Miracles and a new house!

Hey guys!  Well like I told you last week the fair came to town.  Things were absolutely nuts!  We went through a really rough patch because a lot of our appointments fell.  The Catholic church lit off millions of "bombas" all throughout the day, even at 4 00 in the morning haha.  The good thing is that the fair is done and things should be normal until Christmas.

To tell the truth I am absolutely exhausted right now.  The fair ended on Thanksgiving day, but I wasnt there because me and the zone leaders did a gigantic division.  One of the zone leaders came here to Nahuala to look for a new house with my companion.  I went with Elder Rojas from Panama to do a double division in San Cristobal.  Elder Caseres and I first went with a guy named Santos to do a babtism interview.  Haha I did an interview with him last week and he passed, but he didnt show up to his babtism!!  Apparently his mom got sick so he couldnt go.  Anyway the interview went well, Santos seems like a very nice, very humble guy.  He uses a wheelchair because he was living in the USA but got attacked by a gang and got deported.  Really sad storty but Im very greatful that he got babtized on Saturday!

After the interview with Santos I did an interview with a lady named Albertina.  She also has a sad story, here kidneys are failing and doesnt have a lot of time left to live.  Super humble, nice lady.  She passed the interview with flying colors and also got babtized on Saturday!

After the interviews my companion and I went to do some visits with the sister missionaries.  Their investigator wasnt home, but there was a family who wanted our help hauling fire wood from the mountain haha so that was pretty interesting.  The service ended and we met back up with Elder Rojas and the companion of Elder Caseres to interview a family.  Long story short is that the family isnt ready quite yet but their daughter Vilma got babtized and the elders will keep working with her family.

We got home, did our planning, then me and Elder Rojas had to talk about some companionship things with the other elders.  I think this gigantic division was productive and I sure did learn a ton.

On Sunday we had some miracles happen.  Saturday afternoon our appointments fell and we felt impressed to return to visit an old investigator.  We dropped him because we kind of thought he was a little crazy and didnt really want anything.  Anyway, we returned with him and invited him to church.  He said he would come, but we still had some doubts.  On Sunday at 745 we found him standing right in front of the chapel.  He only stayed for 40 minutes but for us this was a huge miracle!  A lot of people are super affraid of our church and dont even want to go inside.  Having him come was such a huge blessing and we look forward to visiting him this coming week.

The other miracle also happened in church.  After our investigator left a teenage girl walked in and sat in front of us.  All the members started looking at here and asking, "who is she?"  She wasnt wearing the typical corte dress of Nahuala so we were all a little confused.  After the meeting we talked with her and turns out she got babtized 6 months ago in Guatemala City but returned to live here with her family.  Her parents dont go to any church and her sister is Catholic but not really, we look forward to working with this family and with the Lords help they should be babtized.

Today we changed houses.  Its a ton of work!  Our new house is a LOT better, much bigger and I finally fit in the bathroom.  Things are looking up in Districto Xeroxon!

Things are good!

As you can probably tell by the title of this letter, things actually improved quite a bit for us this week!  We have been working like crazy lately, not necessarily with a ton of appointments but rather looking for positive people.  To do so, we took members with us 6 out of 7 days, and some days we went with 4 different members.  I feel like Im working more than I ever have in my whole mission and I can see a lot of great blessings in both my life and in our area.

This week we went to visit a guy named Jorge, who is extremly Evangelico but he always recieves us and is reading the Book of Mormon.  We walked into his little workshop, where he was fixing something while listening to some Pastor "preaching" on Youtube.  I could feel that there was a really bad spirit present, I dont like it when these "Pastors" take the Lords name in vain and, as we say in spanish, "estafan" a lot of people.  Anyway, I felt inspired to put on a video by Jeffery R. Holland where he bears his testimony about the Book of Mormon.  I kid you not, the Spirit of the entire room changed and we could all feel a much greater power in the little workshop.  Even with this Spirit, Jorge went on a rant for about 25 minutes about how, apparently, Jospeh Smith WAS a prophet and that the Book of Mormon IS true, but that he would never come to our church.  Moral of the story: Satan sure likes to make everyone super confused!

We went to a part of our area this week called "148", which is a little bit far but we found that the people speak spanish fairly well and also speak Quiche.  We found a lot of people that had never seen missionaries before, so I think it might actually be a good idea to put a pair of missionaries there.  

We set a babtism date with a guy named Eduardo this week.  He listened to missionaries in the past, but kept falling in his addiction to alcohol and was also living with a girl though they werent married.  He said he could come to church this next week, but we are a little bit confused because it appears that he may be living with his girlfriend again.  I have a good feeling that he can change and be a powerful influence here in Barrio Xeroxon.

This week we had another miracle.  Saturday was a really rough day, we went from appointment to appointment and nearly every single one fell through.  We were pretty disanimated, and both me and my companion were thinking about maybe just giving up.  We felt inspired to go visit a family of some members who had given us some references, and they decieded to go contact with us at 825, which is really late here.  Anyway, we invited both families to church and guess what?  One of them actually came!  Thats a really huge miracle for us because everyone here is super fanatic about church and religion.  We have a lesson planned with them on Tuesday, so thats something really exciting for me.  

Personally, I feel that things are going pretty well.  I kind of feel like Im in my prime as far as missionary work goes, I also feel a much stronger spirit with me at all times.  Work, work, work really is key to missionary work.  By working effeciently with our members like we have been doing here, I think my district would improve a ton and we would be doing what the Lord wants us to do.  All is well down here in Guate, Love you all!!!

Elder Call goes to an entirely different planet!

Haha I think the title of this letter explains a lot!  Monday night I said my final goodbyes to everyone in Brasilia and Tuesday morning we headed to changes.  My new area is called Xeroxon (try saying that one 3 times fast) in a little city called Nahuala.  

