My Testimony Has Been Growing Every Day

Going Christmas Caroling

What a crazy week! It was awesome to talk to you guys this week. It`s crazy that the next Christmas I`ll be with you guys. This week really was one of the most stressful weeks on my mission. But I'm not complaining. I have been learning SO much and really my testimony has been growing every day.

I think some of the stress I've had this week is due to the people who have all been on vacation. Everyone likes to leave during Christmas and no one wants anything. It`s interesting because in the missionary manual it says that these days are the best opportunities to find and teach. We did actually find a few new people this week which is awesome. One of them was able to come to church. He has actually listened to missionaries a few times and his family are all members but he has never wanted to get baptized. This time my companion taught him in divisions and he said he knows he needs to be baptized and he isn't really sure why he hasn't yet. He just wants to be able to have an answer that he can he sure of. So yeah he`s looking really positive and I`ll let you know how it goes with him.

Maybe you guys remember Rafiel Aguirre who was going to get baptized this week. Well long story short he wasn't able to because he had to go to the hospital for a little operation. He should be OK and everything but it delayed his baptism a bit so we'll keep working with him. This ward is going to have a lot of success I think coming up soon so that`s pretty exciting.

So yeah I hope that you guys had a good Christmas. It sounds like you did. And Mom don't worry about it, whatever food you guys weren't able to eat you can just send it down in a box for me. I wouldn't be too disappointed trust me. Curtis have fun with your helicopter which is WAY better then mine was :p Sounds like you guys were able to get the whole family together which is cool.

Well we'll keep working over here. We should have a good week coming up. We actually don`t have P Day today cause on Thursday we're going to the zoo. I hope you guys have a good week and next week I`ll let you know if I have changes or not.

Adios Familia.  

Christmas Letter

Can you believe that this week is Christmas? Well if not go throw a bit of water on your face and look at a calendar! Wednesday here we come.

I remember thinking a year ago today..."hmmm where will I be in one year for my next Christmas". Now thinking about that is a bit weird because I know exactly where I will be. I hope everything is good in Oregon. That`s pretty cool that the whole family is together. Man that`s weird. I remember when Sean was on his mission and wasn't with us. But now all you guys are together and I'm the one who's far away. Weird how that happens right? 

So this week was another one of those really tough one. It`s weird cause during this time when the people should be thinking more about Christ and everything no one wants to hear anything about the Church. It`s kinda sad because we had SO many appointments fall this week. We still were able to teach a bit but not as much as I would like. Also we still are having some more success working with SOME members. Some just don't want anything to do with us but others really are doing a lot. I was just trying to think of a good experience to share with you guys this week but nothing came to mind right away. But hey we had a ward activity this week which was cool. We had to do a talent in front of everyone which was actually pretty funny. I was a bit disappointed though because no one could get a trumpet for me. I really actually miss playing a little bit but oh well. 

So let`s see. This week I'm just going to call you guys exactly like the other times. I`m thinking about calling around 5 or something but I`ll let you guys know tomorrow hahaha. That`s weird that we're going to be talking. I hope I remember English....But I definitely don't have an accent. So Curtis has 2 tablets then? Man it`s cause he goes to the rich school haha. Well enjoy those Curtis and don't be expecting one from Santa. I hope you guys all have an awesome Christmas and that`s all my time. Talk to you guys Wednesday!

Adios 

Six Baptismal Dates

What a week this one.

Definitely a good week. To start things off strong I got the package!! Haven`t opened it yet but I will as soon as we get home. But don`t worry I think I might save the presents until Christmas. Also I got a package from Aunt Angie and Uncle Byron! So Thanks a TON to everyone and hope the whole family has an awesome Christmas. 

As the area goes we had a very good week. We were able to put 5 baptismal dates! Most of them look very positive and so we should have a good end of the year. Rafiel was able to go to church yesterday and has finally decided 100% that he wants to be baptized. The same day he`s going to do it we have to have a wedding and two more baptisms. This area has just randomly started to be very successful. To bad within 3 weeks I should be leaving....Oh well I`ll go where the Lord needs me. 

We`ve also been starting to have a lot more success working with the Members and using their houses to have lessons. The stat says that 2/3 people taught in the house of a member are baptized. 4 out of the 6 baptismal dates we have we teach in the house of a member and we`re working hard so we can get all 6. One of our baptismal dates is the Father in Law of the Bishop who isn`t a member. He`s always ahd drinking and smoking problems but he has been going to church and we finally got him to accept a baptismal date. On Friday we woke up early to wake up the Bishop with fireworks (because that`s what they do here on people`s birthday). A bunch of people from the ward were there which was funny but the Father in Law (Oscar) found us out of everyone at 5 in the morning sat us down and took out his Gospel Principles book to ask us questions. He had it all marked up and everything which was cool and I think he`s excited to be baptized. 

So yeah that`s what happened this week. Here it still doesn`t look like Christmas cause of course there is no snow. But it is nice cause everyone has really little fake trees up so it helps a little bit. You guys should send another package really fast full of snow. I would love that. Cause I mean come on there`s plenty there you guys can share a little bit.

Ok that`s my time. Hope you guys have a good week. Oh and by the way Elder Butler says hi. He was just sitting behind me and wanted me to say that. Merry Christmas and enjoy your Christmas. I shall talk to you guys soon.

Adios.

:/

We Are Always Protected

Well here I am!

I hope you guys all had an awesome week.

We`re still working hard here in what seems like the last 4 weeks that I should have in this area. Of course I`m still loving the area but we`re having a bit of trouble with some of our investigators. Actually interesting story. We were in a lesson and we asked a lady to pray. She didn`t want to and so we taught her how and tried to get her to do it. This took a bit of time but finally the husband said he would do it. As soon as he started we heard 8 gunshots...and close too. It freaked us out too cause If the wife would have prayed when we asked her to we would have been exactly where the gunshots were. God protects us in interesting ways. But the problem is the guy they wanted to get ran away and they ended up hitting one of our Former investigators! It looks like she`ll be completely ok cause it hit her in the leg but still it`s crazy. But really don`t worry about me over here. We are always protected.

Other than that we just worked hard this week. We put a baptismal date with Angie Grijalba and she accepted happily. She`s the grandkid of a member who recently has started to come back to church and she basically put her own baptismal date. I`m thinking it shouldn`t fall or anything so the 21st oif December we should have a baptism.

I should tell you guys about the Catholics here...The 7th of December is a big holiday that they have. They all buy piñatas that look like the devil and then they fill them up with a ton of fireworks. And the fireworks here are best described as well...bombs. It was the funniest thing ever though cause at 6 p.m. they all lit them off. There were huge burning piles in the street and every couple of seconds they would explode throwing firey ash everywhere. It was a blast to watch. Afterwards they have piñatas shaped as Bulls strapped with even more fireworks and people light them off...and get this, they put the piñata over themselves and start dancing! I`m not sure how they don`t get burned alive but it looked like they were ok afterwards. And to finish it all off they have a procession (I think that`s the English word for it) But they all were marching around in the street with a HUGE shrine for the Virgen de Guadalupe. I`ll send you a picture of it. The tradition is that if they wake up and their shoulder is green from the shrine then it is all your sins that have been forgiven. 

