Pictures

River view 1st ward

E po na
That's like hola in the wild Paraguayan jibberish.

My mission has been a great experience for me! It has definantly been hard I've had Dengay Fever a sickness from Mosquito's ( lost almost 30 pounds) to my bumm knee to getting 6 stitches in my lip on Christmas Eve and struggling with the Guarani language!



I was very homesick at the start of my mission and it was very hard for me!

The thing that really turned my mission around was a family in my first area, the family Chavez. They have nothing in the world to give, and yet they fed me every week. The dad hunts crocodiles for a living making $20 to $25 a week. They live in a house the size of our bathroom. They have just one room in the little house. Room enough for 2 mattresses and a fridge. They keep all the clothes and anything else they own outside the house. This is a family of 6 people and they have 2 beds. They were the happiest people I have ever met in my life. When I had to leave this area, I didn't know very much Spanish mostly because the people speak Guarani. I was in the poorest part of Paraguay and Paraguay is the poorest country in South America so I was in the ghetto. In the poor parts of Pàraguay, the people don't speak Spanish. It's all Guarani. So I wasn't learning Spanish. When I left Concepcion and had to leave this family it was one of the hardest things I've ever had to do! We all bawled. I gave them my 2 hammacks and all the food that I had left and the rest of the money I had for the month. I had a really hard time leaving there. Their little son Javiar is 3 years old and reminded me a lot of my nieces. I am very close with the kids here. Right before I got there, they had a really bad rain storm. It knocked their house over, fell on little Javiar and crushed his head. Little Javiar was my best little friend. I would always take the family cakes and treats and he would always draw me pictures. I will forever remember and Love this amazing family!

I got transferred to Pequete Cue where I was living with 3 other Elders. One is Chase Armstrong ( He was class Student Body President at Jordan High when I was there). Small world. It was quite awkward at first because I dated his little sister in high school so I was always was hearing about it. Ha ha For the past month I had a latino companion. He is just like Inje but from Bolivia. He was sweet! It was the best thing that ever happened to me because it forced me to learn Spanish. Elder Arday taught me so much and we got along great!

Right now my companion is from Alta High school. He has 1 exchange more than me. His name is Elder Crane. All day long, he talks to me about his trumpet. He has a scholarship to BYU to play his trumpet. He is very quiet and so I am working to open him up. He says that he has never had a companion like me. He said that no other missionary can get into houses like me. Some can't get into any and I can get into almost all. This week, we were able to get into an Elderly Lady's house. She said that she is not interested in any other religion then her own, but we got in to visit and now she is listening to our lessons. We currently have 6 people on date for baptism. Hopefully they will all happen. Quite often things just don't work out, but we keep working with people.

The biggest highlight of my mission so far is the conversion and baptism of Ariel. Ariel is a 17 year old boy. He had been taking the discussions from other Elders for about 7 months before I started teaching him. For whatever reason, he and I hit it off really well. I invited him to play soccer with us, come to Church and to get baptized. He now spends a lot of his time helping teach with us. He is Awesome! Another One of the highlights of my mission has been that I have learned how to teach! I not only teach our investigators but I also teach primary and after primary I teach gospel principles and every Wednesday I'm teaching an English class. I am learning and growing so much. It's really sweet !

One funny experience that I have had here. One day an older man drove up with his horse and buggy. We were in the middle of town talking with a bunch of other people. When he got out his buggy, the horse ran away. I ran about a 1/4 mile after the horse to catch it. I then brought it back to the man. The people were all surprised that a Tall White Boy knew how to handle a horse. I was the town hero.

Brothers and Sisters, it is different going to church here. The wards that I have been in, only have 50 or 60 active members. The members that come to church are very strong. We spend a lot of our time trying to get the less-active members to come back to church. It is hard as many of them have to walk for an hour or more to get to the church. To see the sacrifice that some members make has strengthened my testimony. These people have so little, but they love the Lord so much.

I do have a testimony of the Gospel and I see how it blesses the lives of those who live it. I Love Jesus Christ for all that he has done for me. I am grateful to all of you that have helped me in my life. I will continue to work hard to represent all of you in the 1st Ward.

Well ol 'Riverview 1st ward...I love you !
Stay Classy!
Love ,
Elder Trevor Osborne

Feb. 18th

This week was rockin' I got a new comp his name is Eder Crane he is super chill. He can't speak Spanish very good its hard. I teach about 75% of the time its kinda rough he is also socially awkward a little but I'm breakin him out of it..LOL :} He went to Alta High and got a full ride to BYU for playing the trumpet (wild right??)
He is kinda funny.. He said to me the first day that my Spanish is the worse of all of his companions and I said that's good cause all your comps have been older than you! and your older than me and the people understand me! and they have a hard time understanding you, ha ha after we got over that he has been pretty cool. He talks about his trumpet a lot though but that's alright!
My new comp said he hasn't had a comp like me before because most Americans can't get into houses but I can get into almost any idk why ha. I thought that was pretty cool and it was good for me to hear. I have been having a good time with him I guess I embarass him a lot cause he likes to make cakes haha so I told almost everyone of our investigators and now he has to make them all cakes this week ha( but I'm broke so I couldn't help out with funds this month hahaha).
I've be teaching most the time and my Spanish is a lot better than it has been after being with a latino! I'ts way cool! My new comp always lets me teach cause I teach the primary now and gospel principles class and English which is super stressful but it will help me with Spanish in the end.