Have you ever seen grown men wearing skirts?  Or how about entire families bathing together in a little brick hut?  Well, come on down to Nahuala!  Everyone here speaks Quiche, in fact, there are very few people who speak spanish very well.  Sometimes missionaries call this "Mission Nahuala" because the culture, climate, everything is just so incredibly different.  Speaking of climate, it gets really cold here!  I dont think it will snow but apparently next month the lows will be freezing or below.  The mission work, due to all these factors, has been struggling for a long time.  We have to use members to try translating for us because if not no one understands.  Its an entirely different world here, lots of changes.  

My new companion is a really good guy from Yucatan, Mexico.  Waiting to see who your new companion is can be a little stressful, but Im glad that the Lord put me with my comanion Elder Kauil.  Hes a great worker, maybe a little bit disanimated due to the lack of success in this area but hes an awesome guy.  We have done a lot of careful planning and hope to elevate our ward here.  I dont think it should really be a ward because we dont have a bishop, or councilors, or a mission leader, etc.  There are about 100 people that come each week, but most are women and children.  One of the stake councilors is in charge of our ward right now, lets just say that there is a lot of disorganization.  

Thats about it for this week, these past few days everyone has been celebrating "Dia de los muertos" so its been really difficult having lessons.  Im still trying to absorb everything and I want to know our area a lot better.  I love you all!!!

Stake Conference!

Hey guys, this week went well!  So last Monday we went and contacted a guy named Melvyn.  At first he didnt seem too positive, but when we went back with him he had read and really liked the Book of Mormon.  Hes an 18 year old that doesnt go to any church, though his family is Evangelico.  My comp and I came to a conclusión this week: we need to start teaching more families!  Its good to teach individuals, but the Gospel is designed for eternal families.  We tried to be friends with Melvyns mom this week, she even gave us some lemonade ☺.  We plan on working with Melvyns family this week, it may be a little challenging but we can do it!

We were a little bit bummed because Sandra, who had a babtism date, wasnt babtized.  We decided to try teaching the Gospel to her dad, which was very interesting.  They live pretty far up in the mountain, but we hiked up to their house and knocked the door.  Her dad was fixing a watch or something but invited us in.  He had another friend there, who joined in on the lesson.  We taught the Resturation clearly and thouroughly, and in the end asked if there were any questions.  The "friend" stood up and started attacking everything we said, even though we showed him that everything we teach is Biblical.  He turned to Sandras dad, who was really convinced about what we had taught, and yelled, "Tell them to never teach Sandra again!"  Sandras dad just looked at the ground and grunted, then after a moment the friend stormed off.  This week we plan on working with the entire family and we are praying that all goes well.  

Our stake conference was excellent!  Elder Cesar Vasquez, an area seventy and mission president here in Quetzaltenango about 8 years ago, came and talked to us.  President Smith also came, so it was a really spiritual meeting.  I liked how Elder Vasquez talked about perfection, how we should always strive, "to be the best in whatever we do."  The Spirit was incredibly strong in the two sessions we atended.  The best thing is that Ever and Roxana, a family we have been teaching, came on Sunday, which is their 3rd time coming to church!  

At the end of the conference, my convert Carlos was given the Melquesidec priesthood, which was a huge step for him.  After the conference we passed by his house.  He was sitting outside with his kids at a little desk with a pen in his left hand and a paper filled with "C"s and "D"s.  "What are you doing?" we asked him.  "Im learning how to write.  Now that I have the priesthood, I need to learn more and be a better dad."  It was a really tender moment, I have been really impressed by his humility and the great change Ive seen.  

Thats about all that happened this week, I know the church is true!  I know the Spirit will guide us if we are worthy and seek its presence.  I love the scriptures and know we can learn so much if we will humble ourselves and study.  Nos vemos!

Hello!!

Hey guys, this week went well!  First off, we had a multizone conference with President Smith.  We talked about on how we can help the church here in Guatemala grow.  For the last few years, at least here in Huehue, there have been babtisms but the church attendences havent really been going up.  We talked about working with our members and inviting them to help in the work.  A big thing that maybe we havent been doing too well is family history!  After this meeting, we are definitely going to focus a lot more on helping our converts and members understand family history so they can go to the temple.

This week went well for us, we have been working a lot with a girl named Sandra.  She works in a store right in front of the church, but she wasnt progressing for a long time.  This week she finally talked to her dad, and he gave her permission to come to church!  He also wanted to talk with us, so we are hoping that we can also start teaching him as well.  

This week we were walking when we saw a couple trying to carry a bed.  We offered to help, they accepted, then we talked with them for a while.  They are brand new here and super positive!  They have been looking for spiritual guidance and dont go to any church.  When I was on divisions my comp talked with them and they said they would come to church.  We were really bummed when they didnt come to sacrament meeting.  During our class our bishop stuck his head in and said, "Elders, there is a family looking for you!"  They came!  They really enjoyed church, Im excited to start working with them.  Miricales still happen!

I have some news... Eduardo babtized his daughter this week!  They are still on track to being sealed in the temple, which is really special to me.  His conversion inspires me to keep searching for families and helping them understand the gospel.  I love the work, know its true, and love all of you!

We did it!

Hey guys, well, we did it!  Carlos finally got babtized on Saturday and it was such an awesome experience.  The Spirit was strong, this family has come so far in their progress so far and it will be exciting to see them keep progressing.  In his interview with President Smith, Carlos says his next goal is to get sealed in the temple with his family.  This whole experience has taught me that miracles still exist, that God still loves us.  Through helping this wonderful family many lives will be blessed through their service and testimonies. What a great way to finish off this change!

Speaking of changes... my companion has changes tomorrow!  It was super unexpected to me, but Heavenly Father sure has taught me a lesson.  It doesnt matter where I am, who Im with, or if Im a leader or not.  Im here to do whatever Heavenly Father wants me to do.  I will do my best to work hard and to learn as much as I can.  By the end of this next change I will have been a district leader for 6 months in the same area with 3 different companions, Im excited to make this next change the best one yet!

