June showers!!

The rainy season has been in full effect lately which is good for all the corn!  

I admire my companion a lot, this week we had a little scare as far as his health goes.  We were in a lesson when I noticed he was zoning out and started sweating.  He tried talking but it was hard for him, so he checeked his blood sugar and it had dropped to 31, which apparently is really really low.  I feel like the Lord blessed him because nothing bad happened and we were able to take care of things quickly. He has made a lot of sacrifices to be here in the mission which have all helped him be a hard worker and very apreciative of his mission, solid guy. 

This week we were able to find three new families, which was very needed since we were starting to run out of investigators!  One of the families is from the coast, which is a great miracle because the people from the coast are a lot nicer, less fanatical about religion, and more open.  Another couple is also new and they are from a place called San Marcos.  Their native language is Mam so we can tell its a little hard for them to understand but they seemed really open and ready to learn more about the restaration.

Our investigator Mynor is getting babtized on Saturday at 4, I had a picture of us together but I left my camera back home!  Anyways, he is a really great guy and we are hoping that, with a lot of effort, he will be able to serve a mission.  He is so humble, which makes teaching the gospel a great experience and a lot easier! We finished teaching all the commandments this week and Mynor accepted everything.  He applies what he learns and its been awesome seeing the change from not really wanting anything to preparing to serve a mission.

I read about Abinadi and King Noah this week.  Theres an interesting lesson that we can all learn from those chapters of Mosiah.  Theres a part where the Spirit had softened King Noahs heart and he knew that he should let Abinadi go.  What happened?  The friends of the king peer pressured King Noah and for that Abinadi was burned.  We shouldnt let the pressures of the world influence who we really are, sons and daughters of God.  Its been a blessing being here in Guatemala because everyone is very Cristian and, even though there are a lot of churches, most people stand up for what is morally right and things like gay marriage,  legalizing drugs etc. arent an issue here.  Let us all, like Thomas S. Monson said in conference, "chose the harder right" and the Lord will bless us.  Les amo a todos!  

Two miracle!!

This email might be a little short, today we had a zone activity.  We
went to a field, played in some big blow up balls, and had a little
barbeque after.  It was a lot of fun but we got done a little bit
late!

This week was awesome, as you can tell we had two really big
miracles... Gabby and her daughter Camila got babtized!  It has been a
long process but it was awesome being able to contact them, teach
them, and see them make a covenant with God.  Gabby is a single mom
who studied psicology and Camila is her nine year old daughter.
President Smith and his wife came to the service, which started a
little late but was really good.  Gabby has a really strong testimony,
its been such a great experience working with her and her daughter.
The door has been opened so that many will be able to recieve the
gospel because Gabby loves sharing the gospel.  Before the service
started she was explaining all of the pictures in the church to her
mom and sister, who arent yet members.  The Spirit led us to find this
little family and to testify the truth to their hearts.

We have another investigator here in Olinte who should be babtized in
two weeks named Mynor.  He is from a far away town called Coban and
his native language is Kekchi.  This week he progressed a lot more
than he had before and now really wants to be babtized.  I feel like
the Lord is really blessing us lately and helping us to find a lot of
really prepared people.  Although right now I feel like we are having
some good success, its important to realize something.  I know what it
feels like to go lots of months without babtizing anyone and I also
know how it feels to be babtizing almost every week.  Babtizing is
very important, but its not the key to happiness in mission work.
Living worthily, working hard, and doing the best we can to share the
Gospel is what helps us have a long lasting happiness.  We cant have a
happy life if we dont have the Spirit, and we cant have the Spirit if
we do things we shouldnt be doing.  Even though my time in the mission
is coming to an end, Im no where near perfect but I honestly do feel
really happy and that my conscience is clean.

I shared some scriptures that I really liked in this last district
meeting.  Some people got angry at what Christ taught, which we can
see in John 6:66, "From that time many of his disciples went back, and
walked no more with him."  Christ then asked his apostles, "...Will ye
also go away?
Verse 68 says, "Then Simon Peter answered him, Lord, to whom shall we
go? thou hast the words of eternal life."  Do we walk with Christ?  Do
we remember the sacrifice He made for us?  If we can all focus on His
Gospel I know that we can all have "eternal life" and life forever in
our families.  I love you all and hope you all have an excellent week!

