little mad, lost my patience.
At church we usually wait outside to greet the members and wait for our investigators to arrive to be able to bring them to the classes so they don't feel overwhelmed with new faces, but this Sunday we went right in and sat down to listen to the classes sure that no one would be coming.
About halfway through the class the door opened and I heard someone whisper "hermanas," one of the elders was calling us so we stood up and stepped outside and waiting for us was a family of investigators that we had just gotten to know that week, we had invited them to come to church on Sunday and they told us that they were going to be coming but, we thought it was in "wha'u" (a joke/lie in guarani). They came to church, alone, without us going to look for them and were able to attend all 3 meetings. The experience was, indescribable, it was a great reminder to me, that this is the Lords work. That he truly prepares the hearts of his children to receive the gospel, and that he gave every one of us our agency it is essential to his plan. I can't control the actions of others but I can control my reactions and I know that He knows each and every one of His children. We can't ever give up, through good times and bad this is "his work and his glory to bring to pass the immortality and eternal life of men" and we can be instruments in his hands to do the most important work possible.
I hope you all have a great week! Don't give up, don't get discouraged and always remember that the Lord has a plan. There is always a reason to smile. 

Thank you for all of your love and support!!
With love,
Hermana Speakman
Mark 8:35
"The best antidotes for worry is work. The best medicine for despair is service. The best cure for weariness is the challenge of helping someone who is even more tired."

ps: Happy birthday mom!!!! xoxoxox

Monday, November 9, 2015

Week 31 (11/9/2015)


Marissa ran out of time today but did send some photos and a little news!...

My week was good! We didn't have changes, I am still with my same comp in my same area :)




Monday, November 2, 2015

week 30 (11/02/2015)

Hello everyone!!
This week was a great week!! We focused a lot on keeping the commandments and how it blesses our lives.
 This week had me thinking a lot, about the commandments and about how in my house, I kindaaa kept them but not exactly. Something that I learned this week, if we want all the blessings from the Lord we need to keep His commandments, with all our hearts.
 The commandments may seem simple and may seem like a little thing to not keep them exactly but I know with all my heart that when we give all of our effort to keep His commandments, to keep the Sabbath day holy, to love our neighbor, to not lie, to pray everyday, to read the scriptures, to do the little things, the Lord blesses us and the sacrifice of Jesus makes up for the imperfections that we have.
An example are some of the members here in Yukyry, in their form of keeping the Sabbath day holy. They go to church and then go home and eat lunch all together as a family, then they go out as a family, sometimes just as a couple and start visiting the members that couldn't make it to church. 
I have seen the blessings that this service brings to their lives as they keep the Sabbath day holy and truly dedicate it as a day to the Lord.
I am so grateful for the opportunity that I have to be here on my mission, for the lessons I am learning and for the chances that I have to make changes in my life.
 I am grateful for all of you for your love and your support, I know that I have not always been the best example and a lot of the time I've been the opposite of a good example and I would like to apologize for that. But I am so grateful that the Lord brought me here to Paraguay, to save me and to change me. I hope to be a better example and I hope that you can all forgive me for my past mistakes.
I hope you all have a great week! Don't forget to do the little things.
With lots of love,
Hermana Speakman 

(ps if you struggle to remember to pray, make a prayer rock like we made here with Natalia (photo)) 

Monday, October 26, 2015

week 29 (10/26/2015)

