Salama Salama (week 48)

Hey guys I loved your letters this week as always and little Charlie just sounds like the absolute funniest. I can’t wait to talk to that kid next week haha. He is just the best.  Man mom and dad your dates just sound like the best man and that is just what I loved to do was go to cheeseboard and just explore and enjoy life in san fran and berkely.  It’s the best.

Ok so I’m here in Salama Baja Verapaz. The area is a good area.  We don’t have a ton of investigators right now and that more than anything is the biggest issue. This next week we are really going to focus on that. This area is way different than all the other areas I have had in my entire mission. I am actually in a downtown type of setting. I’m in a little city which is different than all of my other areas. San Jose is a little pueblo and same with Cubulco and San Cristobal. So that is the biggest difference. The branch has over 100 attending which is the first time I have had that since San Andres in Peten so we at least have some support in our area. We have members that leave with us as well and that is something I haven’t had in 6 months haha.  It’s funny because even though I have a bigger branch and members in my area I still have the same problem of finding and teaching investigators that want to progress.  I like this area though.  I think the best part is this house of youth there is in my area. The missionaries baptized like this entire youth house for orphans here in Salama. Those kids are sooo funny! We go there like every night to eat. They are nuts and soo funny they are soo much fun.   It makes me think of when I was like 16 years and in priests haha such good times.  Alright now my comp… well where to start with elder bonilla. Well he is from mexico like 45 mins outside of DF.  Well let me some it up by saying that he is the man.  He is soooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo funny. I’m literally laughing at every little thing that he says. I don’t know why but he is soo funny it’s just the best.  I love they guy to death. I think that he has like 19 months in the mission. He went up to zl 3 months ago. He is a convert to the church and was baptized when he was 14.  The work with him is awesome. He has a ton of experience teaching and I am learning a lot with him and bettering my teaching every day.  Ya so I couldn’t be enjoying my time with him anymore. I like my new assignment a lot. It’s a lot of responsibility but I like that. It keeps me on my toes and I think it just prepares me for work and school when I get home. We are always putting together goals for the zone and we talk with the assistants and president about them and about what things we can improve on. It’s fun having that kind of a connection with the pres. I can tell him what I think and give him my opinion and he actually takes it into consideration. Let me just say that I couldn’t be any more happy with my pres.  I don’t think I have said that in a while but he is just the best. He is a convert to the church and he just has such a strong spirit with him. You can just tell that everything that he says is inspired. When he talks to you you can just tell that he loves you and wants the best for me and for all the other missionaries. I’m confident that I have the best mission pres in the world. Pres. Watts was great too but there is just something about Curtiss that I just love. I think it is the fact that he can laugh. That to me is just something that is soo important. Like you can be serious and spiritual but still be able to have fun and laugh and he just has the best sense of humor.  Hermana Curtiss is great as well. When she is talking you can just feel how much she loves us and how she just wants what’s best for us. I am so blessed to have just the best leaders and president in the world. I love the mission. I love my comp. Salama and my president and just life in general.  Love you all family and don’t forget to pray and read your scriptures.  Look for opportunities to share this gospel because every needs it. Pray for opportunities to talk to people about the church. Pray for strength to know what to say when the time comes. Love you all family and have a good week!

my comp the tall one and one of the assistants my old zl his name is elder trujillo

just a member killing the pig for christmas
(I hate this one and didn't want to add it but since Nick sent it home I did...)

some of the petojos and i in that youth house

I have a change ( week 47)

Hey team loved your letters this week and I love the Christmas season.  Even though to be completely honest with you all it couldn’t feel any more not like Christmas.  Man it’s really not a winter wonderland at all… I’m sweating as we speak…haha  

