A Great, Long Mother's Day Phone Call

Happy mother’s day mom, I received a rose yesterday in church for you!!

Well yesterday calling was fun...however not going to lie it did put me very trunky! It is weird to think I will be home in 4 weeks!! I can’t believe it and it is a flood of emotions! Happy and sad... but it is just another step in life....

OK so this week was spent in divisions...something that President Stay is focusing on is rescuing the missionaries, it isn’t very effective to call them and see what is going on and how can we help he is now interested that we GO and rescue them. So this week we started that, I went to an area called Primero de Julio, with Elder Pineda from Honduras. Now he is a big guy...literally HUGE...their area is struggling a little. The divisions went well, what we focused on is getting the members out to go contact their neighbors, we went to 5 different families and got them to all go out with us, and with some they presented us to 3 or 4 of their neighbors!! It was a good division.

Then Thursday, an area needed an interview, so....divisions again...we just went home to shower change and then on the road again, this time I went to an area called Tierra Nueva, the person that is going to get baptized her brother got emergency surgery so she won’t be baptized until next week. While there we took 2 families out to contact their neighbors.


Friday in the morning we went out running! And I almost died... I am still sore... me and my comp (mainly my comp) are starting diets, and we are going to exercise more. Today we started, we talked to our commodore and she gave us fruit and cereal instead of eggs and beans with TONS of oil... so we shall see what happens.

Sunday we had a baptism!! Before church, at 7 in the morning... but in the stake center so we had to wake up super early to get there on time, it went well there is the photo. Those are the 4 missionaries here in this ward, and the bishop and elders president.


Well I’m sorry this letter is kinda short...but have a great week! Take some photos of Preston’s wedding and send them to me next week... it was so nice to talk to you guys yesterday, and I am so excited to be back with you guys! I will work hard these last 4 weeks, and be a good example to the zone. I love it out here but am happy to be with you guys again!!! I know this Gospel is true, it is for everyone!! And will help out anyone in any circumstance that is the unfailing thing that I have seen throughout my mission time and time again that God will always bless us when we obey his commandments, and the Gospel is the solution to everything. Put our trust in him, have faith and then move forward!! I love you all have a great week!!!!!!!!!

And I Will Die In This Area...!!!

Hi family.... well last week when I left you all I had changes... this has probably been the longest week ever of my mission!! Not because I didn’t enjoy it but because it has been an emotional roller coaster! Monday was a super hard day... I was not expecting changes... I was hoping to die in that area with Elder Garmendia but the Lord has other plans... so the whole day was spent saying goodbye to my converts, and members and some awesome investigators!! They threw us a going away party and they aren’t even members yet!! They are super awesome!!

That night there was a farewell for a missionary that was going to Panama, some members had a dinner and invited us, it was a good atmosphere one that I will never forget, I truly felt at home as everyone was saying goodbye to the missionary and me, I said my last words and for the first time I cried in all my mission... it was weird but felt good... I’m still not a good crier! But it was good; I will miss Barberena and the people! But am stoked for the adventure that is ahead of me! The only thing that I was dreading was packing! That has always been my enemy! I had my 2 huge suitcases stuffed full, plus my laundry bag full of clothes and such!

So the question you wanna know is where I am... it is like I said... I am in an area called Lo de Fuentes, in the Zone Bosques of the mission, but it is actually in a city apart from the city, like St. George and Washington... but this town is called Mixco! And it is huge!! Where I am is just residencials..... Again.... the ward had 186 people attend Sunday!! Bahaha talk about culture shock all over again! I didn’t know what to do with myself!!

But back to Tuesday.... I am with Elder Bracamonte from Lima Peru! He is a great guy... he honestly reminds me of Logan Terry, in everything he does! It is like being with Logan so we get along great!! I feel good about the changes and at peace, this is a great area to die in, however I am not going to try to get to know all the members! Our ward is split into 2 areas, so there are actually 4 missionaries here. Elder Ardon from Honduras, and Elder Cox from.....La Verkin!! Ha small world ey?

Wednesday we gave service, because that day is a national holiday so everyone goes to the beach again... so we built a house! The lady had a small little room for her and her 6 kids, so we built 2 more rooms for her, and reestablished the walls and roof and basically made it great! It was fun but HOT! I got fried.



That night Sister Stay called us and asked if they could join us for our companion study Thursday.



So Thursday they came and studied with us! Talk about intimidation! But after a while I wasn’t nervous anymore and it was a really great study session! We practiced for a couple of our investigators and I learned a ton! He is such smart man!! The biggest thing that I was reminded of was to teach people and not lessons! Many times we get caught up in teaching doctrine and not focusing on the personal needs of the investigators. I learned how to be more personal with them and how to apply the gospel personally to them; I am excited to apply this into my teaching for this last change.

Friday we had a mission counsel! It is no longer a zone leader counsel because there are sisters that are leaders now! It is a new thing that we are trying here, they are Hermana’s lider entrenadoras something like that, but they are just to help out with the sisters. We are making history here! Also Friday we found a killer awesome investigator called Nestor, he and his wife are listening to us! Pray for them!! He is just so chill, almost too chill but it is awesome!

