Being Tall Does Have Its Disadvantages

Hi family,

Nother P-Day already which is crazy. Time here goes really fast. Like seriously. So this week was good but not as crazy as last week. Our mission has the least baptisms in Central America. Yeah so we need to change that. The problem is the the highest baptizing areas aren't going to be a part of our mission anymore as of June. So we definitely have our work cut out for us. We're trying and we have two baptismal dates and we're trying to get a third.

So the biggest thing this week was we had a mission conference sort of thing Thursday. It was only for the missionaries in the Cap so I got to go cause hey here I am. But that doesn't mean much. It started at nine and we had to get up at 4:30 in the morning in order to get there on time. Yeah and it`s in this same city ugh. We got on a bus and sat in traffic for 2 hours in the most uncomfortable bus ride of my life. I kinda don't fit in the seats here. I have to have my legs in the aisle which is a problem considering how full they pack the buses. There are tons of people standing in the aisle and they were basically sitting on my lap. But seriously it was painful. But hey it was worth it cause it was an awesome conference  It was about working with members and increasing our investigators. So we`re definitely going to try the stuff here and hopefully we can do it. Our mission goal in the month of March is every area baptizes a family. I think we can do it and we're working towards the goal. We still contact a lot and don`t have a ton of success with that but we're gaining investigators slowly. _______ and _______ are doing good and came to church but we found out he needs just a couple more papers. We think he`ll be able to get them so we`re hoping to still marry and baptize them on the 9th. _________ has been doing good but we really haven`t had lessons with him. He`s really busy and owns a restaurant so it`s hard to make appointments. We have one tomorrow and he`s definitely excited about the Gospel. 

So other cool thing happened at the conference  Afterwards my zone leader came and gave me 2 packages! Yeah basically the best thing ever. Yeah I got yours Mom which was awesome. I liked the candy. Also I got one from Sister Rau and the Laurels of the ward haha. So thanks Sister Rau a ton!! It was awesome. I thought I would respond to a few of the things people said in letters in that package. Brittany I'm sorry but Summit will always be better and my Brother needs to be filling my spot in the Trumpet section!! Kelly tell Haylee and Liz to shape up for me and I need to thank you cause apparently your envelope had the most candy. Friels thanks for all your prayers and Brother Friel I also say Hello!! Alright everyone else thanks for the notes. (Ha now they all have to read the Blog).

Nother crazy thing happened at the Conference that I just remembered. I was eating lunch and talking with an Elder who I`d never met. He said he was from Vegas and apparently Grandpa gave him his patriarchal blessing. Haha cool right? Yeah I can`t remember his name but it was pretty cool. Small world right? 

So that's about it. Just want to say good luck with lacrosse Curtis! Also I like how in your letter to me in the package you still refer to it as my room. Cause hey it's true. Thanks for everything family and I miss you guys a ton. I'm super happy to be here and I know the church is true and that this Gospel can change lives, cause I've seen it. So till next time...Maybe in two weeks cause we`re going to the temple next week and I don`t know if we will have a P-Day. Aight Adios!!  

The Peruvian Monkey Revisited

Me and my comp at a members birthday dinner...soooo good.

Hey family - OK a lot has happened this week. I really don't know where to start. I won't leave you hanging and I'll tell you the news. We found out today that the end of June our mission is being split. My old area won't be part of this mission anymore! Yeah so everyone outside of just a few few areas here won't be part of our zone. If I am changed before the end of June I won't be in the South mission anymore maybe. But hey we'll see. There's going to be two new missions here. East and Coban. So yeah pretty crazy right! What if I said that wasn't totally the craziest thing that happened this week... I'll leave that story for the end ha.

So this week was good. To answer your questions Elder Villacis is from Ecuador so yes he is a native Spanish speaker. He hardly knows English but I´m teaching him cause he really wants to learn. 

