really though ya me voy (week 93)

got your letters guys and i cant wait to see you all. love you all and see you thursday.

Family (week 92)

ya casi family. wow another week that flew by and just like that i am going to be home. i can't believe it. just know that i loved your letter this week mom and it was almost my favorite of my entire mission.  again nothing crazy happened this week. nothing that i need to tell you right now that you cant wait for next week. just now that i love you all and think about you always. i am going to do everything i can to forget you all this week though and just kill it my last week in my mission. until next week love you all!

elder call

Thank you for the Birthday Wishes (week 91)

hey loved your letters again this week. they are the best and i cant wait to talk to you all in person haha. ya so i only have 2 more weeks and it sucks let me tell you. yesterday in church it actually hit me that i am leaving. i bore my testimony all normal and everything and then when i was walking back i sat down and it hit me that i'm leaving.  i just sat there and cried next to our investigators and everything haha. i think i scared them but really i just bawled for like 30 mins. i'm so sad i cant believe that it has come to an end almost. it sucks it really does. i love everything about guat everything. the people the culture everything.  man its just going to be horrible to be back in the states. well good and bad but let me tell you i have almost never been so sad in my life. i would love to tell you everything that happened this week but to be honest i'm just going to wait until i get home because i'm tired. today we went to yaxcha another big ruin it was super cool. well i'll send you some pics because they say a picture is worth a thousand words haha. love you all and see you soon!

elder call

Nicholas celebrated his 21st birthday on October 15th.

I got these pictures sent to me from someone in his mission but I am not sure who.  They made me beyond happy and I felt like I had not missed out completely on this special day.  We watched the video like 10 times and cried laughed the entire time!

Happy Birthday Nicholas!!!!!!

I love you!!!!!!!

Peten (week 90)

Loved your letters this last week as always as they always give me animo to work harder and to endure till the end. let me tell you all that you are the best and i cant wait to see you all. Ben and Ella happy birthday once again.

So this week was pretty good. we didn't have a baptisms so it wasn't the best. this week my comp and i had to go to the capital. i swear my comps are always sick and i always have to go to the cap with them haha. from peten that is a freaking a 10 hour bus ride and it's soo tiring. we left thursday night and were there all day friday and left friday night to be back here in peten at 8. really just a long journey but it was the best because i was able to go to the temple. we had like 10 hours from when we got to the cap until his visit with the doctor so we went to the temple. let me tell you that that was the best. i haven't been to the temple since provo and did it feel good to go back. if it wasn't for this trip then i would have never of entered the temple here in guat. that was the highlight of the week. general conference was good as well. i always just love it. i loved the talks of christofferson and uchtdorf the saturday morning session. those were probably my favorite talks of the conference. i have such a strong testimony of the gospel and of living prophets.  as far as investigators go we only have 1 pilas family. the missionaries have been visiting them forever and they never wanted to get married until they had enough money to buy rings. well my comp and i watched a short powerful video about jesus that invited the spirit so strong then we just gave sincho with amor. man we are talking boldly. that is just so fun as a missionary and to be so full of the spirit and to do it with so much authority. it's one of the best feelings as a missionary. well they said that they will get married the 20 of this month which means that they might get baptized my last saturday in the mission which would be the best. nothing is for sure. right now we have to visit them again but that was the best lesson we had this week. Being a missionary is the best. i'm sad that i am ending my time as a full time missionary but i'm happy that i don't ever have to stop being a missionary. i have come to love gautemala sooo much and the people here as well. they are just the best. nobody is better though then you guys. i love you all and i hope you all have a good week.

Elder Call

me on a granizada bike

this is some jungle animal named a tepesquintle that we are going to eat tmrw

the worrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrsssssssssssssssssttttttttttttttttt computadora (week 89)

well team let me tell you that i have got the worst computer ever and i have like no time to write you guys because it gave me a virus that almost ate all my fotos. ya i'm ticked. love your letters though and that carmel house vacation looked like just the best. that's awsome. and let me say HAPPY BIRTHDAY ELLA AND BENJAMIN. you guys are the best and i really mean that. i cant wait to see you all in 4 weeks! its going to be the best. i hope that your birthdays were the best ever. i think that is just so funny that you all talked to sister bake. what more did she have to say? haha. i told her to look at your blog as well and she said that whoever wrote it is very gifted. well whoever it was i hope that you don't get more cocky than you already are haha. man you are all the best.

