Setteling in

Hola family. Before I forget the password is 6020 I think mom. Things are crazy here. Way crazy. We just had basketball at the church with our zone that was nice to see everybody there and talk with my old district and also to speak some English. Everybody is doing great. Elder Lewis is in the scariest area of the mission where all the drug dealers live. He said he has seen some dead bodies already. Our town is pretty nice though. I find out that yesterday Guatemala beat America in soccer for a world cup qualifying game or something. I didn’t know that yesterday but it makes since now. There was like 2 or 3 kids who were playing soccer in the street and yelled to me Guatemala could whoop America in soccer any day. And some just Guatemala is better than America. AT the time I didn’t really know what they were talking about but it makes since now. I found out that we have no investigators so we have just been tracting a lot. We have like 2 or 3 now. Lots of people we are talking too are inactives. But I thought that the work here was going great and that this area would be blooming in the gospel, I was way wrong. There was a baptism 2 weeks ago, but before that not for a year. The poor people won’t let you in their houses because people just don’t let you in because of the crime. And the higher class of people, still poor, has gates on all their doors and windows and a doorbell walkie talkie thing. So we just ring that and they say who is it and then say, I have no time right now, so we say, when is a good time and they say I always work, I never get off, so we invite them to church, and they always work on Sundays. People are really poor here and it actually is true and not an excuse that people work from 6 to 10 like everyday.  We have talked to like 3 inactive families that won’t go back because there were lots of problems in the ward and they didn’t like the people. I didn’t know what to tell them really. It’s true there are lots of problems in the ward and there are lots of new converts that don’t know things. So that was hard. We just get lunch at the comedor. It’s always rice, meat and potatoes or a vegetable. It’s good. Then other that I just eat bread and breakfast bars. I did make myself spaghetti last night that was good. If you go from our house straight for a couple blocks you hit the drop off to the mountain. And there are tons of houses just stacked up in every which way all over. Mostly you just walk down there and there are not than many roads. Then that goes on left and right for a while. We found another little stack yesterday. It’s confusing. We were just walking in the city and turned down a street than it just drops off and you walk down a little path and then there are tons more houses. Its crazy how their houses are built, it looks like they gave some 12 year olds some concrete and let them go at it. Then put up some blankest and some shed looking things. The place we were at yesterday just had a roof and two walls then a view of the valley below. I was surprised yesterday, we got on more investigator. I did the door approach and said were missionaries, we have a message about Jesus Christ can we share it with you some time. And the woman was like okay sounds good. I was like wait what yes its okay. So we set up an appointment to come back and teach the first lesson. Most of the time people don’t even answer their door than they have some excuse but she was like yep okay. We went to Wendy’s today with everybody that was really good. That frosty I had was like heaven. I have eaten some weird stuff. This lady gave us some bread things with tomato sauce in them. They were sick, it tastes like play dough with some sauce. Also the worst thing for me is the drinks here. They make these weird drinks. Their like lemonade type of things, but no sugar just pure like squeezed fruit. and lots of water. Most are really watered down and just gross. These ladies the other day gave us this drink it was like cold oatmeal. My Spanish has not gotten that much better. I have understanding a lot more though. I just learned today that you don’t conjugate twice in a row, I didn’t know that. It is hard having a Latin comp though because they don’t know any of the rules and they don’t really follow them either, they speak in slang. So today when I saw Americans I had lots of questions. For some reason they totally white washed everybody’s zone this transfer which means instead of one person who has been in the area stay there they just changed everyone and everyone is new to the area, besides the zone leaders. I don’t know what to expect for next transfer. Some people get trained more in the same area some get moved outside of the city and some stay in. Our zone leader has been 1 time outside the city and is leaving next transfer. But some have been out for most of their mission. Tons of people play soccer. There is a field by our house where they have tons of leagues and big old stands and vendors and it’s almost every day that somebody plays. There is like 3 fields around town. Plus kids are always playing in the street.  One thing that I have found funny here is that when people answer the phone they say hello. But they can’t really say it instead they say like heeyo. Then they start speaking in English. For some reason if people are drunk here they will speak lots of English to us, but when sober speak Spanish. They say "whets up man, how you doing."  Everyday I do get some weird looks from people like what are you doing here. They don’t say anything most of the time though and don’t really care. Just weird. It is pretty humid and hot here and it is only April. The nights our really nice though. No dad we don’t have air conditioning. I don’t think that anybody does. We just open the windows and doors. During the day I just get drenched. My shirt is really wet right now. But it dries out by like 645. It is really hard not being able to speak English at all the whole week. Today I could speak that well in English. Sometimes I want to quote a movie or say a joke or something but can’t in Spanish. In lessons I don’t really speak much. By the time I get what they said, they will have moved on to a new subject and my companion has already answered their question or something. The annoying and funny thing is though that after I say like what you said once to someone they assume that I don’t understand anything. So they start talking about me to my companion, like how long has he been here? How much can he speak, How much can he understand and sometimes at meals like is he eat a lot and does he like this food and things like that. I understand all of it. Or when drunken people make fun of my Spanish I understand them. I usually don’t tell them though because they have just said like does he does and everything and then they would realize I got it all. I just laugh though. Sometimes I don’t understand because my companion speaks all slang. So people go with the flow sometimes and speak it back, and then I don’t understand. The weirdest slang to me is when people say saber which means to know. Like its hot outside, then I would say saber. Like I know. But I know is yo se. so why say saber. idk. One thing I thought was crazy was that little kids were playing with little fake pistols. Then I realized that I did when I was a kid. It seems different here. Like they see their parents and brothers and others with real ones killing people then they have the fake ones. One little kid pulled one on me and was like green go, bang bang, it was cute but disturbing. He learned it from the streets. I think the best thing you could send it drinks, or lemonade packets to make drinks. And some I don’t know what else, I’m thirst right now and can only think of drinks. It has been an hour love you bye.

                          Elder Gardner