I love Catholics...

So yeah with that it`s all the time I have. Sorry I didn`t tell you guys more about investigators and stuff but I just have to tell you what`s going on in Guatemala. Basically the coolest country ever. So yeah have a good week. Oh and mom Christmas here is just fireworks and tamales. Everyone puts up a little fake Christmas trees too which is fun. Ok bye and be good this week. Santa is watching!      

Rafiel Aguirre

Well this is weird cause I still haven't got your last week e-mail. But oh well that`s ok I got this weeks. Sounds like you guys had a good week and a good Thanksgiving. Here the people literally don't do anything for thanksgiving so that`s ok. But hey next year save some pabo for me. 

So let`s see what happened this week. We actually had a lot more success this week working with members. We were able to have more lessons in members houses and that should continue. Also working in both areas is going well. We picked up a really good family this week from the other Elders who should be getting baptized this month. We're going to have a lesson today with them about baptism and challenge them for the 14th of this month. The Elders who just left think they should be ready and I definitely think so too. We also have been helping an older guy with only one leg named Rafiel Aguirre get baptized the 14th. I think he should be able to but he`s a bit difficult. He wants to know everything before getting baptized. We taught him about faith and everything but that didn't really change anything. But anyways he should still be ready for this month. It`s also hard cause he can`t get into cold water cause he`s kinda sick so we would have to go kinda far away to the only font with hot water in Guatemala. Well really it`s not that far but it`s going to be kinda a pain. Oh well it`s worth it when we think that it`s so that someone can be baptized. 

As for thanksgiving. I hope you guys had a ton of fun. Just one question. What on earth was Curtis doing with that ugly hat on (He was wearing his BYU/Utah hybrid hat)? It made me quite sad. I really wanted to eat turkey but apparently a family here is going to invite us to dinner on Christmas here and apparently they're going to have turkey.

Ok well I`m running really short on time. Sorry I didn't really have time this week. I hope you guys are all awesome and are enjoying the holiday season. It`s actually getting pretty cold here so that makes me happy. Not nearly as cold as in Oregon but hey one day I even had to put on my sweater. Thanks for sending my package Mom and I shall be waiting with anticipation to get it.

BYE

Have a good week.

Love you guys.

BYE   

The Awesome Mejilla Family

Interesting week this one. Definitely going to be a long change too. Right now there are four Elders in this ward. Well one of these Elders finished his mission so Thursday he goes home and the other Elder has changes and so for a change we're going to be alone once again. So yeah that's what`s going on here. I don't have changes and will be here for Christmas and New Years. Crazy how fast that is coming. 

I hope everything is alright up there in Oregon. Considering I don't know anything about your week maybe there was a nuclear war or something so you can`t write me. If this is the case you probably won't get this either so well.....good luck. 

I really hope you guys are ok. I'm doing pretty good and definitely happy to not have changes. We should have some success in this area this change. We've been teaching a couple new families and it has been going really well with them. The Mejilla family is awesome. We found her when we were knocking on doors and she told us that she had seen us about three days before and wondered why we didn't come to her house. This week we had the first lesson with her and the whole family joined us. They all loved the message and have always wondered why there are so many churches and just never have known what they can do to find Christ's true church. They understand the importance of praying and the all promised to pray to know if the message is true. We also go there with some members that live really close and so that`s always really good.

Let`s see what else has happened this week. Well yesterday the other Elders had a baptism and we are going to confirm her on Sunday. Also the parents of this girl are really close to being baptized and this month it should happen. They are familia Morales. I actually don't really know them to tell you the truth but we have to start working with them this week.

Really I got nothing else. I hope you guys are all ok and had a good week. Have a happy December and enjoy the beautiful snow for me. Talk to you guys next week. Bye.

Ready for Navidad

HELLO!!!!!!

Once again I am here writing you guys. That`s awesome that you are going to send out my package this week. I`m soooo ready for Navidad again and more Tamales. Seriously for a week before Christmas that`s all we eat. Oh well I like them. I do miss Mom`s food a bit though but whatever I`ll be there next time with you guys.

Let`s see here what has happened this week. We`re having a good time and it`s crazy how fast the changes go. The next week I`ll be able to tell you guys if I have changes or not. I sure hope not but I guess we`ll see what the Lord says. This week we have continued working with those people we found but none of them could come to church. We only had three people in church but they aren`t really progressing. The Bishop`s father in law isn`t a member and has drinking problems but he has stopped drinking and so we`re trying to get him baptized. It`s tough though cause he`s already been baptized in another church so he doesn`t want to do it again in another church. But hey we`re working so I`ll keep you guys updated. 

Once again I`m having a tough time thinking about what happened this week cause nothing super special happened. It was interesting though because yesterday we saw a weird parade. It was just a bunch of catholic people dressed up as monsters and they would just go to a street and just start dancing. They had some guys playing the Marimba and so they would just stop and start dancing. If someone wanted to dance with them they had to pay 5 quetsales but seriously it was really weird. I`ll have to show you the video I took. You can see it in 10 months. 

Also good to here Briana is going to be able to go to Salt Lake to do that there. Should be fun. Oh and with that my time is gone. I already bought shoes that I was finally able to find and so Mom 25 would be enough but I would never complain if you wanted to accedetily put in more. Ok Goodbye. I shall tell you if I have changes the next week.

Bye

Paz

Felicidad

Mucho Chicharron

I Am Starting to Love This Work and Every Day My Testimony Grows So Much

 Hey family!!

Awesome week once again. I`m still enjoying my time here just so you guys know. Oh and also just to tell you guys I wasn't able to send pictures last week so sorry but I will this week. They`re already uploading. So anyways let`s see what has happened.

First of all we have recently found two very positive families. The España family and the Martinez Family. They love the messages and definitely want to know if it`s the truth. They haven`t been able to come to church yet though so I've been praying for that. They could be such good members so I really want to see that happen.

This week was really good because we were able to find some good people. We have a high goal for the contacts we do every day and we were able to do them all this week and I definitely saw the blessing that come from it. I am starting to love this work and every day my testimony grows so much. And also when we teach these people that we have found I can see them changing every day.

Let`s see what else happened this week. We had an interesting experience with a lot of fire, an avocado tree, and a metal house. I`ll leave the rest of the details up to your imagination. But don`t worry, no Elders were permanently harmed in the doing of this service project. It was actually quite fun. 

The only other thing that happened this week is I ate cow stomach again. Man it`s so gross...I really never want to do it again. It`s like eating a tire that tastes much worse than a tire. I don`t know why people here eat some parts of the cow that they do. I don`t know if that`s legal in the states haha. 

The last thing before I have no time is that as District leader I just have to do the District meeting. Thursdays and Sundays I have to take the numbers of the District, and the last thing is divisions with my District. Really there is only 2 other areas in my district though cause the assistants are in it but they never can do divisions or anything so yeah. Ok there`s all my time and I hope you guys have a good week...have a good week.