ok so this week was a good one. we baptized aroldo and his wife dorris. they are the greatest. the person who did the interview for aroldo said that he has done over 70 interviews and the one that he had with aroldo was the best yet. he is sooooooooooooooooooooooo pilas. like right now he knows more than  most of the members and he has only been going to church for like 3 weeks. dorris in sunday school answered all the questions perfectly in the class. my comp and i taught. i'm serious they are such good converts i'm not kidding when i saw that aroldo is going to be a leader in the church in the next couple of years and don't even get me started on chalio... he is soooo pilas. yesterday he left to visit with us all day. he wants to serve a mission and is going to bless the sacrament with aroldo not this sunday but the next. ya they already received the aaronic priesthood yesterday in church. they are great. the lord has blessed me soooo much in these last 6 months with soo many good converts. all of them are still in church and all of the men have received the priesthood. they are such good converts. the lord has blessed me sooo much i'm serious. its great you guys are going to know them as well because i told them all that when i get home i am going to skype them haha. ya so that is about all the important things that happened this week. oh and it was changes and i am staying here in the same area with the same comp. the last change flew by so i cant even imagine how this one is going to fly... if it is only 4 weeks. I love you guys and i am praying for you all always. thank you for the support you have given me my entire mission it has helped me a ton. thanks to you guys it has never even crossed my mind once to return back home early. really and that is something that missionaries think about more than 1 time in their mission. i have never thought about that because the mission is just the very best. although hard at times it is the best. i am going to live it up these last couple days. you are all the best and i hope that all is well. don't forget what i told you guys to do this next week. go into the conference with a question and let the lord help you to answer it. he always will. Love you all and have a great week

elder call

Chalio (week 88)

overall it was a solid week. the week was pretty normal up until friday. friday we did divisions with the elders in san andres . it was the best to be in that area again. we did divisions so that the district leader could do the interview with chalio. ya so i obviously was treated like a king in san andres. that area just brings back soooo many memories. i just cant believe how long ago it was when i was there. like where has time gone? i literally don't get it. it's the best being there and i just know everyone seriously. although there were some People that didn't recognize me until i told them my name because they say i have lost so much weight. they actually told me i need to gain more wait that i don't look healthy. they exaggerated but ya its funny seeing everyone again. the best part of the day was visiting chino and visiting my converts delfina and daisy. chino is the menos activo he is still menos activo but he is starting to go to church again and is going to baptize his kid. that made me super happy. when i visited jorge delfina daisy and ruban it was a party. they knew i was coming so they went into the jungle and caught an armadillo and killed it to eat it with me. that's hilarious to me... a freaking armadillo? what is this russa who kills an armadillo? it was good though so i'm not going to complain.  it was just so unreal that i was there with them. delfina and jorge have a kid now. that's crazy because i was in their wedding when i was in san jose. ruban and daisy also have a new kid. their were a bunch of kids running around that house that i had never even seen before. that was just the best to see them. the next morning i woke up and went on a run along the banks of the lake. i literally felt like i was on vacation it was unhealthy. san andres is just ridiculous. then chino invited us to lunch and we went to his house to lunch with him and his family haha. that same day saturday we had the baptism of chalio. he is the man. he is a marero turned mormon. ya he has had a super hard life before. his parents basically abandoned him and left him with his grandma. he has progressed super fast with us and has just been great. he has a great testimony. last night we were talking to him and he said that he would also like to serve a mission. so that is possible as well and that he becomes a missionary in the future. with him it's possible that it happens but with marcia from coban it's for sure going to happen. she has already starting filling out here papers haha. ya so overall it was just the best week. san andres and the baptism of chalio. chalio is probably one of my only converts that i would hang out with like as a friend. i love all my converts obviously but chalio is like a friend to me like he is hysterical like i would hang out with him if that makes sense. i love all my converts but chalio is also the man haha. i don't know how to say that by email to not make it sound bad. like i love all my converts but at the same time talk about chalio haha. overall just a killer week and to top it all off we went to tikal today. it was just great. i am now very baggy though because i know the exact time i will be home but that will just last all today then tomorrow i will be back to normal and work just as usual. thank you all for just being the best and you have no idea how much i love you all. i can always count with your support in my life. my advice for you all this week is study the scriptures but think of a question you have and save it for general conference to let the general authorities answer it. you should always go into conference with a question. you still have 2 weeks to think about it but just so you can get ahead. i love you all and have just a great week.

elder call

My Last Change (week 87)

I loved your letters even more than usual today. i was just dying laughing the entire time dad with your story and mom with your stories. i mean seriously you guys have no idea how funny you are. well i take that back you are both pretty cocky about how funny you are haha. man that sf giants game sounded great. the office of the mission did call me to ask which airport i wanted to fly into. i told them oakland. i don't have my flight plans yet because they just send the info to salt lake and they buy my ticket. so we are still waiting on salt lake to find out when i get home exactly. they put though that i should leave at 8 here from guat so i should be home early afternoon. crazy i'm even talking about that.

