2015-02-23 Challenges and Blessings

Hey guys! This past week has been pretty crazy... actually one of the weirdest and frustrating weeks of my mission.

On Monday, we just went around saying goodbye to people with Elder R.  He is a great guy and I know that he will do better from now on out.  I was really touched because we had a good, long talk about how he turned it around with me.  Good guy, good missionary.

On Tuesday, we had changes and I received Elder G from El Salvador.  He has 7 months in the mission.   This past week has been the most challenging in the mission comp. wise... but we'll get to that later. 

After changes we went back to our area, and visited members and investigators, and as we were walking up this hill in the bottom of our area, these 2 cops stop us and say "drop your bags, and spread out on the wall."  They searched us and did a pat down, the cop even tapped my balls to make sure I wasn’t hiding a gun or something down there!  Haha I was laughing the whole time, and my comp was sooooo scared!  He says "we are missionaries!” and the cop says "I don't care if you have money!"  Haha and my comp looked like he was going to crap his pants.  They looked in our bags and books for stuff, and then took down our names. 

Wednesday, crazy stuff passed too, we went to an appointment at 2 in the afternoon and as we enter the house this old guy is having a seizure on the floor, so we pick him up and put him on the bed and he just keeps having these seizure attacks off and on, and he could barely breathe.  So we call the ambulance and like typical Guatemala emergency service, the ambulance did not come and we were waiting there with the guy practically dying there for about 45 minutes, and so we just went and got a taxi to take him to the hospital.  He is okay now.

Thursday, we saw a dead body on the street.  A group of people were surrounding the crime scene and I guess the guy was shot like 4 times and the cops were all running around looking for the bad guy.  We passed the scene on the way to an appointment and it was sad.  Then about an hour after we contacted a house and a guy let us in, all tattooed, and as we were teaching the lesson, he stopped us and talked about how he was an ex gang boss and how he had killed many guys, and how there are people from the other gang looking for him etc.  You could see death in his eyes... it was weird.  I felt bad and sick in the whole lesson.  I have only felt that way a few times in my mission in houses like that.

Hahaha oh well, we will see how things unfolds, time to crack the whip and straighten things out.  But other than that, I am loving the mission.  I love what I do and the people I meet!  Have a great week guys! Take Care!

2015-02-16 Staying in Beautiful Alameda

02/16/15

Hey guys, well another week down here and the change comes to an end.  My companion has changes and I am staying here in Alameda.  It was a fun run with the kid.  He is super sad to be leaving because this is his first area, but it is all good.  We got a lot of work done here in the area this past week and we taught and found a whole bunch of people. 

I was talking to Elder F this past week, and he will be going home on Wednesday.  It is crazy how time just flies away here.  Time goes by and you look back and say "how did I get here?" haha.  But everything is going well here. 

I did divisions with the other area in my district, and we got a lot of work done.  I went with this guy from Blackfoot Idaho, named Elder S, and he is great.  Has about 7 months in the mission, and was kind of down about everything because the work was moving slow in his area, but we just went in there and tore it up.  He came out happy and with the excitement needed to keep going.  I love helping others. 

I was reading in the teachings of the prophets that Wilford Woodruff said in a temple dedication that the portals of the heavens were opened and the destroying angels were loosed upon the earth in 1894 and that things would get tougher and tougher as time went on.  I read an article and a study that said that since that year the number of wars and destructions grew substantially.  That made me think that if the angels were already sent down to begin the separation of the wheat and the tare as it says in the scriptures, we are in the last days.  Things are coming to a close, and those that are not willing to work and strive in the faith will be burned with the other unworthy and unwilling servants.  Things may get bad, but do not lose hope.  Keep the faith, and work hard in the service of your God.  Others have agency, but our duty is to fulfill our calling to the best of our ability.  And like it says, if we continue faithful until the end, we will receive a crown of glory, and all the things the Father has, we will be partakers of those blessings too.

I love you guys, have a great week!

02/09/15

Hey guys, how are you all doing?  This past week was great and we got a lot of work done.  Finally are getting a good number of people to go to church, but we still need to find more investigators that really want to progress.  We lost some baptism dates because of unseen factors, and my comp. and I sat down to really assess what is going on.  We talked it out and had some help from the leaders and we started to act and attack the work in a different way.  After that, things started to fall into place and go well.  Just work. 