We have been teaching this 19 year old named Christian, he finally came to church yesterday!  The only challenge with him is that he is a little, well, lets just say he has some strange ideas.  We were talking about how God loves us and God wants us to have families.  We asked, "Christian, would you like to have a happy family?"  He responded, "Yeah, actually I want to have 2 families, 2 wives."  Haha we thought he was joking but it didnt really sound like it!  Christian needs a lot of help but hopefully he comes around, we will keep working with him!

I would just like to finish this letter with my testimony.  This is the true Gospel of Jesus Christ.  I know it, and knowing it has helped me change into a better person.  I know that Joseph Smith was called as a prophet, that he actually did restore this wonderful Gospel.  A year of prayer, fasting, experiences, and personal revelation have combined to give me a strong testimony.  Every day I feel the Holy Ghost working through me, which is something that sadly didnt happen before my mission.  I feel more confident, more love, and happier.  My mind and thoughts are cleaner. I dont have as much anxiety as I did before.  I can testify that the Spirit exsists and we can have its company if we try seperating ourselves a little bit from the world.  We need to avoid distractions, we need to repent and keep in mind why we are here on this planet.  I guess Im a living testament of somebody that has completely changed, so never give up on your goals or ambitions.  President Hinkley once said, "Your best is good enough," so lets do our best to strenghten our testimonies and to be happier. Lets trust in our Savior!  I know he will help us out.  In the name of Jesus Christ, Amen.

Elder Call.

The week!

Hey everyone!  To be honest, there were quite a few distractions this week.  Some of you probably know that there were elections this week, which is a really big deal here. A lot of people were working extra hard to make sure that their political party won or protesting, which meant not a lot of people in their houses!  On top of that, my companion got sick because he ate 4 fried tacos from my convert Israel haha his food is not very clean.  In spite of all the challenges, we focused on the good and did our best. 

Carlos was supposed to be babtized this week, but due to some protesting President Smith decided not to come to Huehue.  Its been kind of hard for both me and my companion to wait so long, but I guess this experience is teaching us ´pacience.  Manuel and his family continue to do well, they couldnt come to church because they had to go vote in a village far away but promised to come next Sunday.  We worked this week with a little boy named Alex, who is super cool but his whole family is Catholic.  We recieved permision from the grandpa, mom, grandma etc. but something strange happened when we passed by to teach him.  His aunt decided to join in on the lesson and I could tell that there was a bad spirit present.  We will have to keep working with Alex, but I have faith that he can be babtized.  We have some new people lined up to teach this coming week, so I hope some of them are positive!

I think some advice I would give for anyone called to the Quetzaltenango, Guatemala, mission would to bring waterproof everything!  Though it hasnt rained too much this season, there will be times when we are super far away in the mountain and it will start dumping rain haha. My companion always says that this is the Rambo mission because of all the mountains, crazy languages, rain, etc...  Speaking of my comp, things have been going well between us.  Hes a great guy, its kind of funny to me because even though he is from Peru he is pretty much a Gringo.  He has seen tons of movies, likes longboarding, used to be in the Peruvian military, loves pizza, we relate to each other well and it makes mission work a lot more fun.  This next week is the last one of the change, so we will see if I have changes or not.  Either way, Ive enjoyed training my companion and in a lot of ways he has trained me.  

I would like to end with a scriptue, which I wont quote but I would like for you guys to look it up.  I love 1 Nephi 17 15, I love Nephis rock solid example of righteousness.  Do we simply "try" to keep the commandments or do we "strive" to live them?  There are so many blessings that Heavnely Father wants to dump on us, but first we must do our part.  I love the Gosepel and being here in Guatemala.  Love you all!  Que Dios les bendiga!

Hello!!

Hey family and friends, this week was a little bit crazy, sad, and happy all at the same time!

On Tuesday I did divisions with Elder Shoemaker.  Even though it was a hot day one of their members left to do visits with us for 8 hours!  We contacted all of his friends and it was really cool to hear his story.  He served a mission in Guatemala about 15 years ago and now he is a body guard for the president of Guatemala.  It was a great division and I learned a lot!

Lately we have been teaching a man named Manuel and his family.  Its the very last house in our area, about a 35 minute walk (I say walk but its more like a strenuous hike haha) up into the mountains but Im certainly glad we found these guys.  They dont go to any church and, though they may not be the smartest people, they are very humble and like listening to us.  They have a babtism date for the 3 of October so please pray for them and we will do our best to help them.

Now what you all probably wanted to know about... the babtism of Carlos.  Everything was going fine, Carlos was super excited up until the day of his enterview with one of our zone leaders.  The interview lasted and hour and, though Carlos knows everything he needs to know, there was a sin that happened a long time ago.  Our mission president just wanted to make sure he has repented, so he scheduled an interview for this Friday.  The day after the interview we passed by to talk with Carlos and he told us, "Elders, Ive made my decision that I will not be babtized."  We were wrecked!  After working for so long and helping this family so much Carlos made up his mind.  We tried responding to his doubts but still, nothing.  Anyways, the next day was Sunday and Carlos didnt come to church.  We scheduled an appointment with his wife and, after saying a prayer, I asked, "Do you guys have any questions or doubts?"  I dont know why I felt like I needed to ask that question, but, after a few moments of silence Carlos opened up, "I just wanted to ask forgiveness for what I said yesterday.  I was confused and a little angry about my interview, so I decided not to go to church anymore.  Today in my work I felt so bad that I came home early and, while I was walking, the Holy Ghost revealed to me that I need to be babtized on Saturday.  What time is my interview at?"  How cool is that?  

I testify that the Spirit is real, that God loves us and watches out for us.  Regardless of what the world says, miracles still happen and the Spirit still exsists.  In my personal study today I read 1 Nephi 4;6 which talks about how when Nephi went to retrieve the plates of brass he didnt know how he was going to do it, he only trusted in the Spirit.  Lets trust in the Spirit and try our best to be worthy of it!