I put in the subject that this is my last change right now because my last change really is only 4 weeks but right now i lack 6 weeks to get home and the changes in the mission are always 6 weeks. so it's as if today i was starting my last change. i can't believe how fast time goes. i mean i really don't even understand it even a little bit. next thing you know i'm going to be 40 if god allows me to. that is one thing the chapins always say and it's sooo funny. but also a little annoying at times when your investigators say it. hey will you go to church next week and they answer if god allows me to or they say if i'm alive or they say god first. it's like what does that have to do with anything hahaha. its so funny. so normal it's so funny. ya so that was my little guat culture.. day in the life story for the day. this week flew by. basically the better part of the week was helping the bakes get situated in their house. they are the new senior couple that came in. let me tell you that they are the best. they just love my comp and i soooo much. we decorated their house and stuff for when they got here to  guat. we moved furniture luggage and went shopping with them for just about every morning since they have no idea what they are doing in this country. we had to show them around and stuff. they are really the best though. sister bake is soooooo funnny she is from puerto rico but has lived in the states her whole life... well married life. she speaks perfect english and spanish and she has a great personality. elder bake is more quiet and shyish but is great as well. he served his mission in argentina. ya so wednesday we helped them move in and stuff. thursday we ran all over town buying a ton of stuff for their house and friday we did house inspections in some of the areas in our zone. the bakes are our neighbors too so they have invited us to eat at their house several times. we are super spoiled with them there. they just buy so much stuff too because they are still thinking in dollars instead of quats so they just buy everything and say wow this is so cheap haha classic.they also took us to the best restaurant on the isla de flores that is right on the water looking over the lake as you can see in the pic. that was dope. and it was so good. ya so we were with them basically every morning this week but saturday monday and tuesday. the one day that we were not their to help them go shopping was saturday and the hermana bake tripped on a rock and fell right on her face. its a miracle she isn't dead. really she got banged up. she has a huge black eye fat lip and  a huge cheek. probably the worst injury i have seen in the mission. pòor thing but like i said she is the best and she was just telling everyone that it's a new makeup she is trying called sidewalk of peten. its so funny. today we just hung out with them all day my comp and i. we did some errands and stuff then they invited my comp and i to lunch. other than hanging out with the bakes my comp and i worked as usual nothing really different happened this week with investigators. we are still trying to find new pilas investigators but we are having a hard time finding people who even read so that's a bit of a problem. we are going to have a baptism this weekend of chalio. he is the the man and is soo ready to be baptized. during our lesson he said that he knows that the church is true and that he needs to get baptized. so ya he is prepared. aroldo and dorris are still doing great. they are going to get baptized the 27 of this month. they are also doing great. the mission is the best.i know that i always say that but i really mean it. its the best. it really is. i kinda don't want to go home at all. when i think about it i just think how different it is going to be. on top of that the bakes told me how crazy the world is back home and how i am just soooo sheltered here in guat. man i'm not sure if i'm ready to go home at all. the bakes kinda scared me a little bit to be honest haha.  well that's all i have to say this week. keep being pilas family. do your family nights and family prayers and all that good stuff. i'm so grateful for a good family because i see a ton of screwed up families here everyday. i love you all and i hope that you have a great week.

elder call

here are some pics

Una Buena Semana (week 86)

i loved your letters this week and let me tell you that you are right about that being the perfect weekend. that is just fantastic! man i am so happy that you went and ate pizzas there where i have been before. that place really is just a little piece of heaven. i love that place so much. i still can't believe jared is back... that's nuts.

Ya so my week was a good one. haroldo and dorris got married finally. that was the highlight of the week. that haroldo is a miracle and how he has decided to change his life. man his wedding though was great. very humble. it was just in his house and there were like 2 families from the church that went as well. it was great though because them getting married was the first big step in changing their lives. they are now no longer living in fornication and are keeping the commandments especially that one which happens to be maybe the 3rd most important commandment. they are going to get baptized the 27. ya so i cant remember if i told you this but haroldo has to get re baptized because the church lost his record. so he and his wife are going to get baptized the 27. they were going to get baptized earlier but there were a couple of problems with the next 2 weekends. they good news is that they are going to get baptized. chalio is still progressing well and he is going to get baptized not this weekend but the next. the reason that he isn't going to get baptized this next weekend is because it's the weekend of the independence of guat so its going to be nuts and we are not sure if he is going to have to desfilar or not. we don't know if he has to parade or not so that's why we are better off leaving it for 2 weeks longer. the good news is that those guys are progressing... the bad news is that we are having some trouble finding good new investigators. i really want to find new pilas investigators because man i want to baptize my last month in the mission. i am truly loving the mission though it's just the best and i love it. i love having time everyday to study and read the scriptures as well. it's just the greatest. i'm reading jesus the christ right now for the second time in my mission and that book is just the best. there is just not a better book than that one. absolutely incredible. well family that's about all i have time for this week. just know that i love you and think about you all the time and i hope that you all have a good week. love you all hasta pronto

elder call

teaching the pigs

this kid reminds me exactly like charlie like he is a latino igual its crazy. i cried yesterday talking to him because he reminds me soooo much of charlie and i miss charlie because he is the best

harolds and dorris and their two kids

Peten is the Best (week 85)

Loved your letters this week and i really really do love how you guys write me every week... it's just the best. i can't believe how crazy life has been at home. all the wedding stuff with the millers back and with school. mom that letter cracked me up. I cant even imagine how crazy things at home were during that week. your date to the city just sounded like the best. i met some guys here who have been to san fran a bunch of times and they say that it is one of their favorite city's in the world and they have been all over the world. man i just love the city so much. Dad your right though i will be home in time to go to some bens games.  man i just cant believe how time flies.

