You Live In St. George and I Live in San Jorge Too!

FAMILY!!! Hey how’s it going? So I started writing two other people but then I decided I better write you guys first... so well raise your hand if you live in St. George?!?! (You should all be raising you hand) but I am too!!! I am in San Jorge! Which is a small little town outside Zacapa which is like 4 hours from the capital towards Porta Barrio, and it is fetchin hot!!!! Goodness and yep you guessed it no AC. Seriously this is like a tiny village!! I am straight up roughing it.  There is only on paved road the rest are dirt roads! It’s so sweet. first couple days I was like '' I am straight up living the missionary dream, I am out in a small village with some of the nicest people´´ I have dreamed about doing this my whole life, just roughing it, but only problem is now I actually have to live that dream.... I won’t lie it has been rough those first couple days, not speaking a lick of Spanish. My comp is Latino, elder Arce from Costa Rica, he is super sweet! A hard worker and just ready to bring success to this area.  This area has been struggling with success for a long time now, so hopefully I can turn it around and start doing work!! Well the branch has 20 members give or take, least that’s how many were in attendance Sunday. Supposedly there are like 150 in actives that just don’t come and haven’t for a long time for some. Oh and you guessed it well you probably didn’t cause the thought didn’t even cross your mind, but I am 2nd counselor in the branch! Hahaha and my comp is 1st.  So with that we basically run everything.  I had to teach young men’s and women’s Sunday but they told me like 2 minutes before! So ya luckily I had my notebook from the CCM with a couple talks and I pulled something together.

Did I mention it is hot!! This is the hottest city in our mission, we have a fan in the house and tomorrow we are going to buy another one so we can each have one when we sleep.  Haha ok so funny story. we were waiting for the branch president who is always late, but then all the sudden my comp freaks out and jumps up and starts picking some leaves off a tree then eats it! I was like is he loco what’s going on. Well I guess they taste good, so yep you know what I did, I picked a bunch of leaves off a tree and threw them in my mouth! Haha they tasted like lemons you would honestly like them! Don’t judge, but during it I thought my family would think I’m crazy. 

Ok so Sunday afternoon it rained and just down poured we were teaching a lesson during and after just the street was literally a river, they weren’t lying when they said that happens literally a foot of water rushing down the street. so my comp wanted to wait for it to reseed which is understandable, but once it was down to like 2 inched I wanted to go, because I wanted to test out my shoes, and my umbrella, well apparently his shoes has holes in them because he’s been out 11 months already, and he left his umbrella, so I go to test out the Ecco Trek 5´s and they held up great! But poor him he was soaked after and it was all my fault! But we had already been at that house for two hours with the lesson and waiting. So we went and changed well he did and we went on our way in the rain.  I loved it! Just being out in freakin GUATEMALA!! Haha

Oh ya its way hot!! But also you weren’t lying when they said they have mosquitoes, I have counted over 40 bites, but it’s only me! And I use repellant!! I don’t get it, all over my feet cause I didn’t sleep with socks my first couple nights, (don’t worry you will learns these things, and don’t feel bad, I didn’t know either) and my elbows and arms, I use a lot of it, and I am getting some permetheran for everything and will just soak my room with it, because another problem we have is spiders there are so many! Only a couple big scary ones but mostly ones that spin lots of webs cause they are everywhere!

I saved my peach rings you sent me for the field, and opened them this week and oh my goodness!! I don’t think I have ever tasted such goodness in my life! And not even because I am in Guatemala in the middle of nowhere by myself surrounded by people that don’t speak my language and eat leaves, but it was just a genuine batch of peach rings, so if you want to call western family and let them know that I was satisfied with my peach rings. 

Alright before I forget, don’t worry about the mp3, my comp has an iPod that he bought from a white missionary and it has lord of the rings which sooths me at night, and McLean and just the usual, and I will try to buy it from him in 12 weeks. So I will for sure be in this area for 12 weeks but probably 4 and a half or even 6 months 2 to 4 transfers, but for sure 2.  This is good so I can get to know the members and actually try to get the work going. When we got here they didn’t have any investigators or nothing! So we had nothing to go with and didn’t know anything because we are both new here.  So it has been a fun week.

Ok truth time, first couple days I thought numerous times I want to go home this sucks , it is hot I hate bugs and I’m almost out of peach rings, an there is no way I can do this, but honestly now I love it here! It is great I have gotten used to the heat it’s not too bad anymore it is tolerable, and my Spanish is exploding out of nowhere! I love it, we have a comedor for breakfast and lunch, and for dinner we don’t eat.... well my comp wanted to do that but I said no, no way, so I usually just get a bag of chips and some cookies from the tienda or corner store here, because there isn’t a grocery store here! Haha

Well I think I have covered everything I wanted to cover. I will try to upload some pictures. oh today for p day we went up to chiqmula or something like that and played soccer with our zone all 16 of us haha then went to this huge store, it is like DI or a thrift store, only it is all the stuff from the thrift stores in the us that no one wanted, so it is the best of the best in ugliness which is just up my alley! So I was in heaven and had to remember that I am on a mission and can’t buy everything so I limited myself to one tie and Hawaiian shirt! It is like bright fluorescent red with crazy flowers over it! It is so awesome I love it! And for both were only 3 Q´s which is like 36 cents! Woot woot!

Oh right a spiritual thought of what I have learned because I am on a mission and all... haha joke I LOVE IT HERE! but umm this week one think I have learned is not to judge people, because we had no investigators we had to do a lot of contacting, and of the people I thought would talk to us, wouldn’t and the people I thought wouldn’t talk to us we actually got in and had really good lessons. (let me tell you what a lesson consists of with us, my comp does all the talking then will stop turn to me, and if I am paying attention (sometimes I just can’t handle all the Spanish and zone out but only for like a minute or two) but lesson... then I do all that I can, turn to him and say si, then he fixes whatever I just said haha)) But ya there are some of the nicest chillest people here and the sooner I humble myself thee faster I can help them! Because I truly want to even if I made it sound like I don’t want to I love it here!

Well I have written a lot and if anything just know I love you and think about you guys a lot (in the night obviously, and not during anything else). Well do you have any questions? Elder Call