My week in 5 minutes!

Hey haha I literally have 5 minutes so Im writing as fast as I can!  

This week we went to the temple! The temple always puts things in perspective for me.  Our entire zone went together in a tiny microbus, which was really packed but we made it in one piece.  What a blessing it is to have a temple in our mission.  It always helps me understand the purpose of missionary work, the "why" behind everything we do.  We arent here to babtize but rather prepare families to enter the temple.  After the session we had a meeting with our mission president, which was excelent as always.  He talked about how God always keeps His coventants.  If we do everything He says and keep our covenants, our lives will be so much better.  

The other day we saw one of our investigators who came to church, an ex gang member named Fernando, in the street drunk!  Alcohol is a huge problem here in Guatemala because, well, its really cheap.  Anyways, we helped get him on his feet, walked him home, and we hope he will keep listening to us... we will see!

Carlos is getting babtized this week!  This will be the first complete family that Ive had the privilige of doing the finding, teaching, and babtizing, so I think its an amazing blessing.  The change Ive seen in this family has been dramatic.  They read each night, pray together, pay tithing, everything.  What a great blessing, its hard for me to explain how grateful I feel in email but its such an amazing feeling.

Apparently Russel M. Nelson was going to come to our mission this coming Tuesday, but his schedule got changed somehow.  On Saturday he spoke to all of Central America from Honduras.  Even though we didnt meet him in person, the spirit was really strong and we learned a lot.  He focused a lot of the family.  The plan of salvation is the plan of happiness.  There is no other plan of happiness, and whats the key to happiness?  The family!  Thats why the apostles, prophets, everyone defends the family because, to be honest, the family is being attacked like crazy.  President Nelson also gave us a long list of terms to study like coventants, Abrahamic Coventant, etc.  It was an awesome conference!

Well thats about all the time I have for today.  Today was cool because we went to the ruins of Zaculeau and finished off at McDonalds.  This was a great week, we are working hard, being more obedient than ever, and all is well!

My week!

This week was a good one!  We had a zone meeting on Wednesday, which was pretty awesome.  We talked about success in the mission, a subject that a lot of missionaries talk about.  One of the main ways we can know if we had success in an area, according to our mission president, is if the church attendence goes up.  Some elders may have a lot of babtisms, but how many people did they help convert?  Converts dont necessarily have to be people that we babtized: they can also be less active members.  It was a really good meeting and it put a lot of things in perspective.

This week we helped the Cox family move houses.  Haha moving is always a lot of work but it was a good service project.  And guess what?  Lorenza, the mom, went to the temple on Saturday!  It makes me so happy to have converts that go to the temple, thats where they need to be to truly become converted.  Her husband Carlos came to church on Sunday and is on fire.  He cant read or write, but I can feel the spirit in his voice during our lessons.  Hes awesome!

Lorenza went to the temple and, speaking of temples... we are going to the temple tomorrow as a zone!  I love the temple in Xela, its one of the most beautiful temples on the planet.  There is such a great feeling of peace in the temple.  As a missionary, we only go to the temple 2 times a year.  I wish more than anything that we could go at least once a month.  Its funny to me how back home the temple was only 3 minutes from my house but I didnt go as much as I should have.  My invitation to all of you guys is to go to the temple!  Its not far, it doesnt take too much time, and the eternal blessings make it totally worth the trip. 

On the 25th a "special visitor" is coming to our mission, rumor has it that either Russel M. Nelson or Quientin L. Cook is coming.  Our whole zone is really excited, Ill definitely let you guys know all about it! Love you!

The craziest week ever!

Well, I hope the title of this letter explains how my week was!  WE BABTIZED A FAMILY!!!  It was one of the most awesome experiences of my life.  The Cox Family is the humblest, nicest family I have ever met.  They were so prepared and ready for the Gospel.  They dont have a lot of material things, or even much education, but they are flat out awesome.  Now Im going to explain why things were so crazy!

Alright, so Saturday morning we went to the church (which is the stake center building) to fill up the font.  At 10 30 we turned the font on, then we had to run to meet the zone leaders to grab the babtism clothing.  As we were running back to turn off the babtism font we saw the wife of the second councilor walking away from the church. "Elders, the babtism font is pretty full you should go turn it off," she told us casually.  I thought it was a joke, but the moment we opened up the chapel door we could tell that the babtism font was "pretty full," because there was about half an inch of water on the floor! Nearly the entire church building was full of water.  Our church has tile floor thank goodness, but we still needed to clean everything up as soon as possible.  I called my district and we got things cleaned up in about an hour and I learned a lesson: dont flood the church!

In spite of the little flood, the babtism service went well.  I babtized Carlos and Valerio, my comp babtized Hermana Lorenza, and the elders quorum president, who is an 18 year old convert named "Tato," babtized the oldest son Vicente.  On Sunday we went with Vicente to visit his cousin, who now has a babtism date for the 29th of August.  The Lord is blessing us like crazy know.  Many times, as missionaries, we might get down on ourselves.  Months of rejection and trials can decieve us and make us feel like we arent doing a good job.  But, with the help of Heavenly Father as well as the members, we can overcome our obstacles and become powerful servants of God.

Everything in my district is going fairly well.  It still surprises me how some missionaries are kind of lazy, but Ive been trying to lead by example and do the best that I personally can.  Next week my companion finishes his first transfer cycle in the field, crazy!  He has learned a lot and is a great friend.

  Things are going well down here in Guatemala.  I know the Church is true.  Ive really grown to love the Book of Mormon and its been helping me become a better man.  I love Moroni 7 29, which I encourage you to read if you have a chance.  God is still a God of miracles.  He still loves us and wants the best for us.  Adiós mis queridos amigos y familiares!

Oh esta, todo bien!!

Hello family and friends! 

