Email: Week#7 in Paraguay

Hi,

So this week was the end of my first transfer. I still stayed with my companion in the same area because he is my trainer for the first 12 weeks of the mission. So at minimum, I will stay in Piquete Cue.  So a pretty big surprise for me is that someone I live with, Elder Fernandez, has to head home to operate on his knee because it is really bad now. So he is gone, so Elder Crane, his companion, will also leave. So now it is just Elder Correa and I in the home and now we are taking over there area, now I have a huge area to work in! I am going to take in all his inactives and investigators.

So good news though! We are going to have three baptisms next Saturday (because this saturday is general conference). We are moving the two baptisms from earlier to after conference to make it more convenient for us and them. And so we have an investigator, Dionicio, who for a year did not want to get baptized, now told us he wants to do it soon! So we will be for sure teaching him this week and the one to come to prepare him. Also, we had two new investigators who came out to the church and were interested about it. So the next day, we went over to there home to teach them. They were both really receptive to take in the message and to take on commitments! We have good hopes for them to come.

Hmm... so it also rained a lot on Friday so we weren't able to do too much that day, but it was pouring and the thunder is suuuper loud. I woke up like 3-4 times just because of the noise.

But I saw Jack today and was able to talk to him! So he had to head down to the office to do something, then almost all the missionaries went to Pizza Hut because there is an all-you-can-eat for about $5! So it was super packed with missionaries! It was crazy. But it was neat to see him there! I was surprised to see him because he lives in an area about 7 hours away.

And I told my companion that you guys tried tortilla de papa and he was happy haha, it was funny. So I also can't find my camera cable, so I will look for it later and try to send my pictures out. But that is all, love all you guys!

Elder Crandall

tortilla de papa recipe

Elder Crandall keeps telling us to try some of the foods that he likes and my mom finally decided to make one of them. This is one of the foods he likes called, "tortilla de papa". 

We got the recipe online from: 

http://spanishfood.about.com/od/tapas/r/tortilla.htm

Prep Time: 10 minutes

Cook Time: 25 minutes

Total Time: 35 minutes

Yield: 6 Servings Main Dish

Ingredients:

• 6-7 medium potatoes, peeled
• 1 whole yellow onion
• 5-6 large eggs
• 2-3 cups of olive oil for pan frying
• Salt to taste

Preparation:

This tortilla espanola or tortilla de patata makes 8-10 servings as an appetizer, or 6 servings as a main course.
Note: If you've never prepared a Spanish omelet and prefer a step-by-step style recipe with photos:

• How to Make Tortilla Espanola - A Step-by-Step Recipe with Photos

Cut the peeled potatoes in half lengthwise. Then, with the flat side on the cutting surface, slice the potato in pieces approximately 1/8" thick. If you slice them a bit thick, don’t worry – it will simply take a bit longer for them to cook.
Peel and chop the onion into 1/4" pieces. Put potatoes and onions into a bowl and mix them together. Salt the mixture.
In a large, heavy, non-stick frying pan, heat the olive oil on medium high heat. Carefully place the potato and onion mixture into the frying pan, spreading them evenly over the surface. The oil should almost cover the potatoes. You may need to turn down the heat slightly, so the potatoes do not burn.
Leave in pan until the potatoes are cooked. If you can poke a piece of potato with a spatula and it easily breaks in two, your potatoes are done. Remove from the pan with a slotted spoon or spatula and allow oil to drain.
Crack the eggs into a large mixing bowl and beat by hand with a whisk or fork. Pour in the potato onion mixture. Mix together with a large spoon.
Pour 1-2 Tbsp of olive oil into a small, non-stick frying pan (aprox. 9-10”) and heat on medium heat. Be careful not to get the pan too hot because the oil will burn - or the tortilla will! When hot, stir the potato onion mixture once more and “pour” into the pan and spread out evenly. Allow the egg to cook around the edges. Then you can carefully lift up one side of the omelet to check if the egg has slightly “browned.” The inside of the mixture should not be completely cooked and the egg will still be runny.
When the mixture has browned on the bottom, you are ready to turn it over to cook the other side. Take the frying pan to a sink. Place a large dinner plate (12”) upside down over the frying pan. With one hand on the frying pan handle and the other on top of the plate to hold it steady, quickly turn the frying pan over and the omelet will “fall” onto the plate. Place the frying pan back on the range and put just enough oil to cover the bottom and sides of the pan. Let the pan warm for 30 seconds or so. Now slide the omelet into the frying pan. Use the spatula to shape the sides of the omelet. Let the omelet cook for 3-4 minutes. Turn the heat off and let the tortilla sit in the pan for 2 minutes.
Slide the omelet onto a plate to serve. If eating as a main course, cut the omelet into 6-8 pieces like a pie. Serve sliced French bread on the side.
If you are serving as an appetizer, slice a baguette into pieces about 1/2 inch think. Cut the tortilla into 1.5” squares and place a piece on top of each slice of bread.
It is simply delicious served with sofrito, fried tomato sauce that is made all over Spain. Tomatoes, onions, garlic, green peppers and olive oil sautéed in a frying pan.