Nothing much happened this week.  It seems like drunks are always attracted to us.  I feel like this week we have been approached by more drunks than ever in my mission.  They always say "hello mah friend" and try to speak English, and my comp. gets the most of it because he is whiter than me.  They think I am the Latino and he is the gringo.  But other than that a good and sobering week.

Love you guys, take care!

2015-02-02 The Lord's Luchador

Hey guys! I am glad to hear everything is going well over there in that part of the world.  We had a good week.  We just got back from the Church Area Offices in zone 10 so we kind of just had a slow p-day, didn’t do much.

This past week was great and we had a baptism.  The baptism was for K.R.  She is a young woman, 15 years old.  She was referred by one of the members.  We started teaching her 7 weeks ago and since she is under 18 years old, she needed to attend church several times before she can be baptized.  So we have been working with her a lot.  She is super, super great, one of those "Golden Investigators" that everyone talks about.  She reads the Book of Mormon everyday, prays, and picked up super quick on everything that we teach her.  She is the only member in her family, and her parents support her going to church, joining the church and attending the church activities.  The family said that they have seen a change in her since she started going to church, and they can see that she is super excited about it.  They have this calendar in the house and she marked all the Tuesdays in the year with "mutual" and the baptism date after the first time we talked about baptism.

The baptism service was good and it went smoothly.  One of the priests in the church baptized her, and everything went well.  Not as many people showed up as we expected or invited, but the important people to her showed up so at least that was good.  Guatemala reminds me of Hawaii because everyone here acts and does things on Hawaiian time... but oh well.  

Other highlights of the week, Friday I did divisions with the ZLs and we worked and everything was great.  Haha this week I have just been having bad stomach problems.  Oh I tell you it was soooooooo bad!   It was very hard holding it.

But things are going okay here.  Having so much fun.  We also bought nacho libre wrestling masks.

Well, have a good week, I love you guys, and take care!

 

2015-01-26 TIme is Just Flying

Hey guys another week down here in the mission. Time is just flying. I have been talking to Elder F lately and he only has 24 days left... it is so crazy to just think that more than a year ago we were in Palencia, and I was just starting the mission. It seems like yesterday. But all is well in Zion here.

On Tuesday, we had a Zone Conference and we had workshops with president, hna. Crapo, and the assistants. 4 zones showed up to the conference and it is all good. Right now F is training so I have a brother in the mission. He is from New York. Cool kid. But all in all it was a great conference. We talked about ways to accelerate the work. We learned different ideas and things that we need to better.
In the night on Tuesday, we went to an appointment with an investigator. He is a pastor of a church and he is a friend of a member. And so we get there and he pulls out his bible and a sheet of paper full of questions, verses and things to just try and tear us down, and he says "are you ready to be converted to the truth?" I laugh and take out my Bible and Book of Mormon, and we go to a discussion. The first appointment with him was about the restoration, and we were going to read the Book of Mormon with him, but he started to bash with us, and so out of 20 questions, and verses he pulled out, he could not confound us. We defended verse after verse using just the Bible. He was sooooo frustrated with things that after the 20th question, he just sat there in silence. So I pulled out some verses in Ezekiel that talk about the stick of Judah and Ephraim and I ask him what does this mean. And he could not explain it. So I told him that the Book of Mormon is there to show men that God completes all his promises, that if he did not believe in continuing revelation given to man through prophets, then he did not know anything about the bible, or the nature of God. So he stood up and left, and said that he would study it and bring more verses to tear down Joseph Smith, and the Book of Mormon.

Experiences like that just tell me how bad the world is lost in confusion, and how the restoration of the gospel came forth, but the apostasy still runs rampant. It also testifies to me the truthfulness of the church and the Book of Mormon. I am so grateful for the knowledge of the gospel, because it helps me and others to change their lives. With the true gospel we are not in darkness but we have the light. With this light, we need to know it well, and use it to help others in the darkness. Hahaha I didn't want to bash with the guy, but oh well.