It All Makes Me So Happy

Well here I am once again. 

I`m glad you guys have liked my last couple e mails so I`ll try to figure out what I did different...I think I just had better weeks. This week was also good though so we`ll see how this letter turns out. I also liked your pumpkins. Why didn`t we ever do cool things like that when I was home? Oh well I`m having fun also preparing for Halloween. I get to do stuff like hide a lot of money so people don`t rob it...hmmm oh wear my cheapest ties and....stay inside. Haha ok I`m just kidding but yeah it gets just a little bit more dangerous here during halloween cause all the kids go crazy. But don`t worry about it or anything cause it`s really not that bad. Nothing ever happens to us. The people respect us here and they know we never have money on us so they leave us a lone. 

Let`s see. This was an interesting week. We got a few funny questions this week. I contacted someone in the street and he told me he had a question for me. "Joesph Smith was killed in his thirties right? If he really was a prophet of God why didn`t God protect him?" He thought it was the smartest question too. I almost started laughing too cause he was so determined it was going to stump me. I just help him realize that Jesus as well died in his thirties. Also almost every other Prophet or Apostle in the scriptures was actually killed. Well there`s a lot. But yes I thanked him for pointing out that Satan always works the same way and that all the Persecution against Joesph Smith actually proves he was a Prophet of God. He just kinda stood their quietly. Needless to say we didn`t put an appointment to go to house. He apparently never "se mantiene en la casa". Experiences like that always just make me laugh and make me realize how blessed I am to actually understand these things. Really everything about this church is so based on the scriptures and it all makes me so happy. (Not saying that it makes me happy that all the Prophets and Apostles have died.)

Let`s see what else happened this week. We found a new investigator and the first appointment I invited him to be baptized and he accepted. He loved the message and just couldn`t come to church cause he has to travel a lot with his work. We`ll see where that goes. 

Other than that.....oh yeah another funny experience. We contacted a lady and I promised her that God answers prayers. I shared James 1:5. She kinda got mad at me cause she understood it that I was saying she lacked wisdom and that we think people from our church are the only people who understand scriptures. After me and my comp were kinda laughing about that. The people in my area are funny. I`m really enjoying it here. I should be here for Christmas too which makes me happy.

Ok I love you guys and have a good week.

Elder Layton

PAZ

Huge Missionary Activity Breeds Success

Recent baptism

Another amazing week for sure but thanks to computer problems I`m going to be typing fast. So this is what happened with the changes. My new companion is named Elder Peña from Mexico and has 9 months in the mission so I`m not training again. Also the President has made me....District Leader so that should be fun. 

So what else. Oh I should mention we finally had the coolest baptism of my whole mission. __________ was finally able to baptize ____________ and we had a really good baptismal service. She is so happy and so am I. The cool part to is she told the Bishop that she wanted me to confirm her so I got to do that yesterday which turned out much better than the first time I did it in Zacapa. Oh and Mom I should tell you I`m in the Capital still. I`m not in any small city but Zona 21 de Guatemala. 

So let`s see what else happened this week. We had 7 investigators come to church and we are going to put a baptismal date with two of them this week. I`m seriously loving this area and happy I`ll probably be here until January. Also this Wednesday we had a missionary activity in the Stake Center. We have been inviting everyone to it and a choir from the states came and sung some stuff about the Book of Mormon. We ended up filling the chapel so much that we weren`t able to see it. People were standing up and crammed in the chapel. You know how we have a basketball court in the states in every Chapel. Well in the place of that there is just a really big activities room with a stage and that was full too. Like seriously....full. So they decided to take out a camera and transmit it to another big room with a TV and that room was completely full too. Apparently 200 or more people came who aren`t members and so we had them all fill out a paper with their address so we have a TON of references. So yeah definitely a success.

Oh man I don`t know what else happened. Well a lot happened but I just can`t remember. We had some good success. I`m happy with the week. and now quickly I can answer questions. Weird you`re going to be sending my second Christmas package....way too fast the mission. Just so you know other Elders love that dog thing you gave me last year. It`s hilarious and definitely works.

Ok I hope you get better Mom and can work again. Also good luck on your talk I just remembered right now about the advice thing and now I don`t have time to tell you. But you have Briana and Dad and they`re smarter than me so good luck!

How Member Missionaries Make a Difference

Bowling on P-Day

To start off we were able to teach a lot this week...Well a lot more than usual. We've definitely been getting a lot more support from the ward and it`s helped a lot.

Ok and before I go too far I should let you know what`s happening with changes. Well My companion Elder Anderson is leaving tomorrow and I'll be staying. I've got to say I`m really happy to be staying in the area. One last time we had to push back _________________ baptism but this is the last time. She is so ready and luckily I`ll be here to see her get baptized.

What else happened this week? Oh Sunday was awesome. We completely filled the class of Gospel Principles cause a lot of people came. Also an investigator who hasn't come for awhile came and told us he won't be working on Sundays anymore cause he thought of his priorities and talked to his boss. After that he told us he wants to get baptized in November!! He's the son of recent converts. His parents were baptized like 6 months ago. So yeah in November look for the baptism of ____________________.

Also yesterday we had a big meeting for the third hour with everybody and had a big talk about missionary work. Later that day we did divisions with members. We ended up receiving and contacting 10 people and teaching a lot. So definitely a good Sunday.

This week we had some amazing lessons. Remember ____________ and ____________ who haven't been able to get married and baptized? Well they're working on it but for now everything is the same. He did hurt his leg pretty bad though and they might have to operate so maybe a prayer or two for him would be good. Anyway, we had a lesson with them which was one of the most spiritual in my mission. We've kinda run out of stuff to teach them cause really they know Mormon doctrine better than most members so we decided to share something that wasn't one of the normal lessons. In Preach my Gospel there is an awesome chapter that I have been studying a lot about the attributes of Christ. We taught about hope and patience. Maybe it doesn't sound like it would be so good but really it was so spiritual. We had brought them to a members house so that was cool too.

So yeah I hope you guys all have a good week. I'm still loving life here and next week I`ll let you know what happens with me. I`m hoping to train again but we'll see. Adios!

A Guatemalan Conference Report

Man you guys just made me sad with the news of Shorty. (The Chiechi's dog "Shorty" had to be put down last week. Sad times.) Definitely going to miss him. I guess I`ll have to give them a Guatemalan weiner dog when I get home. There are some funny looking dogs here.

So let`s see. I should start by saying how jealous I am that Briana went to conference. I've always wanted to go and maybe after my mission when I'm at BYU I`ll be able to go. I would have to say I love how much it talked about the family and missionary work. I want to be able to work with the members more. 

Also there was one talk I really liked. When he used the scripture about how the Lord will hasten the work in his time. Then he said "Now is the time". It just makes me think and also it makes me grateful that I`m a missionary at this time. I love the missionary work and I was able to learn so much! (exclamation point) Ha that talk made me laugh. 

