Raúl Aquino Gonzales

of Piquete Cué, Paraguay

By Marvin K. Gardner

“They kicked me out of school because I’m a Mormon,” says seven-year-old Raúl. That may seem like a big price for one so young to pay. But Raúl doesn’t think so—even though he was happy at the school, had lots of friends there, and loved his teacher.

Raúl Ever Aquino Gonzales was a first grader in a religious school in a small town in Paraguay—and was the only Latter-day Saint in the school. One day, he says, “people started criticizing the Church without knowing anything about it. They were saying things that aren’t so.” Raúl—a likable, outgoing boy—felt he couldn’t just sit there without saying anything. “I tried to defend the Church by telling them they were wrong,” he explains. “I was expelled because I wouldn’t conform.”

Now Raúl, still a first grader, is enrolled in a different school. “I’ve already told the people at the new school that I’m a Mormon,” he says. And with a grin, he adds: “But they didn’t kick me out!” His best friend in his new class is also a member of the Church.

Each day, all the boys must wear long-sleeved white shirts and ties to school. Today after school, as Raúl sits on his front porch talking about his experiences, he is still wearing his white shirt and tie. He looks and sounds very much like a missionary—even though he is still too young to have been baptized!

“Ever since I met the missionaries,” Raúl says, “I’ve wanted to be like them. I’ve never hidden the fact that I’m a Mormon.”

“He talks about the Church all the time, everywhere he goes,” says his mother, María. “When he visits the neighbors, he talks about the Church. And he is very open with people—he’s not afraid to talk to anybody.

“Once he saw a neighbor drinking alcohol,” she says, “and he politely told the man that he shouldn’t be drinking it.” (Raúl is trying to learn to be tactful and courteous while defending the principles of the gospel.)

In his new school, the students say a prayer each morning. “But they don’t pray the way we do,” Raúl says. “They say a memorized prayer, and sometimes they pray to the Virgin Mary, the mother of Jesus.

“Once I asked if I could offer the prayer. I folded my arms, shut my eyes, and bowed my head—and I prayed to Heavenly Father. I thanked him for the beautiful day and for my new school, where I can study peacefully. I asked him to bless my teacher and all of my classmates. I prayed especially that one boy who was sick would be able to return soon. Then I closed in the name of Jesus Christ.”

After school each day, Raúl changes out of his white shirt and tie and puts on other clothes. Some days, he helps his mother in her small store. Other days, he stays home to help care for his three-year-old brother, Luis Angel, and his one-year-old sister, Luciana Andrea.

He loves to climb the trees in his yard. He helps his brother and sister pick up nuts that have fallen to the ground; then he cracks the shells on a rock, and they all enjoy the treat. Later, they play with their pet rabbits and feed the pig out in the back yard.

Inside, Raúl helps tidy up the house. On the walls are pictures of his parents wearing white clothes, standing in front of the São Paulo Temple. The pictures were taken just a month and a half earlier, when his parents took the sixteen-hour bus ride to the temple to be sealed. Brother and Sister Aquino hope to be able to take Raúl, Luis Angel, and Luciana with them to be sealed as a family the next time they go to the temple.

Raúl and his family live in the small Paraguayan town of Piquete Cué. In the nearby town of Limpie, there is a beautiful LDS meetinghouse where a ward meets. But each Sunday, Raúl and his family pass the Limpie Ward’s meetinghouse on their two-hour bus ride to the town of Villa Hayes. There they attend a tiny branch that meets in a small rented house. Why don’t they go to the ward that is so much closer to their home?

“Because the branch in Villa Hayes needs us,” says Raúl’s father, Luciano, who works as an industrial engineer. “There are so few members in the branch that they really need us there.” Brother Aquino is first counselor in the branch presidency. Sister Aquino has been Relief Society president and now teaches a Primary class.

Raúl attends Primary and loves to learn more about the Book of Mormon. “I don’t know how to read it yet,” he says. “But my mamá and papá read it to me.”

Raúl often bears his testimony in sacrament meeting. He told the branch members recently that he’d had a headache—but when he prayed, it went away.

He also remembers the time his dad was seriously sick. Raúl’s mother thought he was going to die. She rode a bus to the missionaries’ house to ask them to give him a blessing. They weren’t home, so she left them a message. When they arrived several hours later, Raúl’s father was so sick he could hardly talk. The missionaries gave him a blessing—and within half an hour, he was up and feeling much better.

“I really want my eight birthday to come so I can be baptized,” Raúl says. “And I want to be a missionary.”

Raúl already is a missionary. “I know that the Book of Mormon and the Church of Jesus Christ are true,” he says. “I would tell children all over the world to try to love everyone—especially the children that I see in the streets who don’t have a home. They make me cry a lot. Be thankful to Heavenly Father and also to our parents. Love the Church of Jesus Christ, take the sacrament, and always pray.”

Then Raúl climbs up his favorite tree. From his leafy perch, he waves good-bye.

Photography by Marvin K. Gardner

Raúl and his younger brother, Luis Angel, love to hear Book of Mormon stories. They take turns helping their mother work in her small store and feeding their pig. With their baby sister, Luciana Andrea, they love to feel the soft fur of their pet rabbits.

Raúl’s family has lived in various countries. Brother Aquino was born in Argentina, Sister Aquino and Luciana Andrea were born in Paraguay, Raúl was born in Brazil, and Luis Angel was born in Bolivia.