Ya team so as you can tell I have a change in the mission. I’m going to be a zone leader in Salama which is in Baja Verapaz.  Let me tell you how I feel… pumped and sad.  I’m sad because I am now leaving Cubulco after only 3 months and I’m leaving that place with 7 fechas that are all pretty fijo and are going to get baptized.  That’s just great because although I am not going to be there when they get baptized I’m going to get credit in heaven for finding and teaching them…haha.  I’m sad about that and because this area of Cubulco is more ready to hear the gospel than any other area I have been in thus far in my mission. It was the best opening up this area to missionaries for the first time.  That was soo fun talking and contacting people that have never seen us before.  It was the best. I’m soo sad to be leaving that area. I worked so hard there and I’m not going to be there to see the blessings…haha  Well that’s just the way the mission works though so it’s all good.  The other hard part about leaving Cubulco is the fact that I am going to have to say goodbye to Basilio Alverez that inactive member we found. Ya he is going to be a leader in the church... I know it.  He is sooo pilas and I love him so much.  Also saying goodbye to Hermana Maria was tough too.  It’s hard having so much love for these people then out of nowhere having to say goodbye.  I just love those people so much.  Ok now about my change to Salama.  I’m pumped to have the responsibility of my zone and its going be so fun.  I am also excited to have a more personal relationship with the president because I am going to have to talk to him like every day. Oh, and to have a good rama here in Salama will be great.  Ya so those are the changes.  I’m pumped and sad but I guess that is how it always is.  Now for the last week in Cubulco and it was awesome. We had a baptism which is just the best and only the second one in Cubulco but it was awesome.  Her name is Joslyn and she is 10. She has gone to church a ton because her mom’s friend is Mormon and always brought her to church. Yea so I baptized her and her parents pretty much wanted nothing to do with us. That was until they came to her baptism. They felt the spirit at the baptism of their daughter so strong I know it. The next visit we had with them they had changed completely and said they are going to get married on Wednesday so they can get baptized asap.  That’s the best and a great testimony builder. They went from not wanting anything to do with the church to now wanting to get baptized all from feeling the spirit.  There are so many little miracles happening in Cubulco it’s crazy.  I wish I could tell you all of them but I really can’t. Family and friends the church is true.  I know that without a doubt.  Today is the day of your repentance so don’t procrastinate it.  I could not be happier as a missionary of the lord.  I look forward to helping the people of Salama come unto Christ.  Love you all and have a good week!

Elder Call

hermano robeto and i and the the tie he gave me remember this tie story

my comp and I on a bus

basilio alverez and i that less active i found and brought back to the church in cubulco

basilio and the fam of hermana maria we all got together last night to watch the christmas devotional at the house of hermano basilio. he invited all these people to his house to watch it and made dinner for us he is the man

my zone with me focusing on keeping a little toy bird i won in pictionary today haha

my district and I was in charge of for like 12 weeks

this is a great pic. there was just some guy walking on the street with a bunch of goats and i couldn't figure out what he was doing until i went up close and realized that he was selling the milk of the goats fresh literately squeezing it out of the utter into a cup and selling it to people. i didn't try it because i was scared i was going to get a disease but i wanted to. that just something you don't see in the states

josylin and her parents

the branch of rabinal supporting the baptism

Thanksgiving in guat (week 46)

Wow guys your thanksgiving sounded sooo good. It put me soo baggy. You guys did exactly what I love to do. Beach and san fran and eat haha. I’m trying to think if there is anything better… hmmm no.  Like mom and dad I know you guys know how good that is but I wonder if ella and ben do because I think those kids have no idea haha. I’m glad to hear that you guys had a great thanksgiving.

Alright so this thanksgiving was cool too. I can’t believe that it was a year ago when I heard elder holland talk to us in the mtc.  Man time flies. So we had to come down here to Salama from Cubulco on Thursday because we needed to sleep at the zls house. We had a missionary conference con president amado in Coban and so we needed to leave super early. So ya we had thanksgiving dinner at the house of a members house here in Salama. She knows the states and how thanksgiving is so we had turkey potatoes and well pizza for an appetizer. It was good I mean for guat. Let me tell you guys that nobody has better food at thanksgiving then us.  It was fun though eating some somewhat American food.  It was a lot of fun being with the other missionaries and being baggy together haha.  It was a fun night. The next day we had the president amado conference. That was great and I love being in the presence of general authorities.  You can always feel the spirit soo much and I learned so much and I can’t wait to apply it to my life and in my area of Cubulco.  The best thing that happened this week though was yesterday we had a lesson with one of our investigators. She always wanted to get baptized but hasn’t been able to because her dad wouldn’t give her permission. Well we fasted and well her dad gave her permission it was great. It was a complete miracle. Ya so she is going to be getting baptized this weekend hopefully unless some freak thing happens.  Also her parents want to listen to us and want to go to church so hopefully we can get them in the water soon also haha.  Man like I said last week. I have seen so many miracles in my area. We haven’t had baptisms yet but I have found and taught 8 people.  Like I told you they want to get baptized but can’t right now. So I planted the seeds and they are going to get baptized in the future.  We also found a member named Basilio Alverez and I think I told you about him.  Well ya he wants us to teach his family now so we should have a bunch more investigators. Man overall the mission is the best. I did miss thanksgiving with the fam but I’m perfectly happy here in guat. Love you all and have an awesome week and remember to choose the right.  This life is sooo short compared to the eternity.