Cooking Tips

• It is not necessary to slice the potatoes paper thin, and it is best not to use a food processor because most will slice the potatoes too thin, and they stick together.
• How do you know when oil is hot enough to fry the potatoes and onions? Drop a single piece of potato or a bit of bread into the oil. It should sizzle.
• Remember to watch the heat while frying. If the oil is too hot, the potatoes will brown rapidly on the outside, but will be raw on the inside.
• After frying potatoes, place the potato and onion mixture in a colander for a few minutes to allow more oil to drain. If you do this, place a plate underneath to catch the olive oil and you can use it again.
• If you aren't sure how to flip the omelet, watch How to Flip a Spanish Tortilla.

Variations

The following are a few of the most popular variations to the classic Tortilla Espanola.

• Green Pepper - Add 1 green or red bell pepper (chopped) to the potatoes and onions and fry.
• Chorizo - Slice a Spanish chorizo sausage and add to the potato and onion mixture after frying. Or, simply slice Spanish chorizo and combine with beaten eggs in the frying pan.
• Ham - Using a couple thick slices (1/4") ham, finely chop them. Then add the pieces to the potato and onion mixture after frying. Canadian bacon or smoked ham that you buy in a deli work well for this variation. Be careful to adjust the salt accordingly, since ham may be salty

Email: Week#6 in Paraguay

Hi

So about my microwave, one day we are just relaxing at home and then we see the microwave light up. So we ran and turned off the power and then unplugged it. It was really burnt and has black marks inside it. So it was weird because we were not using the microwave and it was empty too.

On Tuesday it starting pouring like crazy. It was insane. We weren't able to do anything. We went to lunch together as a district, because we had a district meeting earlier, and we had to wait inside because it was raining so bad. But we went to cross the road, and it was a river, like my shoes were so soaked (3 days to dry) and you could feel the current as you tried to cross.

We didn't end up going to the river this week as a ward and we just played soccer and hung out as usual. It was pretty fun though. But, I did go to the river with my companion and the two other people I live with before we had the ward night (like we do every wednesday night). It is really neat to see the river and go there. 

On Thursday, I went on splits with another missionary. It was really cool because we went to eat at a member's house. I think it was Hermana Cords, but anyway, she knew David Halliday! And she said that he emailed her and told her to try to find me. So that was pretty cool. Then, she accompanied us for the next 6 hours! It was really neat, so we taught a few inactives in the church with her the whole day. 

When I came back with my companion the next day, I found out that we got a baptismal date for Yesica! She is going to be baptized April 4, the day before Conference. Ah, so also we are going to have another baptism this Wednesday, which is for the son of Mari Paredes. That will be super awesome! So this Wednesday, is the end of my first cambio, each is 6 weeks. It is crazy I have already been here for 6 weeks! It is sure that I will stay in the same area with my companion because I am new and he is my trainer, but other missionaries could be moved.

So I also got a haircut from another missionary, and I really like it. He did a good job. And there is the picture with my machete haha.

Love,

Elder Crandall

Email: Week#5 in Paraguay

Hi!

This week has been pretty good, but it feels like I have not emailed or talked to you in a while! So we did not realize how late is was when we came, so we left after about a half hour from the computer place. Then, on Tuesday I was not able to come because we had a super long meeting with the President of the mission that I did not know was going to happen. 

So I am going to go to the mission office today after I email a bit. We cannot go that often because we have to take 2 different buses for an hour to get there!

So here is the update on everything. We had Mabel's baptism yesterday morning! It was super amazing, and she was sooo happy! She kept telling us how excited she was for her baptism, and you can tell she is going to be an amazing member. So because of her baptism we are getting her mom to come to church now because she was inactive for a few years. And his name is actually Dionicio, I don't know why I wrote Dionysus haha. We were not able to visit him this week, so I will have to update him later. However, we were able to teach the Miño family more, so their daughter's name is Yesica (Jessica). She knows a lot and has desires to be baptized, we are going to focus on her a lot by teaching her. My companion and I are still thinking of the baptismal date for her, we will talk to her tomorrow and see what the family thinks. So we also have another baptism coming up! We are going to baptize a young-in who is 9 again. He never got baptized because we just reactivated the family (Mari Paredes) to church again. So we are going to plan on having it next Wednesday. This wednesday we are going to the river as a ward! That sounds like it will be pretty fun, just to see it and then play soccer or something. Oh, so we never got to teaching Mari Paredes's sister yet, we really need to get on that!