Hey Everyone!! 
I hope you all had a great week! This week we had the opportunity to visit Natalia, a recent convert to the church. We have been trying to help Natalia and her family find the peace that the gospel can bring and the joy that can fill the home. It has been a hard year for this family, with one problem after another after another, and these problems have been taking their tolls on Natalia and her family. 
I got frustrated this week, not understanding why all of these things were happening to her, and why they were all happening the year after her baptism. It was frustrating me because we promise the people that the gospel can bring joy and peace to their lives, that it changes lives and that it has changed our lives. And it seemed to her as though the gospel was changing her life, but in the opposite way. I didn't understand how to explain to her what was happening because I really didn't understand either. After talking to our leaders, they made it so clear and simple to me I was embarrassed to have asked. 
The Gospel CAN bless our lives, the gospel CAN change our lives and it will, IF we keep the commandments. 
We can not make this covenant of baptism and expect everything to be perfect afterwards without an effort on our part, we have to endure to the end keeping the commandments of the lord. I know that this is true, I know this gospel is true that it brings peace and joy and that it brings salvation. 
I hope you all have a great week. I love you all!! Don't forget to keep the commandments even the smallest ones and He will bless you. 
Be strong and of good courage!!!
Love, 
Hermana Speakman 

Monday, October 19, 2015

week 28 (10/19/2015)

Hello everyone! 
This week was a great week, a little exhausting a little hot and a little cold, but at the end of the day, I wouldn't change it! 
This week we had a service project at the house of the Benitez family.... Hermano Benitez works making and selling peanut candy. He has to work all night making the candy then leaves early in the morning to sell it, sleeps a little during the day and then gets to work again making the candy. So when we went to their house on Saturday, Hermano Benitez was sleeping and we were talking with his daughter helping her wash her clothes, when I saw their spicket of water (their only source of water) and underneath was basically a swamp that the little kids and everyone had to walk in to get water. So I asked if they had ever tried making a trench, Diana his daughter said yes, but that her sisters always do it and then only halfway do it and not very well. So I grabbed the shovel and we started to work. We made a nice big trench for the water to flow through, and as I was finishing the trench I had to start digging closer to the spicket... We found a pipe and took care not to hit it and to clear its path way, but unfortunately the other pipe... that actually leads to the water, had not yet be found. And this pipe was found in the worst way possible.... I broke it..... I basically just wanted to find a hole to crawl into to hide when Diana went to ask her dad where the valve is to turn off the water and he came out of his room to see what was going on, stressed, tired and a little upset. He came over to look at what was going on... and as we continued talking and planning how to fix it. He just started to die laughing. 
This man, who only had one way to get water, to bath his children and his grandchildren, to cook his food and his candy that he sells, to drink. Started laughing. I was confused of course, not understanding how he could laugh at something so serious, and he just looked at me and told me "if you take everything in life seriously, you're never going to be happy and look at you, you're covered in mud and its hilarious." 
I know at first he was stressed, he knew how serious it was that we had broken this pipe, but I also learned something from him that day. Even when life gets hard, even when we have hit our bottom and then we get packed down deeper in this hole, there is always something to be happy about, there is always something to laugh at, and there is always something we can do to make things better. 
I love you all! And I hope that you can all keep smiling through the good times and the bad. This life is short, and theres something even better waiting for us :) 
Love, 
Hermana Speakman 

(sorry theres not a picture of my awesome trench, it was night time by the time we fixed everything up haha but next week!) 

Monday, October 12, 2015

week 27 (10/12/2015)



Hello everyone! I hope you all had a great week! Crazy how fast the time flies, feels like i was just writing my last group email.... hahah 
This week Javier Vega was baptized, it was a great experience and I'm so grateful for the opportunity that I have to be here in Yukyry, the people really do change your life. 
This week we had to opportunity to talk with a friend of a family in the ward, her name is Rosio. We were talking with her and explaining the Plan of Salvation. This plan answers 3 big questions, where did we come from? why are we here? and where will we go after this life? We were talking with her about why we are here, and about why we have to pass through so many trials in this life. I did an example, I asked her to picture two different people. The first person always has a smile on their face, they live an easy life they have everything they need they never have any problems and they are always happy. Then, the next person had a rough life. They passed some big trials and some grand difficulties, but were able to overcome them and now they are happy and their life is in better order. Out of the two people, who do you think is really happier? 
She stopped to think for a second, and then responded without the slightest bit of hesitation, the second person.
Sometimes we pass through trials that we just don't understand, and all we want is for them to go away, we ask why? we ask why me? And we want to give up a lot of the time. What we don't realize, is that these times are from the Lord. These times are for us, these times can make us stronger, they can make us better and in the end of it all these times can make us happier if we let them.
I know sometimes life gets hard, but if we look at things from a different point of few if we realize that the Lord really has a plan for us, that it may be that these times are the worst, but at the end of it all. When we make it through we will look back on these times with gratitude, because without passing through the misery, we could never know and appreciate the happiness.
I love you all!! 
I hope you have a great week!! 
Trust in the Lord. 
Don't forget to pray.