Elder Call

thanksgiving dinner 

and the first vision but elder call style

I have no idea what to put for my subjects anymore (week 45)

Hey team loved your letters this week. Man I didn’t even know that it was thanksgiving this week haha. Ya so to answer your questions no I don’t think they celebrate that here. I’ll tell you what though they are always celebrating something and I don´t get it.  Man thanksgiving without john and ann that’s weirder then heck.  I can´t believe it because that has been thanksgiving for the last 15 years. What a crazy change. All I ask is that next year for thanksgiving we are all together haha. Great to hear that grandpa brown is recovering well.  Ella, I loved your letter too. Glad to hear everything is going well.  How do you like theater and how is it being in middle school?

Well the big thing for this week is that I found a house in Cubulco to live in finally. So my comp and I will be moving back there shortly because we are taking a bus from Rabinal to Cubulco to work and then from Cubuclo back to Rabinal to sleep every day.  Ya so we found a house and it’s such a dope house as well.  It will be nice working in Cubulco full time again because the other elder who got hurt in Rabinal is now back in Rabinal.  The only thing is we are really not working full time over there because the last bus leaves at like 5:30 so we lose something like 3 hours of working every night.  It’s all good though because we have a house and we are going to move back there tomorrow.  Ya so all I can say about this week is it was full of miracles. Not big ones but little ones and it’s such a testimony builder for real. I have never had a point in my life where I have felt the lord’s help in my life so much. I can literally feel his hand guiding us along with finding new investigators, with teaching, knowing how to teach, and with finding a house to live in this week.  The odds are always against us but we always manage to do fine.  I really wish I could tell you over email but I really can´t because it just won’t do it justice how I feel. My testimony has grown more here in Cubulco then any other place in my mission I think.  This week especially and I don’t know exactly why but my comp and I were just walking with the spirit and it’s like Jesus was walking right there with us. We talked to everyone and everyone wanted to listen to us. We put like 5 new fechas out this week as well. None are for sure going to get baptized as of right now but getting fechas is a start. We just taught like a ton of like small super super spiritual lessons.  Ya so basically I am loving the mission and it is the freaking best. It kinda makes me sad when I think that I only have one year left because I wouldn´t really mind doing this for the rest of my life haha.  The church is true and that is a fact and if you guys don’t have a strong testimony get one. It’s not that freaking hard just pray, do your part, and be humble.  Love you all and have a good week.

Elder Call

Some pics I took while riding on the bus...

Fam Bam (week 44)

Wow so Kessler was fired I feel bad but man I’m not surprised.  I’m actually surprised it took this long to do it haha.  Ya so I loved your letters this week like always and they always keep me motivated when I know I have the support back home. Grandpa Brown is so funny.  I can´t believe he is still riding that motorcycle haha. He is the best.

Ya so in case you guys haven’t seen the calendar I hit a year this last week. 1 year.. how in the world has it been 1year since I was at home?  For me the year has gone byyyyy soooo fast. Like 1 year to be honest literally feels like I have been gone for 3 months nada mas. The time is flying by. Ya me voy. haha bromas I still have so much time left haha.  To answer your question mom its nuts speaking a different language. It’s weird I don´t have to think to speak either now.  It’s just who I am.  It’s dope though  switching from Spanish to English like a million times a day.  Crazy though when you think about it and I love it. Ya so the reason that I am writing you today is because I went to Coban yesterday so my comp could go down to the cap to sign his visa thing. Ya so I stayed in Coban for 2 nights which was great because I got to see all my friends. Man I passed my old area on the way to Coban and I miss it so much. I love every one of the areas I have had sooo much.  I freaking miss Coban. It’s soo cold there and I love it because I’m freaking sick of the heat haha.   So my area is great though out here in Cubulco and I will be going to Cubulco again this week. I will be moving from Rabinal to Cubulco. My comp and I just need to find a new house.  Man I love Cubulco but we are having some trouble there right now. We have 8 people right now who want to get baptized and none of them can. 2 families because they can’t get married and 4 people can’t get permission from their family members.  We need your prayers out here because I need a miracle.  All 8 of them attend church and want to get baptized… it’s tough. Ya so that’s the latest on my area.  I love the mission. I really do it’s the best. It makes me kinda sad knowing I only have a year left.  I know that that is soo much time but it goes by soo fast haha. Love you all and can´t wait to hear from you next week.