Alright well to finish with my thoughts about the difference between the capital and outside cause I spent almost 23 months out and now my last change inside.... I am glad I spent my whole mission outside the capital... it’s not that I don’t like it but it is SO different from outside. The people here are so closed off, and in their own world and don’t like to let people into their world, and get mad when we try to enter their world. Also the houses are also very closed off, here is residencials and then once inside the residencial they have an intercom to call them... super hard to get in! Outside the capital we were teaching 20 lessons with members every week and 10 others, inside the capital we are averaging like 7 with member and 10 others, so it is a totally different way of working.

The weather here is crazier than St. George weather! It is hot in the morning cold in the afternoon and then rains or super hot and rains then super cold and cloudy it is weird and changes in a matter of hours.

As far as the zone there are only Latinos! Usually it is 50% gringos and 50% Latinos but here there are only 3 gringos, which is awesome to see the church progressing here!

Well I am so grateful for this opportunity to be a missionary! I love this gospel there is nothing better, I love helping people out with the Gospel, and there is nothing better than the gospel to help people with their problems in life. I love Jesus Christ and what he did for us, thanks to him we can return with our Padre Celestial. Thanks to the atonement we can find comfort with anything that we are going through, whatever problem, sickness, trial he has passed below all of that to help us out in our time of need. I am so grateful and in debt to him for his sacrifice. Something that I have been thinking about lately is the sacrament, and how if we take it worthily it is as if we are baptizing ourselves again, think about that! After our baptism we were clean, spotless! And we can be clean again every week if we do our part and take the sacrament worthily. Idk why but I really like that and have been explaining it to people lately. If we only put the same importance in the sacrament that we put in our baptism!

Alright family way out of time! Think of questions to ask me Sunday!! Love you!!! See you tomorrow!!

Coming Down To The Last Transfer!

Hi family como están?
I'm great! This week was relatively chill! Not too much happened JUST A BAPTISM is all!! Woot woot! Sorry no photos this week...the computer doesn’t have any USB ports!!! Bahaha But lemme tell bout my week....

So we did divisions Tuesday through Thursday, I went to Nueva Santa Rosa where we did the health clinic, just a super small branch there. I feel in this zone we have a ton of areas where the church is still in the first step, or it's not really founded. There are five areas that got bumped down to basic units a couple months ago Nueva being one of those. But the divisions were awesome! Really effective and else got a ton done with the members. That was our goal to get working with the members there more. And they started working with us more, we went out with a couple and taught their neighbors and invited them to a family home evening in the house of the member.

-side note.... If the missionaries showed up at your house and after teaching a really powerful lesson asked you to present the missionaries to your neighbors, friends, or coworkers would you do it? I admire the members here because that is what we are doing with them. We teach a lesson and then go out with them in the same moment and contact their neighbors or friends to have a family home evening in their house with the missionaries. Pretty interesting what the members here are doing! Would you do it? DO IT there are people waiting!!!—

But back to Nueva we used Moroni 9:6 and also D y C 123:17 a lot to get the members stoked and motivated again. It seemed to work, elder Kelsey told me the last day that he learned a lot and is going to change his way of working there. So that was good! He is a great missionary, super hilarious and has a crazy story of how he and his girlfriend (from St. George serving in Italy) went on the mission. While there we had cravings to eat marshmallows so we bought some and made a camp fire in the backyard then roasted them!! (I love Guatemala) it was a way chill night kinds felt like I was camping (there house doesn't have running water either, everything by buckets... Bucket showers; shave with a bucket, bathroom with buckets everything!) So it really felt like we were camping! AND I used a sleeping bag!! Bahaha but all in all they were great divisions.

Thursday they shut off all the power in Barberena from 6 in the morning to 830 at night! During the day it was a normal day but at night the town was so dark!! Without street lamps or anything it threw a bump in the road for the work. No one received us and our dinner appointment even fell!! That was definitely a weird night because I have never seen a town so dark! (It is so crazy how dependent we become on things such as electricity or street lamps!)

Saturday we had the wedding/baptism and they went well! We baptized a husband and wife, in their baptism they invited like 20 people, and we have 2 other investigators that invited like 10 friends so basically we had like 40 nonmembers there and then only like 5 members. I ended up baptized him and my comp baptized her, except I scared him a little, he had a stroke couple years ago and lost the complete use of his left hand, and his leg still has a little of strength but not too much. So the first time I baptized him I had one hand on his right hand that he was using to plug his nose and my other one on his back, well he went down and when it was time for him to come back up I pulled on his right hand and that unplugged his nose and he panicked a little in the water! And I had to baptize him again but this time I put my hand on his chest so I wouldn't unblock his nose again. But besides him being shaken up a bit the first time it went great! And they both were confirmed yesterday. I got to confirm him! Something I haven't done for a long time since Zacapa!! It was a great experience.