Hi guys!!

Today was a lot of fun, for P day my district and I went to a little organic, family owned chocolate factory, it was awesome!  We had a chocolate waterfall, learned how to make chocolate, and tried a whole bunch of desserts.  Then we went to a Mexican restaurant, overall it was a ton of fun and we all had a good time.  Being at the chocolate place reminded me just how amazing Xela is.  In 22 months Ive never seen someone get robbed or anything like that, everyone is really nice, the weather is almost always perfect, and it feels a lot like Utah Valley because there are a ton of chapels and even a beautiful temple. Mission Quetzaltenango is the best, anyone called to this mission is certainly blessed.

This week we had a multi zone conference with president which was excellent.  We talked about our goals and making plans, two things that used to be really difficult for me but Ive been improving a ton. Ive come to realize that I would have been able to accomplish a lot more back home if I would have taken some time to organize myself a little and analize my goals, but at least now Im learning from past mistakes. President focused on the importance of being obedient and trusting in Heavenly Father because even if we had perfect goals and plans ultimately we arent in charge nor can we force people to join the church.  There are always trials in life but I feel a lot more excited now that I understand how to plan well, things tend to work out a lot better!

We had 7 investigators at church, 5 of which have babtism dates which was super awesome!  Our investigator Juri is doing well, she has been a little bit nervous for her babtism for the 28 of may.  I told her that before the mission I was reallly nervous too and honestly it wasnt too much fun saying goodbye and getting on a plane.  But my eyes have been opened, Ive seen a lot of miracles, and Ive changed so much so it has been the best experience of my life so far.  We are hoping she can follow through with her goal and be babtized.

We had "Family Week" here in Central America this week but sadly we didnt recieve too many references. Sometimes its hard for our members to share the gospel, though we did get one really solid reference who came to church so that was good.  There was a culture night in the stake center, it was really cool because half of the branch in Sija went and preformed a little traditional dance.  The longer Ive been in the mission the more love I feel for the amazingly humble and kind people that live here.

I know that the gospel of Christ is what will help us be happy.  We cant live how we want to and expect to be happy.  It requires a lot of humility to accept the gospel and do what God expects of us.  I love Him and know that we can return with Him and live as an eternal family.  I love alll of you and espero que tengan una buena semana! 

Elder Call 

Semana Santisima!

This week was awesome!  Angela, who was babtized last week, got confirmed on Sunday.  Our investigator Juana in Nahuala, remember the old lady we started teaching? got babtized and confirmed this weekend.  One top of all that, this week we found 23 new investigators, which is the most Ive had in one week in my whole mission.  Lots of families and people who seem really prepared, we are pretty excited and have a lot of high hopes for this week!

On Tuesday the Asistants came to my district meeting, which was good though a little bit stressful because there where 11 people there and I was a little bit undecided on what I needed to focus on.  We talked about Chapter 10 of Preach my Gospel and focused on asking questions.  I began loooking in the New Testament and thought it was so interesting that Christ often answered peoples questions with a very profound, divine question.  The scribes and farisees (I have no idea how to spell that in English haha) always were criticizing Christ, especially about things like the Sabbath Day and other parts of the Law of Moses.  He taught them the true doctrine and He did it in such an interesting, deep way.  My companion and I have been focusing on beign better teachers and teaching like Christ taught and loving as He did.

On of the new families we found, well, was just a big miracle.  There are a lot of little shops in peoples houses that we call "tiendas" and most of the time we dont contact in tiendas because they are usually busy and always work on Sundays.  My companion felt inspired to knock on the door of a tienda and we found a scruffy looking guy named "Sender" (yes, "Sender") stripping copper wire to sell the copper, which reminded me of what happened when we were building our house back home but this man was super nice and let us in.  We taught lesson 1 to him and his wife, which went very well and the Spirit was strong.  They are from the coast, dont go to a church, and at the end asked us about babtism so we are very excited for the appointment we have with them tonight.  