I got to watch all the sessions and to make it better they were all in English. It`s weird a year has already flown by since the time that President Monson announced the age change. I was just a new little missionary in the CCM. I only have one more conference in the mission. But I don`t want to think about that right now.

So let`s see. The next Monday we will all know the changes and there is a chance that I could leave. I`m thinking my companion will leave though  cause the President likes to take out the new person. We`ll see though. I really don`t want to leave the area cause I really like it but hey "irè y harè lo que el señor me ha mandado." 

So let`s see I once again don`t have very much time. Really it blows my mind that I`m almost done training for the first time. Those were the fastest changes of my life. In a way I don`t want to train again so my mission feels a little longer.

So yeah that's the week. We're still preparing for ________ baptism this Saturday because she`s really ready. You should have pictures next week. also we're also working still with her friend and she wants to be baptized too. So yeah that`s the week. Love you guys a ton thanks bye. I`ll be able to say more next week.

It makes me happy that I was called to Guatemala

Hello family.

We actually had a pretty good week this week. We found a good amount of new people too this week was exactly what we need. We also taught more with a member this week then without which is really good but let's see.

Glad to hear Mom that you had a really good week at the store even though it was really stressful. Sounds like the store is doing awesome. That should help when I come back so that you can buy me a bunch of stuff :p Also sounds like Briana is having a good time with a ton of callings. Good luck with that Briana!! (Briana has 3 callings in her ward at BYU-I - a counselor in the Relief Society, temple coordinator and temple preparation teacher. Good thing that working and being a full time student don't take much of her time.)

So let's see once again pressed with time. I'll start out with _________. Definitely a stressful week because of her baptism and everything but she didn't actually end up being baptized. She's really ready but what happened is the Bishop never re-interviewed the husband Wiliam just to make sure he's ready to baptize her. Thursday night the Zone Leaders did divisions with me just so they could do everything to force the baptism for Saturday. The thing is they had a goal of 4 families baptized this month and with her it would've been 4. 

It got to a point where I didn't feel like it was best for her to go forward with the baptism so fast especially if her husband couldn't do it. But with the ZL's pressing so hard I ended up having to talk to the President haha and he completely agreed with me and told the ZL's to forget the goal and do what's best for her. I definitely agree and to make it all better an area had a baptism yesterday out of nowhere so we still got the goal. Really I had been praying to know what to do all that day cause I wanted to get the goal to but definitely this is what the Lord wanted.

So yeah interesting experience this week. Also this week we found a bunch of cool places in our area and the people are a lot more humble but I`ll send some pictures. Definitely a cool area and makes me happy that I was called to Guatemala. We taught a good amount and ended up having 14 new investigators with 5 new families. 

As for me and my companion his training ends on the 15th of October and we'll have 3 months. I`m thinking that one of us will leave the area that day and I'm hoping it`s not me but we'll see. So yeah. That's my time. Have a good week and make me proud out there.

Earthquakes and Volcanoes - Just Another Routine Day

Hey you guys.

20 and counting...that`s crazy (he just had a birthday).

Birthday in Guatemala in a Cool Hat

Sorry I couldn't write last week and seriously I don't have much time this week to write. It`s been a good couple weeks and super fast.

I should start with the last P-Day. What happened last week is my companion wasn't actually legal here...OK he was but he didn't have the visa thing. He just had to go to the offices to sign a couple things. I was expecting that P-Day to be kinda lame with the travel and waiting in offices and everything but it wasn't like that. There were 6 of the new Elders that had to do the same thing so all of the Senior Comps (like me) got to go to basically the coolest part of the mission. All it is is a huge Mall place but we had a good time. We started off by playing pool and then went bowling. After I ate this huge burrito thing that was delicious. To top it all off we had time to go to a Walmart and I bought Root Beer!! Man I had forgotten how much better Root Beer was then other sodas. But yeah much better than stuck in the offices all day. The only downside is that I couldn't write. 

Local Family

So let`s see. I shall continue with my birthday. It was a pretty happy day. So happy in fact the the whole earth trembled with excitement. Yeah there was an earthquake on my birthday. It was actually pretty decently big. It was a 6.5 but we felt a lot of it. No one got hurt or anything but we were laughing pretty hard. We were eating and then everything just started shaking. The second one I've felt on my mission. Volcanoes and Earthquakes. Second coming anyone? Ok maybe not cause that`s kinda normal here and it says it`s going to happen in diverse places I think is what it says.

Alejandra's Baptism

Ok almost no more time but we had a baptism! I don't know if you guys know but Saturday Alejandra got got baptized. She actually wasn't our investigator until the other Elders left but still it was awesome. I`ll try to send pictures oh and Mom sorry I still don't have the package...Yeah so maybe in a week. Hopefully....

I shall see you all soon.

¡Adios!   

Baptisms, Wrong Perceptions and Volcanos

Man I`m almost 20. That`s so weird. Oh and yes I'm almost halfway done with my mission...Oh my goodness. So fast. But this week was awesome. 

I should start out by telling you guys what happened the last week that I forgot to say. Well yes I saw something new. We were walking at night and we looked up and what do you know a very big volcano was erupting. Yeah lava and fire was shooting up super high haha. Cool right? I'm assuming it wasn't the biggest eruption ever or anything but super cool.

So anyways on to this week. I've kinda gotten to like having the whole area to ourselves. We're having some good success with 2 baptismal dates for September and they'll both be ready without doubt. The lady that I told you about that is married to a less active (who now is active) is going to be baptized on September 14th. Also a day after my birthday on the 7th we're going to baptize Alejandra who is the daughter of a recent convert. They have progressed so well and are both super excited to take this step. I am loving this area so much but the problem is time is going way too fast. Can you believe that I already have more than a month here? 

So let's continue with yesterday. Two investigators that always come to church told us they weren't going to be able to come so I was thinking we weren't going to have a whole ton of investigators there. Even though we didn't bring any we still had 8 of our investigators show up. I was actually super surprised but considering the goal this week was 8 we definitely had our prayers answered. A lot of the investigators that came came with less actives too and they came for the first time. We should have some decent success here. I could easily be here until I have 16 months too so that should go by before I know it. 

What else happened? Hmm well why am I asking you guys. You don`t know...Let`s see. Even though a lot of people are really receptive there are some of the hardest people  here too. I have heard some weird things. Of course every day it`s "the only thing I don't like about your church is how you worship and pray to John Smith." Why is it that even here they can`t get his name right and if we tell them "Josè" they will not accept it. Weird way Satan works there. Also someone told me today on the bus that the Mormons drink too much alcohol and they set a bad example for young people so she doesn't like the church. I explained the Word of Wisdom and we actually consume less alcohol than almost any other group in the world...well I assume that`s the truth. But of course people like that don't believe anything we say. Their Pastors always tell them really bad things about the church. It`s interesting when we find a pastor when we contact. I've had some interesting conversations.    