Ariel is so cool he is going on visits with me all week. I like him to go so we have to speak Spanish because my comp doesn't like to speak Spanish when we are alone so it forces him to speak. On Sunday I was worried because I didn't see my convert Ariel I was sitting outside waiting for him thinking dang it he didn't come and then I walk in and he came out of a meeting with the bishop he came early to talk to him about going to the temple he is rockin'!
My old Companion got transferred and he opened an area with Elder Armstrong pretty crazy!:}

Elder Zilm is still hear. His companion is Elder Landers he is from Lone Peak and went to a Charter School his whole life. He looks like and Albino with black glasses. He is our district leader.

Mattea, that horse looks tiny ha.

That's exciting about Sarah is she speaking sign language or English?

I always hear from Elder Gordon and I'm going to lunch with him couple weeks he is awesome and I get to hear from Elder Blackmore sometimes to!

No I haven't seen the package yet dang it but this Thursday I go into Asuncion for a meeting so I will be able to see if its here yet!
Hey love you Dad! I will write next week.
Thanks for everything! Sorry I'm cutting this short I got to go to a lesson and it's raining here right now too!
Hey I love you Dad!
your my best friend !

Trev's very first baptism

I had a really great week! I baptized this kid named Ariel (Herena Ariel Benitez Guellen) He is way cool. He is 17 years old . The cool thing is, the other missionaries have been teaching him for about 7 months but he never wanted to be baptized. My comp kinda thought I was being dumb cause whenever I talk to anyone young I invite them to come play soccer with us on Wednesdays and he came! He started coming every Wednesday and than started coming to church. I found out that he loves rock music and I told him my uncle is OZZY (Ha ha) and he love that! It was love at first sight! I dunked him! I was super nervous cause I couldn't say his name right I was having the hardest time saying his first name! but I did it ha ha!

On Sunday I was talking with him (Ariel) about life after death just us talkin' cause he had some weird beliefs he thought after we die we all have plaques and the bishops of his old church all had sticks and your plauqes glow if you have sins and the bishops come and beat you with a stick until you don't have a glowing light anymore hahahha kinda weird but that is what he had been taught.
After we were talking for a while, he told me that his mom died a year ago! and I was like "no way dude" and I told him how we can go to the temple and do the temple work for your mom that's why we have temples. I told him that he could have the work done for her. He asked me if I will go with him and so I'm going to try to get permission from the Mission President.....cool right?!!!

I have 4 baptisms set up for the 9th :)!
I'm also working on getting more people to come on Wednesday to play soccer. The whole time I've been here people have been asking for us to teach an English class! and all the elders say no! but I've set one up I'm going to start teaching every Wednesday Night.
I will teach English 7 to 8 then we play soccer cause people will have to come to the church to go to the class ...so I'm gonna try it out this week :)



Hey Family, I love you


P.S Changes are today we don't know who is leaving but someone will.
Stay Classy
Trevor

Feb. 4th

Gosh that's so crazy Sky is home now. How is ol' Sky? I can't wait to go get chicken wings with him when I get home ! I'm at 7 and almost half months now kinda weird!

Changes are next week and my comp might go I hope not but he could! This week he got way mad at me but he is laughing about it now ha he was just embarrassed because a lady asked me if I would like a water I said with lemon and sugar! Ha and he was super embarrassed but It was delicious!

This week I have been praying a lot more than I have my whole mission I been fasting and praying.
I have a baptism on Saturday and the other elders have one too.
I hope my package get's here soon I really would like that camera this Saturday so I can take pic's at my baptism.

This week at church a lady came up to me and told me she's going to alter all my pants because I'm too skinny for my pants now!
I was super bummed! I wanted to gain weight here.

That's sweet mattea has been riding the horse.

It's rockin in pequete cue! this area is way pretty they say one of the prettiest here in paraguay!
and its sweet because there are tons of fruit trees here its crazy!

I am doing good! I'm happy now and more relaxed ha ha.
I have been teaching class on Sunday's now my Spanish still sucks but they can kinda understand me
its cool.
I can understand everything now I don't speak Spanish I speak JAPOWA!
It's mix of Spanish and Guarani! The people love it!

Gotta go!
Talk to you next week
Stay Classy!
Trevor