Everything just seems to be going our way right now.  Haha after many months of struggles and challenges the Lord seems to be blessing us like crazy.  My companion and I are getting along really well, my Spanish continues to improve each day, and we have been finding and teaching a lot of new people.

This Saturday we are hoping to babtize a lady named Lorenza and her children.  They are very receptive and love having us come over.  Their story of conversion is kind of a miracle because one day they just showed up to church and wanted to be babtized!  I especially admire Vicente, the 14 year old son of Lorenza.  For the past month he has come to every mutual and to every single church activity.  Lorenza has a little girl who has some mental problems, so she cant always come to the activities but the good thing is that her testimony is very strong.

This week we passed by with some members who are really poor.  Now, I have been in Guatemala for a year and have seen a lot of poverty but this visit we made really impacted me.  The little kids ran around without shoes and really worn clothing.  No clean water and literally no food in the whole house.  It really hit me just how much, just how many blessings we have back home.  We are truly blessed and we need to thank the Lord for our blessings.

The coming week should be really good!  Im excited to keep learning, growing, and to help others.  Missionary work is very difficult but the difficulty makes it more rewarding.  I love growing, sharing, and helping others come unto Christ.  Adios!

A journey to Guatemala City!

This week the secretaries called us.  Every new elder has to get their visa in Guatemala City, so we went on Tuesday.  It was a long trip!  It was kind of weird to see tall buildings and lots of people.  The people in the capital are different than they are here.  Here in my mission, everybody says, "Buenas tardes," to each other in the street.  We tried that in the capital, but nobody talked to us haha.  It was a fun little trip, but we were definitely happy to get back to our area. 

This week we had interviews with President Smith.  I always love talking to him, hes a very humble man and always helps me out.  He told me somthing I already knew but that really impacted me, "We learn by practice, we learn by practice..." As a trainer and a district leader, Ive been practicing a lot of new things and have learned a ton.  By learning new things and putting them into practice, we can change our lives.  We will become a lot more like our Heavenly Father.  

We continue teaching the Cox Family.  They are doing great!  They now have 4 attendences at church.  The dad still struggles to attend, but with a little time he will improve.  Its been such a blessing to teach this family and see them grow in the Gosepl.  Another investigator that is really cool is Lorenzo, a 15 year old dancer, singer,  He is sooo cool.  He is one of those rare investigators that just... get it.  He understands everything and is progressing like crazy.  I love the investigators that we have, they are amazing!

On Sunday we watched "Meet the Mormons" as a missionary activity.  Wow, after watching that movie it makes me so happy to be part of the church.  It makes me sad when people here reject our message or simply dont want to understand it.  Without the Church and the Gospel of Christ, where are we in our lives?  We cant be happy, we cant enjoy the many blessings that come from understanding Gods plan.  Our investigators loved the movie, as did the members who watched it.

Well, thats about all I have for this week.  I just would like to close with my testimony.  The Church is true, and I say that because I honestly know its true.  I know the Book of Mormon can help us live an amazing life, that it was inspired for our times and that it is true.  Christ really did come, suffer, and provide the way for us to return home after this life.  We must always progress in the Gospel, continue learning and putting the Gospel into practice in our lives.  Love you all, enjoy your American summer and enjoy life!

 

Fasting and Chocolate Cake

Hey family and friends well this week was really good.  We were teaching a family, the Cox family, but we never had the opportunity to talk to the husband.  This week the husband had some freaky health accident so he had to stop working and we stopped by to see how he was doing.  We taught a lesson about the Gospel of Jesus Christ and at the end of the lesson told us, "Im ready to stop working on Sundays and I want to go to church on Sunday with my family."  The Spirit was increadibly stong and he said he wants to be babtized with his family.  Every missionarys dream!  Here in our mission finding and teaching a family is considered a huge blessing, but babtizing a whole family is a huge miracle.  We are going to keep working with them and helping them accept and understand the Gospel.  Keep them in your prayers and we will keep helping them out.  This week we decided to go up into the mountains and found a couple new investigators, which was desperately needed.  We have been trying to be more efficent as we contact, which has helped us avoid wasting time.  Theres no time to waste, each day goes by so fast!  Speaking of time... tomorrow is my one year mark in the mission.  The first few months felt like an eternity, and now?  Half way done!  One year left to serve full time as a missionary,  I feel happy for all the experiences Ive had and Im ready to make a lot more. My comp and I did a service project this week; we cut a members lawn.  Now, that might not sound too difficult with a mower but the member only had two machetes.  Yep, we cut his huge lawn with machetes haha, lets just say that lawn mowers are a lot better!  That was a highlight of the week, with another one being that we had 8 investigators at church.  We are working hard and improving each day.  A goal I have is that I, my companion, and my district improve each and every day.  Ive been setting little personal goals each day, from memorizing things to learning more spanish and even improving my handwriting.  Well, you may be wondering about the title of this letter.  The other day was fast sunday. At about 8:00 P.M. my companion and I were still fasting, and, as you can imagine, very hungry.  We passed by a members house and they invited us into the kitchen.  What was sitting on the counter?  A giant, delicious-looking chocolate cake from a really expensive resturant here called Monte Alto.  They offered us two gigantic slices, which we gladly accepted but we asked if we could take it home with us.  They agreed and we headed off to the last appointment happily carrying along our chocolately treasure.  We hid the cake outside of the house and began teaching Abel, a less-active returned-missionary and his friend, Alfonso.  We watched the John Tanner story about sacrifices and afterward asked the men we were teaching to tell us how they felt.  They explained to us how they too had lots of challenges.  Turns out that on Saturday they didnt even eat the whole day because they had no money and no food.  I then thought about my own hunger, which was a hunger I could rapidly and easily quench.  I then thought about that yummy chocolate cake sitting outside.  My comp and I were very excited to eat the cake, but as we were leaving the home I grabbed our cake and handed it to Abel.  I said, "Here, we brought this for you guys to eat."  They looked a little shocked but very, very grateful.  We left that appointment still physically hungry but with the spiritually filling of Heavenly Fathers love.  I know that by small things great things are come to pass.  My invitation is that we look for those who are hungry or lost, look for those who are sad or forgotten and that we may lift them up.  Thats what Christ did and, though I certainly need to improve, thats what I want to do from now on.  I love you guys and hope you have a great week helping others become what God whats: happy.