Well yeah that's life in Guatemala and I kinda forgot to bring the adapter for my camera so I can't send any more pictures. Oh and Mom Layton (the Dog) lives with the kid in the house that we eat in. He found it in the street when it was really small so he brought it in his house. And yes now there is a dog with our name. 

Have fun in California without me. 

PAZ

Send Your Extra Watermelon to Guatemala

HI FAMILY!!!!!

Crazy week this week. We actually didn't have a bunch of time but it was good. Some unexpected things happened so now I`ll just tell you, we have the whole area to ourselves now!! One of the Elders here was waiting for his visa to go to Argentina and he finally got it so he left. So we got Elder Ruiz in a trio for less than 24 hours! Ha yeah wednesday we were in a trio. That night the secretaries called us and told us Elder Ruiz had changes and so he left and it`s just us two in this area now. We'll be alone for only 2 more weeks though cause two new ones are coming in the changes.

Elders Anderson and Layton at the Guatemala City Temple

So yeah we've been working and the last two Elder`s left some pretty awesome investigators. I'm definitely expecting to see some more baptisms in this area. I hope I`m here for 6 months.We've been teaching people that have such a strong testimony! They read and told us they have a testimony of everything we say but she told us she doesn't want to pray. We asked her why and she told us cause she`s positive she`s going to receive an answer and she`s scared haha. Her husband already told us he`s going to get baptized when they can get married. He has to get divorced but that should be easy he has all the papers. Ok sorry if I told you about them already. HA you get to read it again...or maybe this is the first time.

Also contacting we found 2 people who are really receptive. One of them is married to a inactive member and just got married and had a baby. She wants to have her daughter grow up in a house with the Gospel. They've come to church twice now and she wants to be baptized. So yeah it`s been a crazy week and we're definitely been working harder than I'm used to. Time is WAY too fast here! I almost have a year! And yeah I'm almost 20 years old. 

They named this dog "Layton"

Ok I'm running out of time cause I was reading and studying Mom`s letter haha. Oh mom do you remember when we used to eat dinner and if I didn't finish you told me kids in Africa didn't have food? I used to say well send it to Africa! Now I have the same advice for you. If you can`t finish all the Watermelon don`t worry about it. You can just send it all down. I'm almost positive it`s a sin to waste Watermelon. I do eat it sometimes here which is good but there`s never too much. So yeah no more time. I`ll try to send pictures this week. Good luck with everything there in the States. Curtis since when do you play water polo?? That`s crazy. You're going to be super buff when I get home. But oh well I`m going to be taller.

Ok Bye

PAZ

What It's Like to Think In Spanish But Write in English

HI FAMILY

I'm just going to start off with the coolest thing this week. Between the two companionships in the ward yesterday we had 16 investigators there. 7 of those live in my part of the area here. Also we had a TON of less actives and so the attendance climbed... a lot. We always here have 130 to 140. Yesterday there were 175 people there. Yeah good day and 5 of the investigators there are progressing. 

We should be able to put a couple baptismal dates this week. We had so many people in principios del Evangelio that we have to change rooms to fit everyone. 

Alright so let's see what we did this week. We definitely found a lot of awesome people who are prepared to hear the Gospel. I definitely think I will have more success in this area than in my last. Really looks like it. In this zone they have us contact a ton so that's hard. We basically spend our whole day contacting and then running to an appointment. My companion is loving the mission and yeah he's fresh out of the CCM. He had a month Saturday haha. I remember those days...That reminds me. Todays I have 11 months...already. It freaks me out how fast time is here. I'm basically halfway done. Weird right?

Today is going to be tough cause it`s not actually P Day. I mean it`s worth it cause this Saturday we're going to the Temple!! AL FIN! So yeah we have P Day on Saturday. I'm tired though and was looking forward to resting.

Also to tell you guys we already found a house to move into which is MUCH better. It`s big and actually has room to move around. We're moving one week from today. We were going to move today......but it's not P Day. 

Hope you guys have had an awesome week. Keep on keeping on. Also Briana I just need to tell you my rule again. NO GETTING MARRIED IF I`M STILL IN THE MISSION!! I need to be there sorry.

Ok no time. This computer doesn`t want to send pictures so sorry. Hasta La Proxima.

Going Great in Guatemala

Alright you asked me a lot of questions so I'll try my best to answer them all. That's funny you saw a video of my area. It's pretty cool and definitely a richer part of the city. I saw carpet in a house for the first time in my mission but still almost no one has it. 

So let`s see as a trainer all it means is we have less time to do everything because everyday we have to have two hours of comp study but it`s fun. Oh and to tell you my comp isn't American and barely speaks English. (We assumed that his companion, whose name is Elder Anderson, would be American or Canadian - something like that. We assumed wrong.) He's from the Dominican Republic. So yeah we always speak Spanish but he wants to learn English. He's awesome too. He really doesn't need training because he already knows how to work and everything. 

Our apartment is well....cruddy. (I don't know what he's complaining about. Look at those cool beds in the picture below.) The thing is that with us coming here and opening the area was kind of a last minute thing so they just found the first thing they could. But don't worry about it. We already found a super nice house that we're going to move into one week from today. It's big and considering we still don't have anything more than closets and beds in our house we won't even fill it up. We're still waiting for our fridge and stove and basically everything else we need. It was hard this last week cause when I got here. We didn't eat with anybody and we had to buy all our meals - we don't have anything to cook with.

Told you guys we don`t have anything in our house.

We found someone to eat with now though and she's awesome. She makes really good food and a lot of it. It`s pretty much the same type of food I've always eaten but prepared different. 

Don't worry in our mission we don't eat these. 

Oh and the weather is actually super hot. Nothing like Zacapa but hot. Oh and the area is super close to the airport so every ten minutes a plane flies over super close. It seriously makes me want to be a pilot. We'll see though. And and it`s a big ward here. We have around 150 people who come every Sunday.

So that`s all of your questions right? So yeah awesome week this one. We're definitely working. I've been tired lately though because we've been working so hard but hey I`m not even almost complaining. We've been teaching a lot of cool people this week and we're hoping to maybe have a baptism this month. I sure hope so. Just know we're working here!

We have investigators that are more ready than anyone I've ever seen to be baptized. Their names are ________ and __________. They read a ton and completely understand the chapters. They always tell us stuff that even we didn't see in the chapter. ________ tells us every appointment he wants to be baptized but the thing is they're not married. Wendy told us specifically she knows without doubt that the Book of Mormon is true and Joseph Smith was a prophet but there is something holding her back from being baptized and married. I have no doubt they will though. We'll just keep working with them. But yeah I'm loving the area except the heat but oh well I've survived worse.

I've been thinking a lot about what I've gone through this week. I was just thinking the four months with my last comp has helped me so much. It`s was easily the hardest time of my life but I am so thankful for what I went through. I learned so much from my experiences here and I wouldn't change my mission up to now for a second. But yeah so I'm good. Seriously don't worry about me but my last area I've kinda been worrying about. (Edited for privacy reasons.)