On Easter we went to Stake Presidents house.  He lives in our ward but obviously is always pretty busy.  Their house is super nice wow, I felt like I was back home in the States!  His family is very kind, we showed them pictures of our families and watched the video "Halleluyah" that the church made for Easter.  They told us that they are willing to help with whatever family we are teaching so we should be going to their house with Sender and his family.  To top it all off, they gave us some "Dots" candy so I would say that it was a good visit and that we built a lot of confidence with him and his family.

I dont have a lot more to say other than that I know that this is the true church. After studying the scriptures so much and praying and trying to keep myself so clean for so long, the Spirit confirms to me each day that these things are true.  I know that we can all conquer death and that the Gospel is a gospel of happiness.  How awesome is it knowing that we can be together forever!  Helping other families realize this has been the biggest blessing of my life.  I feel so greatful for the support that I recieve from the Spirit and also from the family.  I love you all, feliz General Conference and we will talk next week!  

SPANISH!!!

Hey well this week we had changes so it was a big week!

My new area is called Olintepeque and it is absolutely huge, we cover a ward and also a branch called San Carlos Sija.  The area has a lot of giant fields and gated communities but there are still a lot of houses and the members seem really cool.  Everyone speaks Spanish  and I think the coolest part is that from pretty much any part of my area you can see the temple of Xela!  My new companion is Elder English from Idaho, my first American companion in 20 months haha its been a lot of fun and we have been working like crazy this week.

We have a cool investigator named Nestor.  His wife is kind of a less active member but has been reactivating.  Wow, Nestor is so cool and is in 1 Nephi 16, just a really solid guy and he is going to be babtized on April 9th.  We have been going with him every other day and, though I havent been here very long, Im excited to see him grow and accept the Gospel.

Other than Nestor there werent really many investigators here in Olintepeque.  We decided to work really hard and to talk with literally everyone.  While knocking doors we found a guy named Cruz who let us in.  He explained that his mom is really sick and that his dad passed away about 8 years ago.  We taught him the first lesson and challenged him to read the Book of Mormon, but it didnt seem to us that he understood very much.  We returned with him on Saturday and we were shocked but how much he remembered and liked the first lesson.  We read the Book of Mormon with him, invited him to church, and he came!!  I feel so happy that we came in contact with Cruz and we will continue helping him progress and learn about the plan of Salvation.

This week was my birthday and the sister missionaries in our area did something really nice for  me and my comp.  My companion doesnt really know a lot of the members, so the sisters talked with a member family and planned a little surprise dinner.  We went to the members house at 8, read a scripture, then went to eat.  I sat down and one of the members put a plate with two stuffed wrapped burritos in front of me.  I thought to myself, "Can it be?" and it was: TACO BELL! After the delicious Taco Bell and some cake, the members gave me some candy and chips and stuff.  It was an amazing day and I really felt the love of Heavenly Father has for me.

I know that Jesus Christ gave His perfect life for us.  Lately Ive felt such a profound peace in my heart and just so... good.  I know that we can all feel the peace that Christ offers us, before the mission I felt it from time to time but a lot of times I felt nervous about tests or friends or stuff like that.  There are a lot of stresses as misisonaries and a lot of setbacks, but I notice that life is really just so good and that the hard times make the good times better.  I love all of you and know that the Church is true.  

Temple and blessings

This was a great week!  

We went contacting on Tuesday and found 3 new families that dont go to any church, which for us was a huge miracle.  One of those families has already come to church 3 times but never got babtized, so we will definitely work a lot with them.  We found these families because we felt inspired to go contact a specific place even though there arent that many houses.  Following the Spirit helped us find these families, which was a huge faith booster and now we have some investigators that are pretty positive.  