Crazy week!

What a week!  So much happened this week.  I got called to be a trainer, so tomorrow we are going to Xela and Im getting a new companion straight from the mtc.  Im very excited to train.  We went to a new trainers meeting, we got there 20 minutes late which wasnt good but the mesages were amazing.  Our president pretty much said, "Your missions determine your lives.  Your trainer determines your mission,"  We also talked about obedience and following the Spirit at all times.  Theres only one gringo coming in this group so I will likely get a latino comp.  Big changes!

Im also really excited because our investigator Israel got babtized.  He is the definition of a golden investigator.  Whatever we taught him, he applied it and changed his habits.  The babtizm was awesome.  His friend Emilio, who is a temple worker, performed the babtism and it was sooo cool.  I also found out that my investigator Lupe from San Mateo got babtized.  Cool stuff!

In this coming change Im looking to change a lot of things.  I want to burn our area and find EVERYONE that can possibly be converted to the Church.  With the energy of my new companion and the Lords help, we should be able to do it.  I love the work and especially feeling the Spirit.  I dont have a lot of time, but know that this is Gods work and His church.  He only wants us to be happy and return to live with him.  We can do it!  We just need to work, change, and come closer to Christ.  Bye!

I love you!!

Israel's baptism!

Just chillin with my zone at some ruins!

Finally found my old car!

Summertime!

Hey guys!  Today is the first day of June, which means the year is already half over.  Ive been noticing that my letters home havent included much detail, which is something Im going to change!

Well this was a good week.  Our investigator Israel is doing great.  Hes about 55 years old and has a taco stand.  He always likes us over and we are almost done teaching him the lessons.  He doesnt always understand everything, but he tells us that the Book of Mormon gives him a great peace.  He is awesome!  His friend Emilio always helps us out, which is awesome becuase Emilio is a temple worker and former stake president.  We have the babtism date for the 20th of June, so Im excited.

We have a lady named Dilma we are teaching.  Shes 24 and likes the church, but her boyfriend is kind of a jerk and doesnt like the church.  We have a lesson with her tonight... I hope it goes well.  We have also been finding random kids that havent been babtized, drunk people that want our help, and a lot of inactives that want our help.  Overall, things are improving each day.  When I got to the area, nothing was happening!  Now we have quite a few prospects and Im loving it.  

This week was stake conference.  President Smith came, as well as the temple president.  They talked a lot about being worthy of others trust.  If people dont trust us, they will never be babtized.  On the other hand, if God doesnt trust us then he cant give us blessings.  We really have to sacrifice and give our all to God. We cant fall down to the tempations of Satan!  I love a scripture in Nehemiah 6:3.  He says, "I am doing a great work, so that I cannot come down: why should the work cease, whilst I leave it, and come down to you?"  We have to rise up, help others come to Christ, and become better people each day.

Everything is going well in my district.  We have 10 babtism dates which is really good considering a lot of zones only babtize like 4 or 5 each month.  This next week we are going to really hammer down and get work done.  I dont want any regrets and I know no one else does.  I love the work and know its true.  I love you guys so much!  I love the gospel and how much sense it makes.  God loves us so much that He gave His son.  If we live the Gospel we will understand it and never fall away.  I love you guys!

Elder Call goes to HueHue!

Hey guys, well this week I got changes and I am now in Huehuetenango!  Our zone, Calvario, is awesome.  My area is called Brasilia.  Its a ward and our church building is the stake center.  I can see that there is a ton of potential here but... lets just say my companion and his old companion werent really working, like, at all.  My new companion is 18 years old, has 3 months, is from Nicaragua, and has a cool accent.  He was pretty disobedient with his trainer and they literally did nothing here.  Hes a cool guy though, I think Im helping him out a lot. There are about twice as many people than in San Mateo, so I think there will be a lot of people to teach.

Well this week I did a division with Elder Mcvey, who is a good friend of mine.  We worked suepr hard and had a great day.  I think being a district leader will help me grow as a person and learn a ton.  

This week we mainly tried looking for members to talk to, as well as contacting a ton of people.  There are some really cool people in my area.  The good thing is that here the people are a lot nicer and less fanatic about religion.  We talked to one member who got babtized when he was 16, back when Huehue only had 30 members.  He was later called as a bishop and even stake president.  One day he was checking recomends at the temple when someone walked in.  The man looked at the member funny, and asked his name.  He told his name, and the strange man who walked in looked in a journal and guess what?  The man who walked in was the elder who babtized this member, only 45 years older.  This story really motivated me to find the chosen people and help them accept the gospel.  We are pretty much opening the area, so it will be a little rough at first.  I know, however, that God will help us and that we will be successful.  Im excited to work, grow, and become a better missionary.  Peace!

Part of my zone!

The new baby

Saying good bye to Edwardo and his family-pretty much the best members ever

The winds of change!

Hey guys, there are a lot of changes coming my way!  The other day President called and told me that Im getting transferred.  He also told me Im going to be a district leader, so tomorrow I get a new companion, new area, and a lot of new responsabilities!

I was thinking about my time here in San Mateo.  6 months haha, thats a long time!  When I first got here there werent any investigators, the church asistance was around 80, and the branch just wasnt doing too well.  6 months later?  Asitance averages 125, we have two babtism dates, and we are doing a lot of activities to motivate the branch.  I have seen many miracles here and have really learned a lot.  Missionary work is,more than anything, just love.  If we express our love for everyone, lives change, miracles happen, and happiness spreads.  I think love is so important because if we show our love for others God will show his love for us.  