with love,
Hermana Speakman


Tuesday, October 6, 2015

week 26 (10/5/2015)

Well short and sweet is how things are going to be today! 
Conference was amazing!  I am truly grateful for the tender mercy that I was able to watch in English and with my companion from the CCM. 
I'm grateful for this church for the way it has shaped and changed my life and for the family that I have thanks to its teachings. 
I'm grateful to know that the Lord is the head of this church and his work can never be hindered by man. I know that life gets hard and sometimes we stumble but I know that everything we go through has a purpose, that without knowing the misery we would never be able to truly appreciate the Joy. 
Here in the mission I have felt a joy I never thought was possible to feel, and I can't imagine how great our joy will be after this life, when we return to His arms.
 I know that He loves every single one of us. Every one, and I am so grateful for the opportunity to be out here on the Mission, I'm grateful that the Lord knows me better than I know myself, that he knows what is best for me and he will always guide us if we just take a leap of faith. Hold strong, hold steady. He is there for you!!! 
I love you all!!! thank you for always being an example to me, thank you for always being there for me and for my family in good times and in bad. And if you didn't get to see the conference, I invite you to watch it, listen to the Prophet of God and our leaders. 
He is always here to guide us, if only we let Him. 

Tuesday, September 29, 2015

week 25 (9\29\2015)

Hey everyone! 
Changes were this week, once again, but luckily I got to stay in Yukyry with my companion Hermana Cornejo :) We are continuing working here and trying to get to know the new parts of our area. 
Today we had a service project in the morning where we went to help build a house of a family... haha cant say we are experts but we gave it our best shot haha.
 This week we have been working a lot with some families that are really struggling, and it really was a testament for me that we have to be careful in all that we do. And the Littlest things make all the difference. Satan finds the littlest things to use to attack us. We have to be ready and we have to be strong. The difference that this gospel makes when we live firmly in it, is amazing. 
Please follow the teachings of the prophets. They are here to guide us and direct us, the things they teach will only help us, we have to be stronger than the things of the world, they only bring momentary happiness. 
I love you all!!!! Be strong and of good courage!! 
Read your scriptures every day!! 
Love, 
hermana Speakman






Tuesday, September 22, 2015

week 24 (9/21/215)


This week, Mayeli, Melani, and Ingrid Benitez were baptized!! Their dad was able to baptize them and it was.... amazing. :) This really is the Lords work. I know with all my heart that our Father in Heaven listens to our prayers and He will answer them. I know that this is the Church of Jesus Christ. That even though we as members aren't perfect, He is and He is the head of this Church and this work. I am so grateful to be a part of it, for the change it is making in my life and for the person Paraguay is changing me to be. I hope you all have a great week, I am so grateful for your love your prayers and your examples to me. 
Be strong and Keep moving forward with faith!!! He is here. 
With lots of love,
Hermana Speakman

Tuesday, September 15, 2015

week 23 (9/14/2015)

Hello!! 
So, I didn't use my time wisely again and I'm almost out, but I just wanted to say this week was great! We really saw the hand of the Lord in all things. I love Paraguay!! This week we are prepping Mayeli, Melani and Yngri to be Baptized.  There is a photo attached of us with Yngri and her older brother Gino. Her parents and her older brothers are less active members, but this family is amazing. You can see the difference of the light of Christ in their lives. I learn so many new things from them everyday and I truly know that the Lord preps the hearts of his children and that he knows and loves every single one of us!!
I hope you all had a great week and have an even better one this week!! Keep the faith. The Lord has a plan for all of us. 
With lots of love, 
Hermana Speakman