So yeah way to long this e mail. I'll send some pictures and we're going to have an awesome week this week. OK. Have a good week and don't do anything that I wouldn't approve of.

PAZ    

Moving On To Justo Rufino Barrios Zona 21

Well here I am once again and definitely an awesome week. So as you all know I had changes the last week which was awesome. Did I mention we were going to get two new zones from the Central Mission? Well now I`m in one of those which is cool because before I would have never been able to come here. 

The area is called La Justo but if Dad wants to look for it on internet or anything you would put "Justo Rufino Barrios Zona 21". It`s really just one street 33 avenida and another area called La Vasquez but it`s definitely bigger than my last area. And we live in the last house on the farthest end of the avenida so we walk a ton because until today we can`t use the bus because we don't have a card. 

I should also tell you that I'm training. Me and my companion Elder Anderson are the new missionaries here and now there are 4 in the area. We had to split it. I'm definitely going to be working super hard here which is awesome but it's tough because I'm not used to that......haha oh well no complaints. It`s tough though cause I still don't know where any of the members live and as of now we don't have a ton of investigators. The missionaries in this zone are super hard workers and super obedient so I'm loving it right now. I'm expecting to see a little more success here than my last area. This week we really just got to know the area and contacted a TON. The members that I know too are SUPER cool and really willing to help us. 

Glad to hear Curtis liked the Encampment and I hope you guys all have a good week this week. Also glad to hear Briana is enjoying being at home and everything. Really the time is fast here. I almost have 13 months. Crazy right?

Alright I better go. Super ready to work and have a good time here. Just know I'm all good here. I hope you guys have a good week and I miss you. Don`t do anything that I wouldn`t ok? Alright bye and enjoy your life. I'm enjoying mine!

A Rough Week But Things are Looking Up

Members and others at a recent baptism

So let`s see this week...

What has happened? Well yes I found out last night I have changes (transfers) tomorrow! I did it. I survived. I have absolutely no idea where I'm going to go but everyone keeps telling me I'm going to train. I would actually love that so we'll see how it goes. Also I think I would like to go outside the cap this time again but really after the divisions almost our whole mission is inside. But whatever, wherever I go is where I'm supposed to be. 

This week was the hardest of my life. Don't worry about it though I`m good. (For privacy reasons, we have deleted the remainder of this section.)

Let`s see really this week as far as investigators and stuff was awesome. We still didn't have a whole ton of lessons but we taught some good ones. Yesterday in church Arturo was confirmed and remember how our attendance last week climbed to the 60`s? Well this week thanks to so many less actives and investigators in church we had 89 people!! Cool right? That`s how much there was every week here when I first got here. Definitely hoping after I leave they can keep this area running. Man I'm going to miss the people here. Seriously I'm going to miss a few baptisms here. But hey I'm just happy that I've been able leave this area better than I found it. 

Also Edwardo came to church again and loved it. He also grabbed a tithing envelope so he can pay it next week. How cool is that? Investigators paying tithing! Haha so other than that this week was normal. We taught maybe 12 or 13 lessons so still pretty low. It`s really probably because the area is so small. Maybe from our house to Walmart. Yeah we can walk it in 10 minutes.

Ok no more time. I'll stop rambling now and let you get back to whatever you were doing. Crazy Briana is home. What's your email now Briana? I can add you to the letters if you want. My birthday is coming up too. I'll be 20! Weird.............You sent me a package right? ;) 

Miss you guys and hope you have a good week. Have fun with the rest of your summer Curtis and I'll talk to you all next week to tell you where I am! ¡Adios! Les amo.   

"The Drought Is Over"

So good news this week. Yes the computers actually work so I can actually write. Also finally this week we had a baptism!! Cool right? 

So __________ came to church again and we were able to baptize him yesterday. He came an hour late to his baptism though which definitely freaked me out. I was thinking another baptism was going to fall. (A lot of that is the culture. Time is less important in Latin American countries than it is here.) 

Also this week we were able to put a baptism date with __________ and I have no doubt he will be ready. He is super excited and he basically put his own baptismal date. But yeah the bad part is if I have changes I won't be here to see it cause it´s on august 10th. I'm really thinking coming up this area is going to have a few more baptisms. After six months here finally we'll have baptisms...and I won't be here to see it haha. But hey that´s not what matters right? So I don't care. They just have to be baptized. 

So this week was pretty good besides all the stress. We had divisions twice which was nice. We taught a couple more lessons this week which is cool. The goal for lessons every week in the mission is 20. Really that´s not a lot here either which is way I'm kinda disappointed with only like 6. but this week we had like 12. The thing is we teach more to less active members cause there are so many here. Also this week the asistencia climbed 14 from last week with a whopping 65 people. We had a ton of less actives come for the first time in awhile and 3 investigators which is more then we've had in a long time. Did I tell you guys about _______? He got a Book of Mormon from a member and in a month read up to Mosiah. He now is progressing pretty good and yesterday he came to church on his own after telling us he couldn´t! He loved it too. So yeah this week we're hoping to put a baptismal date with him.

Ok so I hope you like this letter better than last week´s but yeah I'm running out of time. Seriously I´m loving life here even through all the trials. 14 more months? Man that´s it? Times super fast. 

Briana I hope you enjoy going home but I hate to break it to you, I´m still here HA!!! Talking with a lot of people from different faiths this week has helped me realize how blessed we are to actually have the true Gospel here on earth. But hey that´s what everyone from every faith says right? But without doubt I've found that Christ´s church and authority are in this church and all the other people, while good people, are trying to do what is right but they just don't realize what we really have here. It´s the true church. I won't apologize for that. And seriously the truth has made me free as it says in the Bible. I'm a happy boy :D. Ok goodbye family. I hope you have a good week

Elder Layton

It Really Just Matters That They Do It

Hi! Here I am!

Ok also this week I really don't have a lot of time at all so we'll see what I´m able to say. The coolest part of this week would have to be we finally raised about 400 quetzales for Edwin and Maria so he can finally go to El Salvador and get his papers. we're not exactly sure when he can go but it should be this week or the next week. 400 quets is about 50 dollars so it´s enough to use on travel. Hopefully they'll finally be able to get baptized and married. Either way though they will do it probably after I have changes. I really don't have a lot more time here and it doesn't look like I´ll ever see a baptism in this area. that´s ok though cause it really just matters that they do it.

This whole week we really didn't have a lot of success. We maybe had 8 lessons the entire week. Even when everyone tells us they'll definitely be home something always seems to come up. So yeah that´s really all the time I have left. Happy 4th of July!! Oh and Happy Birthday Grandma!!!

Hope you all have a good week.

P.S. The cousins are definitely in my prayers. Especially Michael. Keep me updated on what happens and I hope they'll all be ok.

Adios

I Know Why I'm Here

(I had written to Eric to ask about some of the challenges he's been going through. This was his response. We've tried to edit those portions which may not be appropriate for a public blog. He's doing well and learning how to better overcome adversity. But if you're reading this, we'd appreciate it if you would keep him in your prayers.)