Right now i'm not in peten which is a relief because p days in peten in that crappy internet cafe with 1 little fan is torture. it's really just a really big sacrifice writing you guys because man its soooo hot in there and i always leave that place with a huge headache. haha ya so like i said i'm in coban and i'm soo baggy to be in coban. i love this place and i love how cold it is. its really hard for me to tell you guys what place i like best here in the mission but its really hard to beat peten. i love it up there. i just have so many memories of things that i did there and experienced starting like 18 months ago. its so crazy how time flies. i really feel like i have been here in the mission for like 5 months. i just don't get where time has gone. this week was a good one for the work in our area. we were able to put fechas with a family in our area. their names are haroldo and dorris. they are great and i love them so much. aholdo is like 25 and is a successful electrision for his age and is living with dorris. they have 2 kids. they are not quite married like i told you last week but they are going to get married this weekend. Ahoroldo says that he is a member of the church but we cant find any record of him so he is probably going to have to get baptized again. he isn't upset about that though because he is going to get baptized the same day as his wife.  haroldo is really making big changes in his life. the typical guatemalan who makes pretty good money and just drinks it all away. well that is what he has been doing for the last 7 years of his life. he has had really bad influences in his life. his father was a member of the church but he went very inactive and drank all the time. haroldo says the first time he drank he had 9 years and he was taking shots of whisky with his dad. ya i'm so glad my dad isn't like that. ya so he has been drinking all his life. ya he hasn't been drinking in like 15 days which is a record for him since he was like 9. i love haroldo and how is trying to change for his family. he says he has always wanted to change but has never been able to or been able to find the will power to do it but we gave him sincho and he is changing. i really love the people here in peten i just love them.  now chalio is also progressing a lot and he is soo pilas. his prayers at the end of our lessons are so good. i love chalio as well. oh and i havn't told you guys about my comp. so my comps name is elder tellez. he is from nicaragua and has about 13 meses in the mission. he is pilas. he was in cubulco as well.  He is a great guy and we have a lot of fun together and work hard. oh i haven't told you about my house either... i don't think. our house is soooo  nice its hilarious. its normally 3000 quets but its a members so we are living there for 1500 quets. our house is like a little cabin its made out of wood and has air conditioning. ya i wrote that right air conditioning i think we have the only house with air conditioning in all of guat haha i have never been in one at least until i moved into my house. and that goes for member house or missionary house haha. ya so i sleep like a babe freezing cold every night as if i were in coban. its the best haha i feel spoiled though because i remembered how much i suffered the last time i was in peten and i had to shower some times like 4 times a night because i couldn't sleep because i was soo hot. ya so that is a real luxury haha. that is all i can remember that happened this last week that is worth writing. i love you all so much. don't forget to always say your prayers and to read the scriptures. those 2 things when done with real intent are powerful. again love you all and i hope that you have a great week.

elder call

Peten (week 84)

just let me tell you guys that i am just so happy to get your letters every week and to know that you are all doing great back home.  i cant believe that rach is now married... i just cant beleive it. mom i hope that your birthday was great because i was thinking about you a lot. l love you lots and i hope you had a great day.

Wow so ya i can't believe that i am here in peten. i was pinching myself all week because i thought i was dreaming but then i realized that i wasn't at all because i was soaking wet walking around all day from all the sweat. ya it's just as hot as i remember. this week was great though. we had a district meeting in san andres and i saw a ton of people that i knew from a year ago. the best though was that we had district conference on sunday so the entire branch of san andres came down to the conference and i saw all the people that i had known before. the best part was seeing jorge and delfina. they are going to get sealed in the temple this next month. i cant believe it and i'm so happy for them. also ruban and his wife daisy who i taught and they got baptized like 2 weeks after i had left are going to get married and sealed in the temple the same day in the cap sometime in September. let me tell you that that is the best. so crazy. when i saw delfina and jorge i saw that they were holding a baby but i never thought that it was theirs but it is. how time flies they have a baby and i was there for when they got married. so crazy how time flies. man i love that family and i'm so happy that i got to see them again. i will go visit them again though when i go to san andres to do divisions here in the near future.  this week in our area was good as well. it's different than san jose because i'm right on the beach like i was in san jose. that is one of the most beautiful places on earth i'm convinced... its incredible but it is just so freakin hot. our area is good though although we didn't have the help of the members at all this week. that is a lot different than coban because in coban i had a member with us visiting all day everyday. we put a fecha though this week with a patajo named chalio. he went to church as well as the priesthood session of the district conference. the district conference was great though and i was able to feel the spirit so strong. i know i have said it before but i will say it again my mission president is just the best in the entire world. i'm not kidding you guys would loooooooooooovvveeeeeee president curtiss he is the best. a 70 also was there and he gave a couple great talks. overall it was a great week and my comp and i started going to the gym we go every morning at 6. life is all good right now. i'm loving it. something my mission president said that i loved is that repentance isn't a bad thing even though we often times look at it like that because it often time hurts to do it but its the biggest blessing that we have.  we can repent and the feeling we get when we truly repent is the most dulce feeling you can have in all your life. i have experienced it and i cant wait to share with you my personal repentance stories and personal revelation i have received after the mission. i have a strong testimony of the church and i love sharing it with anyone and everyone here in guat especially in a language i have just come to love. i love love love spanish so much and i'm going to be so sad that i cant speak it every moment of everyday when i get back. repent family when you need to because like i said the feeling you get when you do it is the best feeling you can get. love you all and hope that you all have a great week!