The rest of the week went great, and we have been giving a lot of service this past week. Shoveling dirt, etc. and it’s all good.

We had stake conference here too, and it was great. They are focusing on the basics: prayer, scripture study, family home evening, fasting, and church attendance. These things help us stay healthy with the spirit and in the right path.

Well have a good week guys, take care, and I love you!

1/19/15 Another Week Here in Alameda!

Hey guys!  Another week down here in Alameda.  Time flies and this week went by really fast as well... I can't believe that the sister missionaries that arrived at the MTC the same time when I came are going to finish in a few weeks!  Wow, eighteen months already?

Haha!  Well this past week was great.  We worked really hard.  On Wednesday, President Crapo, Hermana Crapo, and the Assistants came to work in the zone with us.  We woke up early to prepare for the meeting.  I had to give a district meeting in front of the missionaries from my district, and one of the Assistants, Elder G. from Guatemala.

Then we went to work.  From 3:30 in the afternoon to 9 at night we worked with one of the Assistants’ Elder S.  It was great and we gave it our all.  He helped us learn some new ways to teach, and we took him around our area.  One of the things that we learned is that the Lord is preparing families.  We contacted all the families we saw on the street and we got return visits later on in the week.  A lot of the families are really good and receptive.  So we worked like that for the rest of the week.  We are finding a lot of investigators teaching a bunch of lessons... but the biggest challenge for us right now in the area is getting people to go to church.  We cannot baptize them if they do not go to church.  Yesterday we were kind of let down because only a few of the investigators showed up to church.  But it is all good... we are going to work on that and focus on that this coming week.

I was reading in the teachings of Joseph Smith, there is a section called "the evils of rushing ordination" and he says that we should not rush ordination or any other ordinance on people that are not ready for the responsibility.

The second half of the week we kind of hit a wall.  I was thinking long and hard about why... and I realized that the Lord is telling us he wants us to work in a different way.  Out of 18 new converts only 3 shows up regularly.  We cannot expect the Lord to bless us with more blessings or people to teach, nor baptisms, if we cannot take care and respect what we already have and have been blessed with.  This week we are going to work with what we already have, and try to better that. 

But all in all, a good week! I love you guys, and take care!  Don’t forget to say your prayers and read your scriptures everyday.

1/5/15 & 1/12/15 Guatemala Is GREAT!

01/05/15

hahaha that is pretty funny that Hermana mentioned me.  Well this past week went by real fast, and we were able to enjoy the time here in the area.  I think the best thing that makes the area enjoyable are the members.  The members here are super fun and very kind to the missionaries.  

On the 31^st, I taught district meeting and the rest of the day was spent visiting members and investigators sharing messages of New Years and putting goals.  Most of our appointments fell through because everyone leaves to go to travel to the beach for the day and do stuff with family in other parts of the country, but it was all fun.

In the night we went and had a BBQ with the prior bishop of the ward here.  I love that family.  We both put half-half of the food, and we just spent time with them.  They are struggling a little on the financial side and a few days ago the wife, Hermana mentioned that they did not know what they were going to do for new years with the family.  So we went and shared food with them.  After we got there, more members came to the house at 9pm.

Then we went home and had a bonfire on the roof of the house with the other elders in my district who live next to us.  We had smores and just watched the fireworks and people milling about in the street on the rooftop.  Then we went to sleep.

The rest of the week was good and normal.  People are a little more receptive because they want to make a good start to the New Year. 

I’m loving it here.   This Sunday, I will have a chance to go back to La Leyenda and baptize C.  I am looking forward to that and I am really excited.

In this area, I feel like we are here to help reactivate a lot.  Recently that is where we have been having success.  Yesterday, we helped a woman that was baptized 2 months ago.

Well that is all for now, I love you.  Have a good week, and take care!

01/12/15

Hey!  This past week was super, super great.  I was able to go back to La Leyenda, my last area and baptize C. O. the father of familia O.  It was great!  

Our church services here finished at 1pm and so we were scrambling to leave and catch 2 buses to get to La Leyenda.  I got off the bus and as we walked into the chapel I was greeted by a whole bunch of people.  I was so surprised to see all the people there.   Somehow all of them including all of my converts found out that I would be there.  So this room was packed with families and people from the ward waiting for the baptism.