The house with the monkeys, someone that lives with me, Elder Crane, lived here a year ago and he showed us it one day after lunch. The soccer museum was pretty cool, but I know nothing about soccer haha, so it didn't mean too much to me. But, it was cool to be with some of the other missionaries to hang out with them. I have not really seen too much on my Pdays. We usually hang out with the other missionaries.

So that is all! I love and miss you all!

Hasta luego,

Elder Crandall

Email: Week#4 in Paraguay

Hi! Everything is still going great here.

 I had stake conference yesterday also. We went to the session Saturday night as well. So I really enjoyed it and thankfully was able to figure out what everyone was talking about haha. I also have a new favorite scripture now! It is Mosiah 5:2, but really the whole chapter is great about how we can gain a testimony of something. 

And I actually do not know if I have gotten the package yet or not, I have to go to the Mission Office, which is like almost an hour bus ride to go to, so we don't go there that often, so most likely we will go next week to see if it is there.  

So here is the update on my mission! We are having Mabel's baptism this Sunday morning so her Dad can come because he is working and can not make it on Saturday. So that should be super awesome! We will be teaching her again this week to finish preparing her for her baptism, but she is super awesome and really ready!

 Also, we have been working with Dionysus. We taught him on my first day in the field and finally got to see him again on Friday because he works a lot. So we asked how he was doing reading the Book of Mormon, and he said that he really enjoyed it and did not have any questions, so that is super awesome! We really feel like he is doing well and progressing. So we really want to teach him more, because he seems closer to taking the step toward baptism. Now, he is a bit unsure. 

What more... oh so we got another reference and this should be an easy baptism. We visited the Miño family, and the father said his daughter is now living with him again (she was living with her mom before) and now they both want a baptism. Her mom did not want her to be, so she never did, but now she can because she lives with her dad now. So we are going to teach her sometime this week and try to commit her to a baptismal date soon and see how that goes.

So the family of 4 that we committed to baptism a while ago STILL has not gone to church! So there really isn't much we can do about that, just keep visiting them and trying to get them to come! But I hope they can realize the importance.

So a few weeks ago, we visited an inactive member, Mari Paredes, and we taught her and went over the first discussion with her again. So, we were able to get her to start coming to church again! So after a bit, she invited her sisters to come and visit the church, so my companion gave them a tour of the church. So we can start teaching her sister now! And her other sister lives further away, so other missionaries will teach her, but it is great!

So I guess that is really all that has happened lately, I am loving life! So some of these pictures I am sending are all older, I just stole my companion's camera and took the pictures he took of me that I never sent! Two are of when I first met my companion, and the one of the two of us is my first day in the field! And we found a house a while ago that has monkeys so we were able to feed them!

Love Elder Crandall

Email: Week#3 in Paraguay

Hello!

That is so awesome about the Gilbert Temple, I really wanted to go through in the open house to see it! I can not wait to go later.

We only went to the Paraguay temple that one time because we went with our ward to do baptisms for the dead. But usually you just go once every year, so I will not be going again for some time now. But the video is always the same, because it is translated, it is the same one that we had in the Mesa, Temple, but voiced over. It is actually really good and you don't really notice that it is.

So, I have been working hard lately, and we are close to another baptism! We met with Alexis Cano's girlfriend, Mabel. She had been going to church with him a few times and was interested in listening to the missionaries. Before we came in, we really did not know how it was going to turn out, or what would happen. So we asked her how she felt about going to church, and she said she felt different, and she told us a bit later that she already knew the church was true! We were really at odds what to do, never for the first time does someone know it is true before! So on the first lesson, she chose her baptismal date, March 15. She is super awesome and super ready, she just needs to be taught. So we taught her the first couple discussions so far and are continuing to work with her.

However, unfortunately, our other baptismal date family on March 9 will need to be pushed back. We still have not got them to come to church yet! They said they would be able to make it yesterday but did not come! So they are pretty ready, they just need to come to church! So we will continue to work with them later on.

What else... so we had some crazy rain last week! When it rains here in Paraguay, no one comes out to work, everyone stays inside. So it was odd to see the buses and streets all empty in the morning as we headed to our lunch appointment. And it is raining again today and possibly tomorrow! I thought it rained all the time in Paraguay, but it is actually pretty rare, but when it rains, it pours like crazy!

So last Saturday we did a service project in the morning, we were to help a less active member cut her yard. The thing is - that we used machetes! It was super cool. So it is totally normal to walk around and take a bus while carrying a machete, because it is what people use all the time. The only downside is that we all have sores on our hands from using them haha.

I also have tried a new food that I found interesting, Bori-bori, you can look it up and see if you would like it! And the torta is jut regular cake, but without frosting on top, it is pretty good how my comp makes it.

I also was able to talk to my friend Jack Welch on the phone a few days ago! My trainer is friends with his companion, so that was really neat I was able to speak with him for a bit!

I miss you guys and pray for you all the time! Love you!

Elder Crandall