elder call

I Got a Change (week 83)

First off happy birthday mom. i cant imagine what it feels like to be turning 35 how time flies. let me just tell you that you are the best and i love you so much. i'm positive there is not a better mom in the world. how did i get so lucky to have you as my madre. i'm not just saying though mom your really are the best and i just don't get why even though everyone says that you don't believe them. it's good though because if you believed them you would be sooooo cocky just think about how cocky you are with your lemon squares hahaha no but really mom i love you so much and you're the best. wow i cant believe chel is going to get married that's nuts. i cant believe it. i'm so happy for her.  i'm sure the wedding will be great. where is the reception and what temple is she going to go to?

ya so as you can see i have got a change to............... ZONA SAN ANDRES. i am not going to be in san andres but it will be in my zone and i will be able to do divisions there and go to san jose and visit all my converts and all the people that i love soo much. i'm soooooo excited like soooooooo excited.  that was my number 1 pick if i could have picked my change i would have picked that. i'm going back  to peten and i cant believe it. i am jumping up and down right now. you know what that means as well?  It means that i have been able to go back to every one of the areas that i have had in the mission and that just never ever happens. man i really can't believe it and i'm serious... i don't think i will until i get off the bus and feel the humid bloody hot heat hit my skin. i'm going to die but hopefully it will help me get down to my goal weight for when i get home haha. so that is the good news. the bad news is that i had to say goodbye to everyone here in my area. that blew. god had blessed my comp and i with sooo much success. we killed it together. i'm sad i'm not going to be with my best friend elder brito is the best. i loved our time together.  wow i don't want to go into detail right now because i will cry haha but i am so sad to leave the people i love here. marcia caronlina and edwin have changed 100 percent they are pilas in the church and will stay that way i'm sure. henry is the man and he said maybe our kids will be comps in the mission haha. edson, jefferson, claudia, y octavio wow that was a hard goodbye.i love that family so much. they are just the best. ingrid y syda are so sweet and i will miss them along with natividad.  it was a very hard sunday very very hard. i love all these people so much. i am so grateful for the time i have had here and i am going to die of the heat in peten. i'm really excited though and cant wait to get working. i love you all so much and hope you have a good week. oh and i don't really write you that much because i can just tell these stories when i get back and it will be way better haha. love you all have a fantastic week!

Elder Call

in front of the curch with 7-10 converts in this area

edson jefferson and claudia

carolina edwin and marcia

henry

eating kak ik with marcia edwin and carolina. they are the best 

Great Week (week 82)

loved your letters this week and i'm so happy that you are all home safe.  i love the cabin and am so happy you have had the time of your lives. so i feel like i am missing everyone's weddings like everyone's haha. man how crazy.  i'm happy that they are all getting married though haha. that's great.

This week was great. like i say just about every week. i cant believe how fast the time goes. it's changes again. i am going to know if i have a change this saturday. so by next monday i will know if i am going to get a change. i'm hoping i get to train a new missionary and that is my dream. to finish my mission that way but it's the lord who will decide.   this week was fantastic because daniel ended up getting baptized on saturday in rabinal. i'm sad i wasn't there but like i told you guys the most important thing is that he did it. and he did. oh and a really funny story about daniel is that his name isn't daniel. its henry. he told us that on the friday before his baptism. he said that there was something he needed to tell us and one of the last things he had to repent of before he got baptized and that's that  his name is henry haha. the story is this. when he was contacted in rabinal by the missionary's he answered the door and said that his name is daniel because he didn't want to give the missionaries his real name. haha he ended up going to church though and started reading the scriptures and feeling the spirit and receiving an answer to his prayers. then making the decision to get baptized  hahah. its hilarious and one of the best stories. he just never imagined joining the church ahha. ya but he is henry and he is the man i love the guy so much.
Elder Call

ya so that is just about all the things that happened this week. i wish i could send pics but i cant because this computer doesn't read my card. we went to a waterfall as a zone today that was sooooo beautiful. it was great i loved it. overall just a fantastic week. love you all and have just a great week

This he just sent to me in an email and I thought he might want to remember it.

ya me voy as we say here in guat. i'm sad like so sad i just cried in my house last night because i had to say goodbye maybe for the last time to hermano octavio because i don't know if i'm going to get a change.  

Good Week (week 81)

Loved the pics of you guys up at the cabin. i had forgotten that you guys were even there until i saw the pics haha. that's so fun and i am so happy for you. i cant believe that i haven't been to the cabin in 3 years. where has the time gone and i can't wait to go back with the family. I think about you guys daily and pray for you. just don't die before i come home. i think that goes especially for Ben haha.