Monday, September 7, 2015

week 22 (9/7/2015)

Hey everyone, this week was great! 
Remember how for the past few weeks I've been super annoying talking about how visiting people makes all the difference. well... its going to happen again. 
This week we visited a family, that I'm honestly a little afraid of. They don't like  it when the missionaries visit them, so to help us we visited them with our bishop and another sister from the ward...... This Sunday they were in church!! It had absolutely nothing to do with us as missionaries, and everything to do with the love that they felt from the ward and through that visit they were also able to feel the love of God and feel once again the desire to go to church. There are so many people out there suffering who need our help. We need to help our Heavenly Father, He does so much for us, he gives us all so much and all he asks is that we keep his commandments and help others in return. I know its hard when we think about all the other things we need to do. But if we have our priorities straight a little visit to someone in need wont be all that hard, and will make all the difference for them. 
Also we have been teaching a guy named Pedro,  for about 3 months, and its been a huge battle to get him to come to church, we finally had to let him go and focus on our other investigators, last Sunday, HE WENT TO CHURCH!!!!!!!!! I actually cried that time haha. He is an amazing investigator, he reads his Book of Mormon all the time answers the questions in the back of the pamphlets we leave and everything. He lives with his girl friend who is less active and she doesn't want to go to church that's what was keeping him from coming, but finally they came!! 

We have a family of investigators that I love so much, they treat us like idk, they treat us every time we arrive at their homes like their best friends that they haven't seen in forever with huge hugs and kisses. The mom and dad are less active but they have 3 daughters who haven't been baptized. Since we started visiting them, they have been at church every Sunday <3. I love teaching them because you learn from them too and they actually want to learn they want to progress.
Haha the other day we contacted a reference from the Elders, and it was a Lady who told the Elders the only reason why shes not baptized is because nobody visited her..... that is literally the reason! our first lesson with her was the Law of Chasity haha and the next day she told her boyfriend that they are getting married!!
Thank you all for your examples to me for your love and for your support!! I hope you have a great week, be strong and of good courage. Help someone in need, after all we are all beggars. Mosiah 4:17-21. 
 Ah we are working with so many people!! I love Paraguay its amazing, the people are teaching me so many things, about life about the gospel about everything. I couldn't have asked for a better place to go. 
Have a great week!! 
With lots of Love,
Hermana Speakman 





Tuesday, September 1, 2015

week 21 (Aug. 31, 2015)

Hey Everyone! 
This week wassss..... un-explainable!!! It was amazing really. This week, ah. :) 
This week we made a pin for the pig of Hermana Elsa, I got to name the pig... its name is Babe, cause its a babe. 
We also had Family home evening with her and family and another family from the ward. We came together as a team to help this family and it was, amazing! It was really good :)  The difference that having this family come with us and talk to the family of Hermana Elsa was incredible.They saw that really the little things not only help the missionaries but everyone and that there are people out there who are going through the same things who are in the same boat trying to change their lives and come closer to the Lord. The spirit was really strong..... even though I lost the game and had to go out into the street and scream my pig died hahahha 
 Pedro, Mayeli, Melani, Ingrid and Lilian all made it to church.... IT WAS AMAZING. I almost cried haha The best part is seeing them when church ends with big smiles on their faces talking to their new friends in the ward and telling us what they learned and what they liked from church. 
I hope everyone is well! I know that the Lord blesses us for being obedient, and that He knows each of us personally and knows what we are going through, and He guides our leaders in how to help us.
Thank you for your examples to me! for your love and support! I miss you all and hope you have a great week this week. 
Congratulations Britt!!!!! I wish I could be there to celebrate your amazing day with you!!!!!! <3 :) 
Love you all!!!