Good question. I`m kinda answering that in this letter to the family but you're right, it`s been tough. At the same time I`ve never been happier. Weird right? This week things have gotten pretty bad as far as (section removed for privacy reasons).  You know what though? Don't worry about it. I always refer back to D&C 122:7-9. It will be for my experience and my benefit. And the strongest verse of scripture maybe I have ever read is verse 8. Am I greater than Jesus Christ? Well not even close so I better man up and deal with it. I'm here for a reason. So yeah I'll be good.

Without a doubt this week was not easy. In fact it was quite hard. We've begun to have a lot of problems. 

To start off ________ and _________ I don't think they will be getting baptized. A couple nights ago on Wednesday he came home really drunk. He had stopped drinking for almost 4 weeks too. He basically decided he doesn't want anything and he has begun to fight a ton with his wife. When they have problems she always calls us down cause he gets violent and he calms down when we're there. The thing is I don't think they will be separated and so even if she wants to be baptized she can`t cause Hno. _______ won't get married now. But yeah definitely the toughest part of the week. I've never been in the middle of so many problems as I have here. But truly I know why I'm here. That`s something that I have learned in these 9 short months. It doesn't matter what happens as long as I do what I need to. And definitely that knowledge has helped me more than anything here. I'll be at my desk completely bummed out but I'll read something and I can always feel the Spirit here.

As for _________ he still hasn't come to church so we haven't baptized him yet. If I didn't mention we want him to come one more time before he gets baptized although he`s gone his 3 times. Hopefully he can come this coming week. I`m doing everything in my power to help him.

This week has had some cool things too. Remember awhile ago that I said I met an Elder who got his patriarchal blessing from Grandpa? Well he`s now our zone leader and I got to do divisions with him. It`s was definitely fun. I learned a ton from him. He has basically had the exact same problems in the mission as me and has some good advice. Oh this week also we did some more service. And yes sorry Mom it was completely repairing a roof. (We had asked him if he had heard about the LDS missionary killed in Guatemala while repairing a roof.) We completely tore it down and put it back up. If I have time I'll send pictures. It took awhile but it was good. 

Curtis I must say Happy Birthday and good luck with French Horn and your driving test. You can do it. It`s easy. Briana good luck with everything and hope you have a good couple weeks. As for your questions Mom here goes. Canche means like blondie. They basically just say it to anyone whose white though even if they don't have blonde hair. Ok no more time I got to go.

Love and miss you guys. Hope your lives are just fantastic. Bye!!

NEVER ASK THAT QUESTION!

Well here I am again!

We had a stressful week this week but it had some awesome parts. Also some weird things happened.

So let's see, where should I start? I guess start right off the bat with answering your questions Mom. It`s funny this week you asked me if I've eaten anything weird. This week I'm thinking I ate some of the most interesting things of my life. First one day we came down and Hna. Betty was cooking some type of meat. It just looked like steak but lighter. We started eating it and the texture was super weird and it didn't taste awesome either. I asked her what type of meat it was (as a tip for all future missionaries out there, NEVER ASK THAT QUESTION!) She told me it was ubre. I didn't understand that word and so to clarify she told me "it`s the part of the cow where they take out the milk"... So yes Mom I have eaten some weird things. I ate fried cow udder. And what more? The next day she gave us the leftovers in some soup mmmmmmmmm. 

And let`s see...now for what we ate the next day. Our Comedor gave us "fish". She bought it in the street and when she cooked it, it turned out really dark. But she just said it must be the type of fish. After we had finished it all she decided to taste it and then she smelled it. So yes she ended up returning the 4 pounds of shark meat covered in shark pee that she bought. Apparently it`s something of a delicacy here. And hey before we knew anything we ate everything on our plate...all of it. So yes definitely something interesting this week. But don't worry I'm still alive. But I would like to say it again to all those future missionaries out there. Just eat without questions. It`s better to just not know.

Ok and now for the best part of the week. This past Monday after I sent my e-mail we were walking down the street. Remember _______? He`s the boyfriend in the girl in our ward. His girlfriend has always been very strict about he can't get baptized if it`s for her. He has to believe everything. We ended up dropping him cause he didn't want to progress and stopped coming to church. Lame right? Well anyways he saw us in the street and called us over. He told us that he had been thinking about it a lot and he wants to be baptized! We didn't even do anything! Man I love the Spirit when stuff happens like that. So yeah he asked when. He said can I do it this Saturday? But there was something in the church that day so we have to move it for this week or the week after. But yeah definitely awesome he made the choice. He wasn't able to go to church Sunday because his sister got sick and was in the Hospital though but we're hoping he can come on Sunday and maybe have the baptism after church. We stopped talking to him and kept walking. A member was talking to some random guy and called us over (literally about 15 seconds after we stopped talking to Arturo). The member introduced us to his friend and said he had to go to work. So we were left alone with this guy whose name is ___________. Apparently the Member had given him a Book of Mormon about a month ago and he has read all the way through 1st and 2nd Nephi. Also he read Jacob and the three short books and now is reading The Words of Mormon!! How cool is that?! He brought us to his house and we had a good lesson about the Book of Mormon and the Church`s organization. We have another appointment tomorrow.So yeah definitly mircles happened with them. I would love to see a baptism here before I go.

As for _______ and ________ it`s tough.....Man I was so excited with them too. Apparently what happened is all of his papers were burned by the government (no idea why) and they need to get married. He hasn`t been able to get any papers so they can`t get married. But he`s still trying to get a couple things so who knows, maybe they'll be able to. They came to church and everything but we don't think they'll get baptized this month. And with Hna. __________ and _________ the story is the same. They're both in bed a lot and we really haven't been able to put an appointment with _______. So yeah we'll see what happens. 

Oh the house here are all the exact same. They're concrete and sometimes the people keep them clean inside and so they're nice. Many other times they're disgusting though with animals running around everywhere and pooping and stuff. It`s hard to go into some house but hey that`s why I'm here right? And when we contact no one really gets mean but no one wants anything to do with us. Sometimes they just yell through the door "No one`s here!!" So yeah tough. As for Gringos I don't think any exist here. I may have seen one or two my whole time here. Everyone looks at me like an alien too. All the kids yell out "canche!" But whatever I'm used to it. And yes I'm huge compared to everyone here. But Ok I think that was the last of your questions Mom. No pictures this week and I'm out of time.

Hope you guys have a good week and Briana good luck with your last month out in California. Dad Happy Fathers Day!!!!!! Remember to celebrate it like good ol`Guatemalans with a TON of fireworks. Ok goodbye!

Sometimes Missions are Just Hard

Guess who almost has 9 months in his mission? It's funny because I still remember when Briana got her 9 months. I was still in the house all comfy with carpet and stuff but hey now I'm here having a good time. It`s seriously crazy how fast every day is. 