Well as for my week it was good. Now that i think about it i don't think i have even told you guys about Edwin. we put a fecha with him like a month ago. he is the brother of marcia and the son of carolina. i think i have told you guys about them. they are the best. marcia was my second convert in this area the one who wants to serve a mission in a year. ya we baptized her brother this saturday. he is 16 and super pilas. i think i havn't told you about him just because i have too many things to tell you every week and not enough time.  He is great though and has changed a ton. they used to have a lot of family problems and stuff but now everything is peace in their home. edwin when he bore his testimony said that everything has changed since we arrived at his house and it has changed for the better. they are having more peace at home and he feels the love of the savior in his life. he said he didn't really want to change at first but after he started to read the book of mormon he started feeling a desire to follow Christ and to be baptized. that is the power of the book of mormon and there is no other book like it. it changes lives all for the better. i love edwin and i'm so grateful the lord gave him answers to his prayers and to ours. he is literally an answer from god to our prayers. now Daniel is going to get baptized this weekend in rabinal en baja verapaz. he decided to get baptized down there because that is where his family is and he wants them to be there. he is sad though like us because we are not going to be at his baptism. the good thing though is that he is going to get baptized and that is really the important part. he has changed a lot too and it makes me so happy that he is choosing to follow the lord in his life. getting baptized and keeping the commandments couldn't be more different from what the world teaches us.  it makes it all worth it and that i am here in this freakin random country speaking another language. that wasn't a complaint though the mission is the best and i wouldn't trade this time for anything. keep reading the scriptures as a family especially the book of Mormon because it is powerful and invites the spirit like nothing else. pray often as a family as well. i love you all and have a fantastic time at the cabin. the best place on earth.

Elder Call

Where Did Julio Go? (week 80)

i am serious though when i write that subject where the heck did it go? i thought we had just started it. crazy. loved your letters and you guys just live the dream and i loved hearing about your adventures as a family and that is just what it is all about.

My week was fantastic. to be honest i really can't think of anything that happened other than the baptism of ocavio y claudio. solo para que sepan.. they did get married on friday and baptized on saturday. it was a miracle to see where they have come from. i just don't think writing it over email does it justice. they have changed completely. the wedding was very humble haha because my comp and i organized it and we basically did it last minute because we didn't know if hermano octavio was going to be home this weekend.  so once we found out we put a little thing together. they were very thankful and i think they enjoyed it. i just tried to explain to them that this is not the important wedding but the next one when they are in the temple. they are the best. saturday afternoon they were baptized at three in the afternoon. the baptism was a lot better planned because we had more time. probably the best baptism service i have had in my entire mission, the spirit was just so strong.  we had a friend of theirs give a talk in the meeting and everything it was the best. hermano octavio wanted me to baptize him so i did and my comp baptized claudia. i also baptized zaida.  overall probably one of the best weekends and overall weeks in my entire mission. the lord has blessed my companion and i soo much these last 3 changes we have had a lot of success.  i just cant wait for you all to meet the familia villalobos sanchez. they are not a normal guat family so you guys are actually going to be able to meet them over a video call. they have internet in their house which is the equivalent of having a ferrari in danville haha. ya so they are just the best and the change they have made in their lives gives me sooo much joy i just want to scream. zaida is great as well even though she only has 10 years she has made just a great difference in her life as well. she is very different now and after her baptism then how she was when we first met her. they were all given the holy ghost in sacrament meeting. oh freak i almost forgot after the baptism of octavio and claudia they bore their testimony's and that was just the besttttt. they basically said that when we knocked on their door they felt like jesus christ was with us and how we are their guides and stuff. it was the best and i cant wait to tell you it all when i get back because it was the best. today for pday we went to my old area of san cristobal and climbed a mountain it was dope. overall just a fantastic semana.  I think about  you all every night and pray for you. remember that this life is very short and we need to make the best of it right now. we need to constantly repent and improve. oh i almost forgot we had zone conference with the the president as well this week and it was super spiritual. i was able to feel the spirit soooooo strong and that is just the best. i have a grand testimony of this church and that jesus is the christ. i love you all and i hope you all have just a great week.

Elder Call

octavio and claudio after the wedding eating the cake.

pic of the baptism

Great Week (week 79)

Well i am so happy that you are all just loving summer.  i love seeing the pictures of the fam going to bi rite and just doing the funnest stuff in the world. i am convinced that i have the funnest family in the world. i love the family and i am soo blessed to be able to go back to the states to such a great family. oh and just soo you all know i am going to be back home the 30th of october. just letting you all know and yes i am baggy haha. no i am kidding i am not baggy because i am enjoying every second of the mission.

