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.