Its kind of a bitter sweet feeling leaving an area.  I feel happy because I get to meet new people, but at the same time its a little bit sad.  Theres a widow in our ward that we went to visit yesterday to say goodbye.  She just started crying and crying.  Ive been a part of many lives here, Ive seen so many changes and people progressing.  

Im going to miss a lot of people here in San Mateo, but Im ready to move on and help more people.  There are so many humble, nice people here in Guatemala that need a lot of help.  I know that Christ loves us and He will help us overcome our challenges.  The church is true!  My testimony of the Gospel, after talking to Jehovahs Witnesses, Catholics, Adventists, Evangelists, Protestants, and even Atheists, has never been stronger.  I know that we possess the fulness of the Gospel, what a great blessing!  This coming week a lot will change, but my testimony of the truth will never change.  I love you guys!  Suerte y sigan adelante en la obra de Dios

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It's raining, it's pouring!

Rain!  The rainy season has officially started here in Guatemala.  This week it rained a ton!  Its really nice though, it was getting really hot for these past few weeks.  

This week went well, we found a new family to teach.  The mom is catholic, the dad doesnt go to any church.  We had a great lesson with them and we have another one with them today.  We had 4 investigators in church which was awesome!  Rosa and her daughter, along with a lady named Betza and her son. We put a date with our investigator Lupe for the 13th of June.  I would say things are going fairly well here!

This week we had interviews with our mission president.  I really like something he said, "We can fill our day with activities, or we can fill our day with results."  I think a lot of times as missionaries, students, etc. sometimes we feel like we are doing a lot because we are busy.  The truth is though, if what we are doing doesnt help us accomplish our goals, its a waste of time.  We have to be obedient and work hard if we want to have miracles.  The mission is a time for us to change and become our best selves.

I love fasting, I think its such a wonderful blessing.  Its super hard here in the mission because we still have to work, but I sure can feel the blessings. I love being a missionary because we get to help so many people.  Its a great blessing and I know it will bless my family and friends.  I love you guys!

Howdy!

Hey guys, this week was hot!  Our house is pretty small so it really heats up.  One thing we don't have here in Guatemala is air conditioning.  This week was pretty crazy because we were supposed to have a babtism!  We had put a babtism date for our investigator Lupe for this Saturday.  We were pretty excited and so was she.  The only thing is... she had her baby on Friday!  Haha not the best timing.  The good thing is that her baby is healthy and everything.  Her dad came to church with us and he really liked it.  This family is super smart and I love being able to teach them.

Well this week we had a missionary activity.  We watched "17 miracles" and gave everyone popcorn.  It was a success, we had like 40 people come.  During the movie, I put our cellphone in my pocket.  I had a thing of Super Glue in my pocket, and, somehow, it exploded and covered our phone!  That was kind of a bummer, but we went and changed it out today.  

This Sunday Edwardo blessed the sacrament and he did great.  His family is doing super great and they are pretty much the nicest, most devoted members in the whole branch.  One year and they are going to the temple! 

We continue looking for more investigators, but its been really tough.  Our area is pretty burned over, which frustrates me.  We are doing our best though.  I love being a missionary!  Its so great.  Ive been kind of tired lately, haha really tired.  Serving a mission takes a lot of energy, effort, attention, etc.  But it changes us and makes us better.  God lives!  I know there are prophets that recieve revelation.  I know the church is true, this is Gods work, and that we can ALL live again.  

Edwardo entered the water!!

Hey guys, well this week was awesome because we had a babtism!  After 4 months of teaching, reactivating, an extortion attempt, and lots of prayers, we babtized our investigator Eduardo.  It was pretty much the best day of my life.  Him and his family have changed so much.  They are so great.  We held the babtism on Saturday at 5.  President Smith came and gave a talk about the Holy Ghost.  He said something that impacted me: "The Holy Ghost is the best gift that God has given us."  He spoke for like 10 minutes and the spirit was so strong.  Then Eduardos daughter bore her testimony and we performed the babtism.  It was so amazing, the spirit was so strong.  This family went from inactive to a totally active, tithe paying, commandment keeping family.  Their next goal is the temple and we will help them get there!

Now we are looking for new people to babtize... we did have Lupe and her dad come to church.  They are the smartest guatemalans that I have ever met.  They are pretty poor, but have read like 100 pages of the Book of Mormon and understand everything we teach.  The dad even says he likes the Book of Mormon better than the bible because its more clear.  The only problem is that Lupe is pregnant haha and is about to have her baby like, this week.  The dad though could possibly get babtized on the 9th of May, which would be sweet.

Other than that Ive been trying to help my companion a lot.  He cant speak Spanish too well and Ive been helping him teach better.  Its been really humbling, when we pray aloud he always says things like, "Help me be able to know how to use the computer and speak spanish better.  Thanks for letting me become a member of the church..."  Hes a good guy, Ive learned a lot.

Well thats about it!  I love you guys and I love America haha.  The church is true, thats something Ive learned each and every day.  The principles of the Gospel help us be happy.  If we follow them, we are happy.  If not, we are sad.  Its that simple!  Peace!

Edwardo, my companion, and President and Sister Smith

My Zone! 

San Mateo 

Pepto Bismal!

Hey guys this week was pretty cool!  Im going to change up how I write my emails, hopefully they will be more interesting and understandable haha.  Here are my highlights of the week

Highlight 1: Edwardo is getting babtized!

After 3 months of teaching our investigator Edwardo is finally getting babtized.  They are really so great, just a great family.  He wants to go to the temple with his family and be sealed forever, which is just about the best thing ever.  Ive loved teaching him and his family, the babtizm should be awesome, Ill let you all know!

Highlight 2:  I got sick! 

Yes, this week I got a little sick.  It wasnt anything too bad, but I had a fever and stuff.  Being sick in the mission is not fun, but luckily it went away after 2 days.  Now I feel good and healthy, Ive started working out a lot more in the mornings.  Hopefully I get some huge muscles!