Our ward is awesome. The members are really nice and everything but the ward isn't huge about 80 people every Sunday. So this week was just contacting again. We basically just do that here. But hey we have found some people to teach. 

Cool story. We were contacting and having no success. We were in this little street like an ally way cause that´s how it is everywhere here. A guy came up to us and we could tell he was a bit drunk but not too bad. We just thought it was another crazy guy. He told us though that he really wanted to stop drinking and he knew that we could help him. He's really trying but we´re going to teach him. His name is _______ and we're going to teach him and his family. 

So yeah that happened and also this. We got a call from a man named _______ this week. We was an old investigator that couldn't be baptized cause he couldn't get married. He didn't have his papers and stuff so he wasn't able to, even though he and his "wife" really wanted to. So that was a long time ago. He said on the phone that he sold his TV so he could travel to El Salvador to get all his papers. He said we had to come over and visit him right away haha. So we did when we could and he was soooo excited to finally be able to be baptized. We have a date the 9th of March for his marriage and baptism. It's kinda far away cause his wife is pregnant and the baby will be here probably this week and we're hoping she'll have time to recover. We might have to move it back just a bit though but we´ll see. He's seriously super excited. 

Told you my bathroom was small.

OK besides that we really only taught one other lesson. And with him we put a baptismal date for the 9th of March too! He´s excited to and wants to be baptized. He just needs to come to church again. It´s really cool all this is happening cause the last baptism in this area was December. Before that was the last April. So yeah good times in Boulevard. We´re working hard and it´s paying off. We definitely get rejected here a lot more than in Zacapa which is kinda sad but hey we´ll find the people who are ready. Cross your fingers for us.

Mom when we have to be in at 5 30 we just study and stuff. We have permission to walk to our Comedors house for dinner every night so we have fun there. Oh yeah also random thought. If I´m here when they split the mission I´l basically be in the Cap my whole mission. Oh well I got to experience outside too.

So crazy story time cause I´m running out of time. Last night at my  Comedors house for dinner there was a new guy I had never met. I think he's family. I introduced myself and he said ´Whoa I knew a guy with a name like that in my mission´ I asked where and he said Lima North. But he said the guy was from Ogden. He got out his tablet and looked up the guy he knows on Facebook. His name happened to be Sean Layton. I couldn't see his picture but I recognized Sean's email so we knew it was him. Crazy right!! I guess they were in the same Zone and everything and later he showed me pictures with him and Sean. Me and him took a photo together and he put it on Sean's Facebook if you want to see. It seriously freaked me out. He also thought it was funny how Sean bought a monkey and kept talking about that. I got to see pictures of the monkey now all grown up and big haha.

All right so that's really all I have time for. Crazy week right! (Question mark doesn't work so you know) 

I hope you guys all had a good week and sorry I didn't have much time this week. 

Alright miss you guys and good luck in Cold Oregon!!

Home By 5:30 Cause It's Really Dangerous

He's SOOOO Organized!

Hello Family!

So as you know I`m not in my old area anymore. I am now in Zona Milagro. And yeah it`s in the Cap!! Haha the weather is awesome. Kinda hot in the afternoons but nothing like Zacapa. The mornings and nights are actually kinda cold but I like that. My area is called Boulevard and my companions name is Elder Villacis from Ecuador  I`m already really liking the area. It`s way smaller than my old one and so a lot less walking but I think it`s going to be harder. We do a ton of contacting and haven`t taught that many lessons. My house here is nice for the most part. It`s a bit bigger than my old one except the bathroom. just to get in the bathroom I have to duck down. The door is really small. Other then that though the house is nice. We do have a hot water shower which is awesome. It was waaaayyy cold for my first few days so we installed a hot water heater thing. I think I`m going to love it here. The members are cool and everything and the few lessons we've taught went really good. I've noticed my Spanish really starting to get better here. Even in just a week. Our Comedor is really good too. The food is awesome. I don't think I've eaten a single thing I  don`t like. So yeah life's good here.