Well let just to let you all know i am soooooooooooooooooooooo happy because octavio and hermana claudio se van a baptized this weekend. they are going to get married on friday and are going to get baptized on saturday. i cant even describe how happy i am and i wish you could just see them and see the progress they have made. they just want to follow christ and to have their family forever. they have so much faith and just love life. they love church. i just really don't know what to write i am so happy it just doesn't do it justice to write it. they are just such a great family. they are well educated and have good work and i know that if they stay faithful in the church they will be leaders. that is just the type of people they are. jefferson and edson their kids received the aaronic priesthood and passed the sacrament this week in church. their mom was so proud. it is just the best seeing them come to church in a white shirt and tie and pass the sacrament. ya we are also going to baptize syda a girl who is living with a member. so we are going to have 3 baptisms this week. the lord is blessing my comp and i so much right now. i love this mission its the best. i love the people here of guat soo much. even after 20 months i still think about how crazy it is that i am here in guat. i am speaking another language so far from home and i live with some guy that i didn't even know 12 months ago. its the best though and i love seeing the lords hand in my life daily. i just cant believe that that family is going to be baptized i am so happy. ya so that is all i have to say today sorry but i am not focused at all and i have a million things going through my head right now. just know that i love you all and i pray that you are all keeping the commandments.  strive daily to have the spirit with you. when you think about it we couldn't have a better gift than that. i love you all and hope you all have a good week.

Elder Call

Una Semana Buena (week 78)

I loved charlies baptisms story that was just the best. i wish that happened to my investigators when they get baptized haha.  I'm so happy that charlie chose to do that on his 8 birthday. i was thinking about charlie all day and i even shared the story of him getting baptized with some of my investigators. it was great. that's so fun that you got to go to the city and stay in the apartment. that sounds like a blast and i would love to live in the city as a young couple. have a family there would be tough unless i was loaded and could afford the good schools haha but that would be so fun.

My week was good. we found a couple great new familes that i am really excited to start teaching. they were references from the other missionaries. they are really receptive and just want to go to church. the only problem though is that the husband works so that is chafa because he works on sunday. his wife and there cuñado are going to go to church with us though this next sunday.  it was a really powerful lesson with them though and it was great. they are a young couple and just got married a few months ago. they love their little family and want to be with them forever. we were asking questions to the parents and what they want to be and how they want there kids to be. i told them about how great my parents were in teaching me to follow christ. i almost started crying in the lesson because i am soooooooooooooooo grateful for your examples. i am grateful for they love you gave me and all the things you have taught me.  i promised him that if he was living the gospel with his wife and applying the teachings of christ in their home that everything was going to turn out fine. maybe not perfect. there family was not going to be perfect  but they will be alright. they will be happy and one day if one of their kids turned into a rebel would remember the example of his padres. i wasn't a full out rebel but i was in high school and i will always remember the impact my mother and father had on my life and for their outstanding examples.  ya so i shared that with the family and the spirit was just soo strong. it was a fantastic first lesson.  another kind of good thing that happened this week happened with daniel. he wants to get baptized in rabinal and wants us to be at his baptism. we told him that we cant go to rabinal. he said he wanted to talk to the pres and ask for his permission haha. so he had an interview with pres and well turns out that he lives like 1 block out of our area so we not only can go to his baptism in rabinal but we cant even baptize him in our ward. he is going to have to get baptized in the the other ward here in coban. it sucks. i don't feel that bad for me though because it was with us that he accepted to be baptized and accepted the gospel but i'm sad for him because he is going to have to go to another ward to get baptized. the good thing though is that the pres said that if he gets baptized here in coban we can go to his baptism. so that was sweet and sour. he is going to get baptized but its kinda bad news because he has to go to another ward.  those are just about the most important things that have happened to us this week. it was a good week but a little crazy because of mundial but thank goodness that is over and we can teach like normal. i am just so grateful for your example mom and dad and for everything that you have done for me. i will forever be grateful and i love you both so much. charlie you are the best and i cant wait to see you in less than 4 months. ya i hit 20 months today not that i am counting. love you all and have a great week.

sorry there are no fotos this week my computer blows haha

The Fourth of July (week 77)

Let me start by telling you all that our country in by far the best in the world. there is just no place like the states. i mean thailand and guat are great haha but the states is on another level. i am so prideful to be an american. the states is great and i celebrated the 4th by wearing my u.s. flag tie almost the entire day. the thing is before lunch we left to go work and i forgot it was the 4th of july so i had to go back to the house and change my tie so i could celebrate the states birthday. i am so happy to hear that not so little anymore charlie is going to get baptized. that makes me so happy. your 4th of july sounded like paradise really and like that is a dream day for me. im so happy that you all had a good week.

