Letters from Meredith...

Hola, familia y amigos!

I have so much I could tell you! On Tuesday night, I stayed with President and Sister Callan in their home because I hadn´t met my companion yet. I got nine hours of sleep and it was so nice! Yesterday morning, I went with Elder Paladines, the other new missionary, and several of the elders who work in the office to sign our official paperwork. We enter Paraguay on a 90-day tourist visa, so we have to get an extended visa to allow us to stay here. After that, we headed back to the office and I met my companion, my trainer. Your first companion is always called your trainer.

Her name is Hermana Valente. I had heard from the President and every other missionary I talked to that she is the hardest worker in our mission and an excellent missionary. I was really excited to meet her! I´ll never forget when I first saw her sitting in the conference room. Here, all the women greet by kissing each other on each cheek and hugging. It´s different, but I like it! Very personable. Anyway, she hugged me and then the President talked to us all for a few minutes. We watched a few videos about companionship inventory, and about halfway through, she reached over and put her arm around me. I love her already! She is relentlessly dedicated to sharing the gospel. She is from Argentina and speaks very little English, so she´s helping me learn Spanish and I´m helping her learn English. There is a test that non-English speaking missionaries take at the end of their missions that helps them get some English credits or something. This morning I helped her study and it was kind of fun! She is very serious, but I´ve gotten her to laugh and few times and we already really enjoy each other. President told me on Tuesday that he has known that we should be companions for a long time and he felt a great peace about it. I know she will teach me how to be a wonderful missionary. She relates so well to the people! I admire her so much!

The culture here is so different! It´s probably going to take me awhile to get used to it. Everyone is very friendly, though, which can be good and bad. When we´re contacting, we don´t talk to men on the streets--just women. If we go into a house where there is a man and a woman, we can talk to them both. Just for our safety. Hermana and I have a goal to do 20 contacts a day. The Spanish is coming pretty easily, but I don´t know how in world I´m ever going to learn my way around here! The directions are so confusing! Hermana says that´s why there are two of us--I do the contact and share the message, and she writes down the directions. We make a good team that way!

I haven´t learned hardly any Guarani yet--it´s the Spanish dialect they speak here and also the currency for their money. Hermana Valente says my Spanish is really good, and she is so patient with helping me practice it! We actually understand each other pretty well. I guess the best and most sure-fire way to learn Spanish is to live among a people who don´t speak anything but Spanish!

I´ve met several members already. Yesterday we and two of the elders had lunch with the Abuelos Grau. They´re long-time members who are originally from Spain, but moved here after the war, I think. They were so nice! Abuelo Grau liked that I was from North Carolina because he has been to Atlanta, Georgia and Washington D.C. Speaking of eating lunch, the food is great here! Normally, the people here eat a small meal for breakfast, a HUGE meal at lunch, and then just a little something for dinner. It´s great compared to the MTC! I drink so much water when we´re out teaching and contacting that I´m not really hungry at night. We kind of just snack. The food isn´t Mexican or very spicy--it´s more like noodles and meat. I like it. It´s really hot and humid right now, so I´m trying to drink tons of water. The people are so nice--they take pity on two sweating sister missionaries and invite us in to drink water. We then share a message with them, of course. Here, most people pour the water into a glass and drink it that way. You never see anyone drink directly out of a bottle. Speaking of that, we always drink bottled water. The tap water here is bad.

Shayla, I met one of your converts last night! She is less-active now, so we went and shared a scripture with her. My companion says her name is Gandelaria. She opened up her Book of Mormon and there was a paper with ¨Hermana Ingalls¨and ¨Hermana Simmons¨ written on it. I told her I knew you, and she was really happy. She actually went to the Jehovah´s Witness church last Sunday, and her friend who is a Jehovah´s Witness was there when we got there. ¨She was very open to us, though, and committed to come to church this Sunday. I hope she does!

I also met another member family, but I can´t remember their names. It´s two parents and an almost 17-year-old daughter. Her birthday is on Sunday, so Hermana Valente and I are going to make a cake for her today. Hermana Valente went to cooking school before her mission! Anyway, Vanessa is the 17-year-old and she came with us as we taught two lessons and shared the scripture with Gandelaria yesterday. It is very powerful to have a member there to bear testimony.

That´s pretty much it so far. I´m hoping that it will cool off soon because it is SO hot! I´m pretty sure I sweated off five pounds yesterday. Probably not, but it felt like it! I hope it doesn´t take me too long to get accustomed. I feel like the language is coming along. People are very patient with me. I already love the people here. They are so humble and kind and really, truly so ready to hear the gospel. All but one of our contacts yesterday gave us their names and addresses. So great!

Oh, last night we went by the church. I met a few more of the members. I always love going to the chapels in different towns because they´re always a constant. The Church is true no matter where you go! The chapel here is very simple--just cushioned chairs and no pews. The people here live in very humble circumstances, but would do anything to help you.

Grandma Vesa, thank you for your e-mail! I really appreciate it! I hope your trip to Utah is wonderful. In the MTC, I only had half an hour every week, but here I have an hour. So I have more time to read and respond to your e-mails! I also have a couple new addresses that I´ll be forwarding.

Thank you all again for your good thoughts and prayers! I know that this work is true, and I´m trying to lose myself in it. My goals for this six weeks are to learn as much Spanish as I can and to really learn to love the people.

My p-day is normally on Monday, but I have one today because I just got here. Oh, another interesting bit of info is that we´re washing our own clothes! Hermana Valente kind of laughed at my surprised expression when she showed me the washtub and scrubber, and the lines strung outside to dry the clothes. Oh the adventures that await me!

Well, my time is about up. I hope everything is going well for all of you and I would love to hear from you!

Love, Hermana Cozzens