I should give you a little information of what is going on in my old area. Elder Alvarado is now in a trio and training both of his companions. Yeah it should be pretty good. I talked to him last night and they`re actually have a lot more success there. They've found a few families and stuff. But yeah he also said it`s getting waaayyy hotter.

I really don`t know what to say about our week. I mean it was good but it was basically just all contacting. Oh yeah there`s a rule here that we have to be in the house by 5:30 cause it`s really dangerous. So the days seem really short. It`s 4 hours less for working. Yeah so we`re trying to do everything. Oh I should mention me and my comp entered the same exact day so tomorrow we both have 5 months. Yeah it`s kinda funny that we`re both greenies. He`s senior comp though cause he`s got more time in the field then me and he`s been in the area so he knows it. I don`t really care though. Hmmm what to say about the area...I can`t take a ton of pictures cause I`m not aloud to carry around my camera... Oh well the whole area just looks the same. Just houses and Tiendas. There are some cool views though that you can see out over a lot of the Cap. Maybe I`ll have to sneak my camera out one day. It`s also nice here cause I get letters like 2 weeks faster. So I got a huge pile the other day. (Basically all Dear Elders from Dad). Hey I'm not complaining though. So that's really all I can say about my area. I really like it. 

That's cool Mom you got to go to the graduation. Seems like it was cool. I still don`t know if that`s something I`m going to do but hey I have a little time. Hmmmm what else to say...Everything going OK there in Oregon? Yeah probably. OK so I don't want to just keep rambling. I'm going to send a few pictures of the house. I was going to send one with me standing by the bathroom door just so you could see how little it was but I forgot to take one. Maybe next week. Alright bye family and have a good week. 

First Transfer - A Greenie No Longer

During a recent baptism

Hello once again family. I am sitting here writing in Zacapa for yes...my last time ever!! I was informed last night I have changes and so tomorrow I go to the change meeting! Should be fun right? Well I guess but we have to wake up at 3 or 4 in the morning in order to make it there on time. But I have to say I`m pretty happy. I love the area and my companion but I definitely am not a fan of working in this heat.

Also it`s pretty funny cause we received a really big package today!! It was a bed and all the stuff so my comp can be in a trio after I leave hahahaha. Yeah he actually really doesn`t want to be but hey it will be good. Who knows I could be in a trio too. I guess like all the letters have said, our mission is getting way bigger too. This change there will be 43 new people! So they`ve split a lot of areas and there are more trios. I wouldn`t be suprised if my comp trains again.

So ok I guess I`ll answer all your questions. The people here are pretty nice but they are all either Catholic or Evangelica....not exactly sure what that is in English. When we actually get in a door they usually don`t like to change. Almost the only people who ever really listen are references from the members. So I`m trying to think of an experience teaching but nothing really sticks out. All the lessons are awesome and super powerful. That work?? 

And yeah I like talking to the kids but half the time I can`t understand them. Adults are way easier to talk to but the kids are really funny. 

As far as weird food goes nothing super strange. I really like it except a few things like the cheese, spaghetti  and a few other little things. They also put ketchup on EVERYTHING. Oh hey here`s a steak, want ketchup? Blechk. That`s the only thing I can`t get used to. For the most part it`s good. This morning we had french toast. We have that and pancakes probably twice a week so it`s my favorite. 

Look ma, no hands! (see recent letter about their p day trip on top of a bus)

So as to what else has happened...well nothing. I got to confirm Heydi in church yesterday. It`s still hard but it definitely was much better then the first one I did. But that`s really it for the week. Her baptism was awesome.

So I`m glad to hear everything is good in Oregon. I can`t wait to get my package cause I`m hoping there will be candy in it....

Briana I`m glad everything is awesome in California and hope some of those families work out. But hey if you want to have success you really should stop drinking tea. I know it`s hard but we`re promised blessings.  Ha ok Goodbye family. Until next time. I shall write you from a new area!