Wow as for me it was a good week. i don't have a change so that's good news. that means i'm going to have a 3rd change with my best friend in the mission like how does that happen haha. i'm happy and ready to kill it with him again. the funnest thing that happened this week is when my comp and i went to the cap to get some medical examines. we left at like 2 in the madrugada and got there at like 7. we got there early so we took advantage of the time and headed over to walmart. sketchy mom if you had a 100th of a clue what happens in the capital you would have never let me come to this mission hahah. i will have to tell you some stories when i get back haha.. pure lamanites. ya but walmart was quite the adventure and i bought a couple of treats that came from the states and i was happy. the hospital where we were at was right behind the temple and it was just the coolest view of the temple. we left to come back to coban thursday. so we had to spend the night on wednesday and i saw my friend that i really wanted to see as well. i was thrilled. ok so that was the funnest part of the week because we were left free to roam the cap haha. now the most satisfying part of the week was sunday. daniel came to church which was fantastic as well as the brother of marcia. marcia is soooo pilas still. she visits with the sister missionaries always and reads the book of mormon more than i do haha. love her. ya so her brother just came back from the cap. he went to church with us. that afternoon we taught him and put a baptism date with him. he is going to get baptized the 2nd of August. it was awesome and i thank the lord daily for the blessings he gives my comp' and i. that's basically a sure baptism because he is super motivated to get baptized and his sister marcia just gives him sincho using the book of mormon and the scriptures that she has read recently. its fantastic. marcia is going to be a killer missionary.  now we also talked with daniel after church. we answered his doubts. we also put a fecha for the 26 of this month with him. he is so pilas as well. like it is so funny because he answers all the questions in the classes during church and comments and stuff like that even though he isn't a member and he is just learning. he is so pilas its awesome. so the work this week was great. overall just a great week. i'm kinda sad though because one of my good friends is leaving to go home but i will see him at byu so thats ok. just know family that i love you all so much and i pray for you all.please please please just choose the right even though it can be hard. you will be more happy and will enjoy the blessings god will give you.  pray always and always read the scriptures. love you all and have a great week

the temple 

some valcano in thecap

elder lauritzen my freind in the cap

A note to Charlie....

Charlie i just want you to know how happy i am for your decision to follow our savior jesus christ. i want you to know that i love jesus. i want you to know that i really try to follow his example. It makes me sooooo happy that you love jesus and want to follow his example as well.  If you can charlie right down how you feel after your baptism in journal so that you can one day show people in your mission how you felt when you were baptized. i love you so much and i wish i was there to support you on such a special day. I love you charlie and pray for you everyday.

your brother,

Elder Call

Changes on Saturday (week 76)

Hey family enjoyed your letters this week as always and i don't take them for granted believe me. i enjoy them and i am grateful that you all take time out of your busy days to write me something. mom those pictures that you took of ella diving into the pool are great those just bring back great memories. too bad that when i come home it will be too cold to go swimming  but that's alright.

ya so this is the last week of the change. i cant believe it. how has 6 weeks gone by so fast like where has the time gone. really i don't get it. how have i been out of Salama now for 3 months. when i think about it i just get confused haha.  this Saturday i will find out if i have a change or not.  i don't think i will... i think that if anyone has a change it will be my comp but i don't think that he will have a change either. we are having a lot of success together and our zone is doing really well as well. who knows though its hard to predict what the lord wants but this Saturday i will find out. if i do have a change though i think its 90 percent sure i go back to Peten. man i want nothing more to go back to Peten that would be the best. to be honest though i don't want to leave this area right now though not until we baptize Octavio and his wife Claudia. we had a great lesson with them this week. we taught the law of chastity to them and committed them to get married. when they learned that law they didn't even think about it they just said alright we will get married and we will let you know when. perfect so they are going to get married i just hope to death that it is soon. i really love that family so much like sooo soooo sooo much. they are just the best and they love us so much. that's also the problem though because if one of us has a change they said that they don't know if they are going to be able to trust another missionary. god knows though what will happen so i'm not too worried about it. they are progressing though so that's the good part. this Friday they also invited us to eat pizza. it was awesome. octavio said that ever since we started visiting them everything in their lives has gotten better so he said the least he can do is buy us pizza hut. it was awesome haha and that never happens here because almost everyone we visit lives in a dirt shack. he is the only person that is progressing that makes a good amount of money. he would be just a fantastic leader in the church. ya so i just love love love that family so much. edson and jefferson their kids went to the temple this week as well. they loved it and said it was awesome. that's just fantastic for them and they will not ever forget that. speaking of leaders i don't know if i told you this but christian and oneda who was one of the families we baptized in cubulco are still active. christian is going to get his patriarchal blessing soon and is president of the young men. basilio alverez the inactive that we found is president of the elders quorum. so ya the people that i found and taught are all doing great in cubulco. that includes adan and maribell and joselyn and reina y erik as well. the only one who isn't active is jose and it is because his parents don't allow him to go to church. at least that what he says it makes me sad but i cant do anything.  ya so life right now is great. love the mission my comp my mission president and everything else haha. i hope all is well at home.  remember that you all have the gift of the holy ghost. god has promised you that another god will be with you at all times if you are living worthily and i cant really think of anything better than that. be worthy repent pray and do whats right. eternity is a really long time.  love you all and have a good week

the best picture of these are some really ridiculous shoes that we bought in the market today because we are going to give them to elder garcia for his birthday haha so funny we always made fun of him before because he always put on like these crocodile shoes that are so ridiculous with a point on the toes that could kill dogs hahaha so its just a big joke and we are going to give him these shoes later tonight haha.