Elder call

we freaking bought a giant ice cream cake for my 1 year.  i though that it was going to be cake and ice cream but it was all ice cream in the shape of a cake.  we bought the biggest one that had 15 portions and we ate it all with 3 people. i wanted to puke and i promised myself i was never going to eat ice cream again we will see how long that will last.

saber

when i saw this thing it reminded me of elder rojas haha

burned a white shirt for my year that's the tradition in the mission. tie at 6 months and shirt at a year

living in guat is like having the circus at your house all day. like look how incredible this is. those things are huge and heavy haha

some weird freakin dance that i still don´t understand why they do it

Good Week (week 43)

Thanks for the letters guys they are always the best. Man Ella sounds so grown up now. It makes me want to cry. I still think she is like 6 and Charlie is like 2 haha. I am glad to hear that srv killed mv as well. It’s the truth though guys, we have the best leaders in the church ever. Pres stone and bish miner are the best. I’m convinced that there is no one more kind and loving then those two men. I’m serious, I never realized how great they are until I came here. haha It’s just something that our entire district down here is lacking and that is good leadership. I will have to give you more details about it when I get back to the states. Really though, they are the best and such good examples of the type of people I want to be.

Let me think this week was kinda nuts. The days go by soo freakin fast because I have to work in 2 areas. It’s a blast though and I am loving every second of it. My comps are great as well and we have so much fun together. The mission is such an adventure. So I have a couple of great stories to tell you guys. Well I always throw rocks at dogs because there are millions of them and I think it’s just the best. 1. Well elder aybar never did it. One time we were walking on the street and he picked up a rock and threw it and just about killed the dog. He was a pitcher back in the republic in baseball and that kid has a freakin arm. It was so funny because I had never seen him throw anything and he threw it and it just about killed the dog. I laughed for like a year. 2. We were making tortillas at a members house and she suggested buying the stuff to make tortillas at our house because she thinks our tortillas are terrible. haha So she bought a bunch of massa and a plate to cook it on, wood and 2 bricks and we made tortillas at our house. Soo fun but. they are the ugliest tortillas in the entre world but they taste the same. The hardest part though was getting the fire started because the wood she gave us was wet. haha It took us 1 and a half hours to get it going but ya we finally did and we made bomb tortillas with cheese. haha. 3. We had a baptism Saturday up at a waterfall in our area and it was dope. Well I was hopping from rock to rock because it was fun. Well I underestimated my athletic abilities and tried to hop from a small rock to a bigger rock that was like 10 feet above the water and I ate it. Ya I fell into the water that was like 4 feet deep and practically had to swim out. I was soaked and uncomfortable and everybody was making fun of me. haha I had to give a talk in front of like 30 people and I was soaking wet. haha. That was funny. Oh and I broke my belt also when I fell and my pants just fall off because I have lost so much weight. So I was talking with one hand holding up my pants and my scriptures in the other. It was horrible. We got back to the house and I had to run over to the market to buy another belt because my pants are just huuuuuggge now haha. Oh freak also we did service Saturday and we ate like soup with chicken foot. I had to give myself a pep talk and tell myself I could do it. The people who gave it to us told us we didn’t need to eat it but I was like no I’ll eat it don’t worry. Well when I got the foot I took a little nibble and saw the dirty skin hanging from my mouth and a little toe bone and gagged. I freaking gagged right in front of them. I felt horrible and here they are eating this foot like it’s some sort of a delicacy. I felt like crap and to be honest I still do. That’s something I won’t forget haha. Ya so basically the mission is the best really it is. It’s awesome knowing that I am a representative of Christ and I’m doing exactly what he would be doing if he was here right now on the earth. I love feeling the spirit in my life so much and feeling at peace with the decisions I make every day. Wickedness never was happiness it’s so true. I’m happier than I have ever been and I’m in some little town in guat teaching people about Jesus. It’s the best. It’s nuts but it’s the best. Love you all and have a good week and remember that our choices now affect all of eternity. That’s a really long time so choose the right.