On Thursday we went to the temple which is always a great experience.  We went a little early and ate in the dining room as a zone.  I bought a Book of Mormon picture book which will come in handy for teaching people who cant read too well. Our temple trip went well, afterwards we went to a zone meeting with President.  We talked about repentance and the Gospel of Christ.  President said that here in Guatemala there are more than 47,000 Evangalist churches!  Before he told us he asked, "How many Evangelist churches do you think there are here in Guatemala?"  A sister missionary replied, "How many street corners are there?"  There are lots of challenges but the church continues to grow and we keep finding people to teach and its all because this isnt our work, its the work of the Lord!

I did divisions in an area called Chirijox with an Elder Fris from Argentina.  Their area is right on the side of the mountain so we did a lot of climbing!  We went to a part of their area called "Alaska" and, yes, its very cold.  We taught some people, went back to Chirijox, taught a family... pretty good divisions and I learned a lot.  When we got back to the house he taught me how to dance like Michael Jackson haha we had a good time and got a lot done with my "che".

DOMINGO HAS A BABTISM DATE FOR THIS SATURDAY!  For us this has been a huge miracle, our ward hasnt babtized an adult man, with the exception of an old guy that went inactive and according to our information for about 2 and a half years.  Our plan is to babtize Domingo and in a few weeks he should be able to babtized his son and in the future his wife will be converted.  We are really excited and we feel blessed to have found Domingo. We need everyone to pray to bless Domingo and so that he can overcome any problems or pastors or whatever comes his way. 

That was it for this week, I love you all!  Thanks for always writing me and supporting me.  Nos vemos!!

Good week!

Hey well this was a pretty good, though very busy week!  On Wednsday we had interviews in the chapel of San Cristobal.  President was in a very good mood and helped me with a lot of things.  We discussed Enocs call to serve, how he wasnt quite the best servant but the Lord knew what Enoc would become.  My district has been pretty disanimated lately so we talked about how to help them out.  A lot of the success in our lives comes from our attitude, which has been something that has been tough for me to understand but I feel like Im improving a little each day.  President congradulated us for what we are doing in Nahuala haha he told me that one of his friends was one of the first missionaries in Nahuala.  The town people got really angry and kicked the missionaries out of town.  Now there is a ward and a branch here, so things have grown considerably.  Its a huge blessing to be here, even if I dont speak their language I always feel their love.

On Thursday we had zone conference in Toto.  As a zone, we thought about the challenge of finding people to teach.  Faith is the key, but how can we have faith?  We talked about things that diminish our faith and things that kindle it.  After a lot of talking and scripture reading, we came to the conclusion that the central problem is pride.  Every missionary wrote some goals on a sticky note and together we are going to humble ourselves.  When we are humble we are teachable and have the spirit!!

After the meeting, the zone leaders, my comp, and I ate lunch with the stake president, President Tzic.  While we ate "churasco", potatoes, and some vegetable salad thing we talked about how to help the stake.  Xeroxon has had some big obstacles like not having a mission leader or counselers.  President promised us that by Sunday we would have a mission leader and now we do and hes super pilas!!!!  He served a mission in El Salvador so he knows all the lessons and can teach in Quiche so we are definitely excited for that.

I did divisions with Elder Rojas there in Toto and I have to say, I dont really like being in a big city.  Most of the areas that Ive had havent been very populated or big, but the zone leaders are in a super dense and wealthy area, which is both good and bad.  The good thing is that they have a lot of cool members and the not so good is that there are a lot of people that dont really want anything.  At about 8 we went with a member family and they said they would give me the "Bienvenida."  I thought, "oh what in the world is that," then one of the ladies snuck behind me and put something on my head, which I thought was an egg.  It was just an orange so I said, "I thought that was an egg!" Then, yep, she smashed an egg on my head haha I was not expecting that.  

Things are improving dramatically here in our area.  We have 11 babtism dates!! Now, Im not saying that each one of them will be babtized because there are some pretty big challenges but we are pretty excited.  We contacted a family in a far part of our area and they are super cool.  The dad is named Domingo Xum and he is super ready, its a golden family.  Domingo and his son came to church and said they would come play soccer tomorrow with our members.  Its amazing how, with a lot of diligence and goals and prayers God can lift us and help us out.  He lives!!  I love you all! with love, Elder Call (hey that rhymes hehe)