It was a great service and the baptism went by really well.  One thing though was that there was almost no water in the font.  Only enough water to come up to my shin, or almost to my knee.  We tried doing it standing 2 times but there was not just enough water so finally I told him "kneel down" and so we both knelled down in the water and finally I was able to submerge him completely.  I cannot explain how much joy I felt.  My joy was full!  I feel so satisfied. 

This man was one of the hardest investigator and may I throw in there the least likely candidate for baptism.  He was drinking, and smoking the whole time we were teaching him and his family, but he was always was attentive and listened to what we had to say.  We won his confidence little by little helping him with English as he knows and understands a lot of it.  And as we were changing he told me that after I left, he said that he just sat down and thought about what we told him, and then realized that he needed to get things right with God.  That he is too old to be fooling around with his health, physically and spiritually.  I am happy and I felt good. 

Another thing that really touched me was that the people that participated in the baptismal program were Jason, my convert and others that we worked with.  Hearing their testimonies and how they turned around their lives just testifies to me that the Lord knows, and prepares people in small and diverse ways.  It is our job as sons and daughters of God to help others along the way.  

One of the biggest regrets that a missionary can have is looking back and saying "I could have saved him..." and that is one of my biggest nightmares.  Not working and saving the souls that God has prepared.  I am really trying my best and working really hard here.  I am happy at how things are turning out.

Time just keeps passing and I know I will have to start life and school in about 8 months or so, but right now none of that matters.  I testify and know that I am engaged in the Lord’s work for now and I am in the Lords Errand.

I Love you guys and have a great week!

2014-12-23 & 29 Enjoying the Holidays

12/23/14

Hey guys how are things going?

This past week was great and we are all just preparing for Navidad.  We had a whole bunch of stuff going.   We had meetings with president Crapo and Hna. Crapo and yesterday we celebrated Navidad together with 4 other zones.  We met up and I got to see Elder Farr and some of my old comps.  It is kind of weird standing in meetings like these and being one of the older guys in the crowd.  Not really in age but have more time in the mission.  You see all these young and new faces with all their preoccupations and excitement.  There is an elder in our zone that is just suffering.  He is homesick and I tried to talk to him, and cheer him up, but it is going a little rough for him.  I remember back when I started and a year ago I was in Palencia with barely 3 months talking to you guys last Christmas was very hard.  And I’m sure he is missing his family this Christmas.

At the conference we ate turkey, mashed potato, and stuffing.  Then we watched a movie called Iron Will by Disney.  It is really great.  It is about a young 17 year old boy that goes on a dog sled race against seasoned veterans to win and save the family farm in order to go to school and study.  I recommend it.

The area is going great and you can just feel Christmas in the air.  I love it here.  There is no better time to work for the Lord than in Navidad.  I love you all! Take care, and FELIZ NAVIDAD!!! Espero que tengan una navidad bien calidad, y mando saludos a todos de mis amigos, familiares y el barrio! (Hope you have a good quality Christmas, and send greetings to all my friends, family and the neighborhood!)

12/29/14

Well Christmas week went really well here.  I am glad that I got to talk to you guys. I am glad to see that you are all doing great there.  Elijah is so big, and you guys look great Mom and Dad.

This past week was great and we were able to get a little work done here, but we mainly just enjoyed the week with members and investigators that invited us to spend Christmas with them.  On Wednesday, they call it la noche buena or the night before Christmas.  We just roamed around that day eating with people.  We ate 14 tamales, and they make this fruit cocktail kind of hot drink called Ponche.  We had fun and in the night we had to be in the house by 9.

The day after the 25 we just practically did the same thing.  We learned how to make bread and so in the afternoon with a group of investigators we made bread, and then went back to eat in the night.  All in all we had a good week.  Just preparing for new years now.

I found out that I have permission to go back and baptize C.O. on the 13^th of January from my last area so we will see.  I’m excited to be able to go back and baptize him.  This coming week is changes, so I don't know yet if I am staying.

Thanks for everything, Love you guys, and have a good week!

Helping a family get ready for a Christmas Party.

 Bread and tamales.

Elder Farr.