So let's see. Today we found out who has changes for tomorrow and well...I don`t. I'm starting my 4th change here and by the end of this change I'll have 6 months in a tiny area with no baptisms...But hey we're thinking we should have baptisms this change. And Mom as for the changes to the mission they start....well tomorrow. I'm in a zone in the South Mission so this is where I'll stay my whole mission. It should be good to have President Saty until 3 months before I go home. 

So this week was alright. We only taught 12 lessons the entire week which was kinda lame but we're working. As for _______ and ________ (Our Comedor and her Husband) They're progressing alright. I should mention Mom that they aren't assigned as Comedors but we picked them. They rent us our apartment and live in the apartment below us so that`s how we met them and it`s nice for lunch and dinner we just have to walk down the stairs. Also they're kinda well...rich so we eat really good. Yeah so with food I'm not suffering. 

But they couldn't come to church this week but it was for a reason they couldn't really avoid. They definitely are going to progress and really want to be baptized. Also The Mom of ______ was going to go to church but didn't want to go alone and so is going to go next week with them. As for other investigators the truth is we don't really have any who are progressing really good. the biggest problem is no one here can come to church. It's weird too because the church is super close and so that isn't hard for anyone. I've definitely been praying hard to find new people so we'll see. Our area with the area of my District leader are going to start English classes and invite everyone. Hopefully this can help people come out and know the church. We're going to teach a class and after say anyone who has questions we can come by their house any day and teach them one on one (and also share a message). 

So that's basically my week. I don't have any more time so I can`t go into a lot of detail with Hna. _______, _______, or Los Gemelos but the story is basically the same. Keep praying for ______ who's been sick. Oh and that reminds me. One of our members who has been sick lately just got a lot worse. She's been sick and they ended up having to cut off her leg. Just recently she got a lot worse and we're truly not sure how much longer she'll make it. When we found out about it we basically ran to her house which is the only part of our area that`s far away to give her a blessing. No one in her family is a member but they called us. But we just had a really good experience with the spirit and everything. So maybe you could remember her in your prayers this week too.

Ok so no more time. Miss you guys all a ton and hope everything is good up there. ¡Adios!

One Hungry Comedor & Her Husband

Well hello there once again family!

Do I have a single letter that doesn't start with the same words? Meh probably but I don't care. I hope your week was good and everything. My week had some good parts and bad parts. But hey what week doesn't right?

So let`s see. I guess I'll start right off the bat with the good parts. So as you know we didn't have any baptismal dates last week. Sad right? Well for your information none of those people will be getting baptized. And yes I know you're now thinking, "hey that`s not a good part!" I know I know! Here it comes. So this Monday night after I emailed and everything we began to teach our new Comedor and her husband. They love the lessons and we already have them committed to be married and baptized June 22nd. We've taught them something every day almost sense Monday cause they always ask us when they`re going to receive the next pamphlet and when they can learn more haha. How cool is that?! They have a couple issues but we know what they are and they'll be able to overcome them. Also yesterday they came to church and loved it. The husband told us he almost went up to bear his testimony!! That would've been the funniest/coolest thing in the world but he didn`t which is alright. Maybe he will the next time. So yeah they love the messages and the lady always cries and says she knows this is what she needs to do. People like them are what makes missionary work worth it. It`s super fun to teach them and everything.

So yeah definitely the best part of the week I would say. Other than that the week was pretty normal. ________ and ________ it`s the same story. Now they're really irreverent during prayers and never want to come to church. It`s almost gotten to the point where we're not going to go anymore. We'll see though. Our appointment with Hna. ____________ fell last night and she didn't come to church. We don't know why but maybe we can go by this week. Also remember that the member who brought her friend? We taught the friend in the members house and she received it really good. I think she really liked the message but right now she`s having some health problems so she`s been in and out of the hospital and we haven't been able to teach her again. I'm definitely praying for her so we'll see what happens. I think she'll be alright though.

So nothing else really. That`s about it. But I do got to say to Curtis good job. Although you're not playing trumpet I've always kinda liked French Horn. Trumpet`s waayyy better but whatever. That should be fun. That`s funny about all the people talking about me. I probably don't even know most the people there now. But Curtis just remember that I give you permission to always call Colton freshman. You're probably way bigger than him so he can`t beat you up or anything haha.  

So no more time. I hope you guys have a good week and everything. Tell Grandpa happy birthday for me! Alright have fun this week. ¡Adios Familia!  

The Gives and Takes of Missionary Service

I hope your week was good and everything even though it sounds like it was really busy.

Hitchhiking with the Police

So lets see. Of course as always this week was really good but hard at the same time. At the beginning of this week we had four baptism dates. One with _________ and the three others with _______ and his twin brothers. As of yesterday we have a total of...0. None came to church and it`s sad cause we`re almost positive they won`t progress anymore. ___________ told us that she can`t come to church. We tried to figure out why but she wouldn`t tell us. We`re thinking it`s because of what we found out about the last time. The last lesson with her we found out that her aunt and uncle are pastors in the evangelical church. So yeah we`re almost positive the Mom talked to them and they talked to her. I`m positive _________ wants to be baptized but I guess in her aunt and uncle`s church something called agency doesn`t exist. And ________ and his brothers just don`t want to listen or go to church anymore. We literally have no idea what happened with them but something changed. Definitely tough cause we`ll go over there and they`ll just leave or pretend to sleep. But I made them promise they would come to church next week. We`ll see what happens.

Service Project

Let`s see what else happened this week...Yesterday was pretty good. We got to church and we were thinking that no one was going to be there. A member showed up though with her friend! We talked to the friend and we have an appointment tomorrow with her. Want to know what else? Apparently she wants to be baptized. Hey that`s just what she said. Haha so yeah that would be cool. Also halfway through sacrament meeting guess who showed up with her kids? Hna. ___________! How cool is that? She loves church too. She always takes notes during sacrament meeting and looks up the scriptures and marks the one she likes. Later that night we had an appointment with her. We ended up bringing 5 members with us cause right now we`re just trying to get her friends with as many people as possible. We had an awesome lesson about the "Restoration". It started out as the Restoration but ended up being about faith. She loved the lesson and started to cry. I definitely can see her change every time we talk to her. Hopefully we can help her progress towards baptism. She knows it`s the thing to do, she just has a hard time believing in things she can`t see.

They built that

So lets see what else this week. Oh yeah I went on divisions with the ZL`s this week. It was super fun. We were heading to his area and he realized he didn`t have 3 quets for the bus. So what do you think he does? Yeah he gave a nice thumbs up to a police car who nicely stopped by the side of the road and let us ride with them until the area. Fun right? I must say it really freaked me out when he did it but I was laughing the whole way after. I have a nice video too. Also this week we did a ton of service. We built an entire wall for a catholic investigator. It took awhile but it was actually pretty fun.It turned out really good too and she was happy. But hey she still didn`t come to church...As for the clown Mom yes I`ve seen him as a clown many times. Also we couldn`t do service for him this week cause he has to wait 15 days to move all the dirt. 

So yeah no more time. I love you guys and hope you have a splendid week. Curtis good luck tomorrow and don`t mess up! BYE!!!