Elder call

security guard for the alcalde with a gun haha

dinner at robertos house

this is how aybar sleeps every night because i told him that our house has bad spirits which is true. it really does but he is so freakin scared haha so funny

look at guats attempt at having a good name for pizza super ok. like what super ok. your kidding me super means like incredible and ok means like not good or not bad like soo funny. i die laughing at this every day.

stuart and i tortillaring in our house haha

the baptism and i'm soaking wet with a broken belt haha

stuart baptizing

today at some like sugar factory museum thing

san geranimo

Fam Ban (week 42)

Ya so loved your letters as always. Man I’m glad you guys had a good Halloween. I’m glad kev went over as well. haha I freakin love that kid and think about the crazy stuff we did right before I left. haha I can´t believe that was a year ago. I’m glad to hear that ben hasn´t changed at all and is still breaking everything haha.

Ya so this week was nuts. It started off nuts because on Sat like I told you my kid was having a change and that was completely unexpected. Ya so I went to Salama to go get my new kid. His name is Elder Aybar. I think he is a good guy but I’m not really sure because he doesn´t talk and when he does I can barely understand him because of his thick accent. Rojas I could understand easily but elder Aybar is fresh from the Republica and has not lost his accent at all haha. Ya so he is really quiet really really quiet. Ya so we worked together for 1 day when the zone leaders called me Thursday morning telling me I had an emergency change to the area right next to mine... Rabinal. There were 2 elders there in that area and we all go to church together Sunday. One of the elders there hurt his knee super bad Monday and went to Coban to get medical help. Well he can´t walk for like a month so I had to move to Rabinal with my kid. Elder Brito is the one who got hurt and he had a kid also Elder Stuart that you have probably seen in my pics. Ya so I am finishing the training of Elder Stuart and starting the training of Elder Aybar. It’s nuts haha. Ya so they called us Thursday in the morning and told us that within 2 hours we had to have all of our stuff packed and ready to move houses. We had to move everything because we had to move out of our house in Cubulco anyway. We had some problems with the landlord. Well basically she is a witch and has a wandering eye for every man in Cubulco. Ya she has a rep in Cubulco and it isn´t a good one and so we had to get out of there before something happened to us. So like I said we had to pack everything that we had. We also had to find a pickup and a place to put all of our crap like fridge tables dressers beds and other stuff because we are going to move back to Cubulco at some time. It will probably be next change but we need to find a new house. Ya so that was nuts. We had so much stuff we needed to do in such little time. Ya but we did it even though I lost like all my hair because it was so much pressure. Ya so we are officially in Rabinal Elder Stuart Elder Aybar and me. I officially have 3 kids in the mission Elder Stuart Elder Aybar and Elder Fitzgerald. Ya so it’s a ton of work right now because we have to work in the 2 areas. We are expected to have good stats for the 2 areas but we have half of the time to work in Cubulco. Especially since the better part of our investigators we could only visit at night but the last bus to go back to Rabinal from Cabulco is at like 6. So we have lost a bunch of good investigators which totally blows. Ya it’s all good though the lord knows that we can do it so I feel fine even though it’s a ton of work. haha 2 kids training at the same time. I need to help them be the best missionaries they can be and work in 2 areas and I’m opening 1 of the 2 areas and be responsible for my district haha. Ya it’s a ton of work but it’s a lot of fun at the same time. I love the mission and wouldn´t trade this time for anything. Really it’s the best. I know the church is true and it’s so motivating thinking that I’m doing the lords work and not mine. Love you all and can’t wait to talk to you in a month and a half. Have a good week.

Love elder call

My comp and me

my comps. we were doing service and had to get all these sticks and dry plants and burn them and i was like that's fun but it would be more fun if we built a giant bonfire and lit it up. so that's we did a huggggggeeee bonfire it was dope haha