Highlight 3:  Branch conference

Next week we have branch conference here in San Mateo.  We helped invite all the less active members and my comp and I met a family that we didnt even know.  This week we are going to go visit them and hopefully help them come back to to herd. 

I love all of you guys!  Its hard to express just home much I miss back home, but Ive come to love Guatemala.  It certainly is different, with tons of corn, mayan dialects, and my favorite Guatemalan song (maybe the only one haha) the "Cerrucho".  See you guys!  Anchor yourselves in the Gospel, never let go.  If you want to be happy, be obedient.  See you all later!

8 Meses!

8 months down!  Its crazy just how fast the mission goes by, I still have a lot to learn, but I have learned a ton.  This week was pretty good.  Its super hard finding investigators in our area, but last monday something cool happened.  We felt impressed to knock a door that we had knocked about 5 times.  This time a bulky guy shook our hands and told us that he was babtized.  He served with the stake, went to the temple, everything.  His wife too, the whole family was super active but for some reason they fell away.  They are super nice and I hope we can help them back to the chuch.

Edwardo is on fire right now, him and his whole family is doing great.  They are doing family home evening and scripture study.  We taught him about tithing and accpeted it without any problems.  I feel the spirit really strongly with him and his family, they are just great.  Plus, he sells chocholate and after the lesson yesterday he gave me a Snickers so thats always a bonus

We had stake conference this weekend.  Edwardo and his family came, so did Rosa.  Rosa is doing well, but she has to get divorced and itll cost like 500 bucks.... which is about as much as most people make in 2 months.  Haha why do divorces cost so much!  Its kind of frustrating but we will just have to see how things turn out.

The temple here is sweet, Ive never seen a prettier temple on the inside holy cow.  In the creation room is a mural of the Guatemalan mountains and Lake Aticlan, which is where they think the waters of mormon are.  I havent felt such a peace for a long time.  I had a really spiritual experience in the celestial room.  I was bent over praying when I felt like someone was behind me with their arms around my shoulders.  Ive never felt something like that, but I sure could feel Gods love.   I think we should all go to the temple as much as we possibly can, and all you who live in Pleasant Grove dont have any excuses!  We live so close to the temple, but I know the before my misison sometimes I wouldnt make the time to go.  The temple is literally Gods house, go as much as you can!  Satan wants to keep us "busy" so we cant recieve blessings.  The blessings are free, so make time to recieve them.  

Well my comp goes home this week, which will be kind of sad but a nice change at the same time.  Im kind of hoping I dont train because then I would be here almost 8 months haha thats a long time to be in one area.  I just want to see Edwardo get baptized, hes such a good guy.  Our area is freaking hard but if nothing else at least he will get baptized.  

Thats about all I have this week, I love you all.  Thanks for the support and prayers, missions are awesome, the church is true and I love being here.  Pongan su fe en Dios y el les ayudaran!

Our "condo" complex where we live

Me and my comp and two drunk guys who love us

At the temple!

4 meses in San Mateo!

Well this week was a great week! My birthday was this week and is was different haha but its all good.  This week we had a zone conference with our mission president.  We talked all about Joseph Smith and the Resturation.  It was super awesome.  I love how the gospel just makes sense!  We also watched part of "Meet the Mormons" which was super cool.  There are so many amazing members in our church and so many cool people.  I started having flashbacks because at one part theres a kid preparing for a mission, going to Mr. Mac, getting dropped off at the airport.  In reality the mission goes by really fast so we just have to do all we can!

We talked with Edwardo this week and he wants to get babtized in April!  I was really really excited for him and his family.  I know that he will be really powerful in the church and do a lot of great things.  His whole family is super happy and they are now praying together and reading every night.  Yeehaw!

This week the Jehovahs Witnesses have been going crazy here!  There have been like 10 of them knocking on doors, they even came to our house haha.  They knocked on our door and when we came outside kind of looked around and got scared.  Its better to just let them do their thing and not try to fight with them.  

We also have been reactivating this family of 3.  The mom is signing up for byu idaho online and is super happy.  Ive had a lot of other good experiences this week and have been feeling the spirit really powerfully each and every day.  My companion goes home in 2 weeks and always says hes tired haha, but we are still doing quite a bit.  I love you guys!  The church is true! 

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Marzo!

Hey everyone, this was an interesting week!  We moved houses, which was a ton of work.  We had to take everything out by ourselves, clean the whole appartment, and unpack everything in our new house.  Our new house is a little condo, its actually pretty nice.  Our other house didnt have any windows haha so things now are a lot better!

This week I had divisions with the zone leaders in San Juan.  In San Juan pretty much everyone speaks Mam, which is one of the Mayan dialects.  Its crazy!  We taught a ton of lessons and we basically put 3 babtizm dates which was sweet.  Its always nice to learn from other elders and what they are doing in their areas.

Well the other day we were teaching a less active named Angel when his brother walked in.  He introduced himself as a Jehovahs Witness and I was like, "Ahh great..." He then started talking a bunch of nonsense about men not being able to see God... then I shared with him a few sciptures about men seeing God haha he got super mad!  Its best to never fight with anyone, all we can do is bear our testimonies and invite others to hear our message. 

Sunday we had an awesome lesson with Pamela and Edwardo.  I kind of thought they would never accept us again because they hadnt come to church for like 3 sundays and "didnt have time" for us during the week.  To my surprise, they walked in to the chapel just after the sacrament and were super happy.  We taught them after church and, wow, they have really progressed!  They were listening to MoTab and watching "The District" when we came over.  We challenged Edwardo and it was pretty much a yes.... but he says he wants to fast and pray.  We are going over Tuesday to see what his response is, so please pray for him!  I know God lives and that this is his church.  Mission work is super hard, but awesome.  I love the cold nights, endless tortillas, and crazy Guatemalan buses.  But most of all I love the people and the chance to serve.  Adios!