Also Diego received the priesthood! I'm so happy for him! It was a big step and he is progressing great, we are going to go to the temple with him May25th!! And do baptisms for the dead, he is amazing!!!

Changes are Tomorrow and the assistants called last night at 1130 to inform me that I have changes! I can’t believe it! I feel like a little child getting his sucker taken away from him I loved this area and my comp and wanted to finish here with him... but I know its revelation and it is for a reason either for me or to help another person or both!! I’m stoked, I have used process of elimination and I am almost positive I am going to Zone Bosques an area called lo de fuente as a zone leader; it is an area in the capital! But I will be sure to let you know where I ended up next week!!! It is weird to think after Tuesday I will be in the oldest group of the mission!

I would have loved to write about my investigators and what we taught because we had some killer lessons! But I wasn’t expecting the changes and we have a ton of things to do!! Mainly saying goodbye and packing... BLAH!!! But ya gotta do it! So I will see tomorrow!! Love you! Have a great week!!!

Another Amazing Week!

What an amazing week!! Do you remember how I said a week in the mission is always unpredictable, jammed packed and CRAZY!!! Well this week was not the exception! It was so unpredictable, amazingly busy (I continually surprise myself at how much we get done) and you better believe it was crazy!!! Lemme explain!

So you know how kids play doctor or cops and robbers? Well this week I played dentist and I PULLED A TOOTH!!

A couple actually bahaha! So there is a medical mission called glen falls medical mission, they come down to a place called Nueva Santa Rosa every six months and run various clinics. And every time they ask the help of the missionaries to help translate, and sometimes they help and sometimes they don't. But this time we got permission and we helped translate for them. Basically all those that spoke English went and our comps stayed, did divisions and covered all the areas so the work still moved on in our areas.

But a little about my experience in the clinic... So it was divided by clinics, there was pharmacy, dentist, general medicine, pediatrics, women's clinic, eye care and triage. My first day I went to help out in dentistry and basically stayed there for the three days, I loved it there. There were three dentists one from the capital, one from Belize and a gringo that didn't speak a lick of Spanish. I was with him the whole time, a super awesome guy, super patient super loving explained basically everything to me had the patience to answer my questions and after our first day turns to me and says alright you’re going to do this one!! Bahaha so then he taught me and walked me through pulling a tooth. By the last day I did one all by myself (everything but put the shot,) he walked me through the steps but I did it!


I had a blast in the dental clinic pulling teeth all day, but it's not something that calls my attention to do as a job. I also helped out in general medicine, pediatrics, and even the women's clinic (that was a little awkward cause I didn't know how to say some things in Spanish!) however helping out in the other clinics I loved!!

And it is something I could see myself doing. I absolutely loved helping out in the clinic it was just the kind of thing I love, and I felt at home, I love volunteering whether it be in finish lines, races, or clinics I love it.

In the dentist clinic we just pulled teeth nothing more. But in the other clinics we treated all sorts of things, but usually always dealing with parasites. In the kids clinic one day a kid who probably is 2ish came in and he had a bunch of holes in his stomach... Well turns out there is a worm inside of him, that had tentacles that go through his skin to breath, so all those holes were actually mouth pieces for the worm, it was so horrifying, we saw some crazy things. But we made a difference! And us as missionaries made a huge difference! They said Sunday and Monday they were dying cause they didn't have any translators, but Tuesday we saved them and they saw so many more patience because they could actually work. Um I wish I could say more but my mind just went blank.... If you have any questions you can ask.... Basically the clinic changed my life, and now I am thinking about becoming a PA, but we will talk later about that mom. At the end they gave each missionary a jar of peanut butter and to a couple a jar of Nutella, well I was one of the fortunate ones to get a jar of Nutella!!! So I will probably gain weight these last two months :)

So that was Tuesday through Thursday. Friday, Saturday and Sunday were normal work days and were great! Just s couple highlights:

Saturday we had a branch council with all the leaders, we spoke, president spoke, and the first counselor spoke. I truly hope things can get better and change. And I think they will, things have gotten so bad that Sunday the mission counselor ( counselor to president stay) came and spoke in church, taught Sunday school and then during priesthood he held a meeting with us, the branch president, and the district president. Basically it was about how are we going to turn this area around cause things have gotten pretty bad. He gave some ideas, and basically came to get everyone jumped started again. I loved it! I know things can change; everyone just needs to start working together and move in the same direction. He put the goal to baptize 25 people a month and explained how we are gonna do it. And he made it very clear that it is not our responsibility but the branch president's. And we are only here to help him reach his goal. It was intense and I think what he needed, hopefully things will get rolling again!! Umm well I’m sorry that whole email was about the clinic and now I’m kinda out of time... not really out just mentally out! Bahaha I love you and have a great week or not the choice is yours!!!

PS upcoming for this week!!! Divisions with elder Kelsey who is in Nueva Santa Rosa! And a wedding and baptism!! Woot woot! Love you