13 June 2011

Hola family.

So I did not learn my lesson about wearing sunscreen and suffering the consequences. We painted the gate of this lady all morning on Wednesday and me and my old comp elder graham got fried, like fried fried. Like I looked a lot more Latino, then I pulled up my sleeve and it was blindingly white. My neck is peeling like crazy now. I think more the one layer, because it has been peeling for a couple days and keeps peeling. I used aloe Vera and that stuff is a miracle worker, elder graham didn’t use any and today you could really tell a difference. My burn is really faded and doesn’t really hurt today. But he is still bright and peeling everywhere. I’m going to wear sunscreen now.

I realized how much the lord knows me this week and is looking out for me. I was really having a bad day one day and wishing I had an American companion. But I figured out that I think that if I had an American companion ¨I could¨ learn more Spanish because they can help you and tell you words. But really I know myself and the lord knows to that if I was with an American I would not speak Spanish with him. I know because on changes with other elders that know Spanish, we speak English. That is why the lord put me with a Latino who doesn’t speak much English. Now I am forced to speak Spanish, there is not other way. And really I have learned tons. I have a lot to learn but have learned a ton. I was scared to death when I left the mtc here; I knew hardly any Spanish and couldn’t talk to the Latinos there. Then they put me with one and somehow I figured it out. I can basically say anything I want now. Sometimes, it is not totally correct but people understand.

I got the general conference ensign yesterday and this month. I love it. I don’t want to explain for reasons you understand, but I had a few hours on Sunday. So I read almost the whole general conference issue. I skipped a few, but read most. I skipped a couple about marriage and things. But it was awesome. I was amazed, Conference is awesome. Something that amazed me though is I pulled out my conference notes and compared the talks to my notes. Sometimes what I have written they didn’t really say. It showed me how much more than we know the spirit works in our life.

I had a great experience yesterday. Well first you have to understand a little, that when comp doesn’t want to work he just tells me to go somewhere and teach a lesson by myself or contact or whatever. He doesn’t talk though at all so I’m scared to go anywhere because I don’t know what to do or say or how to say it. But he told me to figure it out yesterday. I had no clue honestly, so I went back into our room and said a short prayer to know where to go and what to say and to have strength to be able to do it. I was feeling tons of the spirit and wanted to work because I just read conference talks for 2 or 3 hours. But we left the house and I still didn’t know where to go. We stood there for a couple minutes and still I didn’t know, so I just decided to start walking and see what happens. I made up my mind to go to this reference that has never been home. And we went and guess what happened? Yep she wasn’t home. Then we started walking back and I remembered that there was this guy on this same street I contacted who takes English classes from other elder but has like all the pamphlets from them and has read them, he said he was in a hurry though, when I talked to him because he was actually going to English classes, but that he would talk to the other elders. But we went to his house and rang the doorbell. He didn’t answer, I always like to wait just a little longer for people, because sometimes I have found that they just don’t want to get up and answer the door, but if you ring it every once in a while for 5 min, they finally come. So I rang it again and waited a little, then this lady runs up to us and starts talking to us. She is the daughter of the reference that is never home. The reference is from a missionary activity we had at the church, but her mom told her about it and her and her sister wants the lessons. She is like 22 and her sister is married and like 25. The mom’s brother is a member and a really strong member. He is in the stake high council I think. So that’s good, too, we have a lesson this Thursday though, so we will see what happens.

Our investigator Lidia is going to be baptized on he 25th. We went to the temple Saturday with her and some others, it was really good. We bought at the distribution center them some ensigns, some scriptures that have the bom, d and c, and pearl of great price and everything, so that’s good. I got a picture for me of Christ in Gethsemane. It is like 2 or 3 feet tall and a foot wide, pretty big. It’s nice. I want to buy some contact paper to put it in. And guess how much, 1 dollar. That’s a good deal. Before I leave here I need to stock up on church things. A cd of the motabs is like 5 dollars. Everything in Guatemala is cheap to start with, but then also it is because the church puts everything even cheaper for members.

This week spiritually I have grown a lot. I really have been trying to keep an eternal perspective and that helps everything. When something bad happens or I am really upset or discouraged I just think that it’s going to pass and I'm going to live with my family forever in heaven with heavenly father. I think what I will say of this in 50 years or if I will even remember it. That has really helped me have a better attitude about everything. I have also learned that one very important thing of this life is managing your time; I have really realized precious time is. Anytime we have nothing to do, I try to read a talk or my scriptures, or something productive. I realized how much time I wasted playing Nintendo and watching TV and things back home. I have decided that when I get home, I don’t want to play Nintendo, or computer or watch TV (except, Cardinals games, The World Cup, basically sports but that’s all), I want to be working, studying, or with my friends not wasting away the time.

Good luck with your back Joseph and your mission papers and all, and Kenny, primo, and Andrew with your mission papers. One word of advice to all of you my friends I wish I would have done. Read your scriptures more and really know them. I knew I didn’t know that much when I came here, but I thought I knew enough. I was wrong. I have found out through studying that I have a lot to learn. And the reason it is so important, well at least for me right now is because I have to find scriptures in Spanish. For example I kind of know most of the scripture masteries, so ill be in a lesson and be like oh ya so one scripture, I know it is in alma like chapter 30ty something and ill start looking. One problem, I don’t understand the scriptures that well yet, so I don’t know if it is right or wrong. So I have to know for sure what chapter and verse because I don’t know if it is close or the right one.

I heard once; don’t remember when or where, but that you grow in the gospel about 20 years on your mission. I think that is true. I have been here 4 months and have learned more than I did in 19 years.

Got to go, oh flip oh dad, so I found out that about two months ago, that our mission stopped sending pouch. We can receive it but now sent it. So I think I need a different address for Spencer and Jon. I just have to go to the post office and mail it directly to the mission home, so if you have that. I have heard it is pretty cheap here so I’m going to try it.

June 7, 2011

hola familia ¿como esta? (How are you). I had an idea but i think its a bad one now. I was going to write totally in spanish and tell jason to traslate it and rewrite it for everybody, Just to see if i could do it. But that would just would be a hassle for everybody, and i couldnt write fast so it would be really short. 

 

Last week I went on divisions with elder graham, it was fun. Kinda funny cause sometimes we contacted sombody and both of us didnt understand so we just nodded our heads and kept going. But after when I came back with my comp, everything was different. I dont know what happened, but we get along now. Dont ask me what happened but its been great. Its still really difficult and he has not changed his ways but we are getting along and thats a start to things changing.

 

The work is going really good right now. This lady lidia is going to be baptized, this month we hope. She said yes to be baptized but refused to make a date for it. But said she would in time. She is really like, like she doesnt have a strong testimony and wants to learn the whole thing before her baptism. We are trying to let her know that you dont have to know everything about the gospel before baptism and that she will learn.

 

Our investigator lidia has a friend who is mormon. We met her and talked to her. She and her family lived in boston, dallas and salt lake city before. She joined the church while in the united states, im gonna guess salt lake city, but i dont know for sure. Her husband took the lessions too but didnt join the church, because he is hard core cathlic. But this was like 15 years ago. Now they have lived here in guatemala for like 15 years, she went in active in the church because of a conflict with the lady across the street ( the primary president now). They have 3 boys, one 18, 16, 13. They are really cool kids. They all learned english from their dad who learned in the usa. So i can talk to them more than anybody else. They are totally fluent. But all of them claim to be cathlic now but they have really never gone that much, just durning christmas and easter and stuff. But the wife who is a member wants to come back to church and knows she should. But doesnt want to like split up their family by going and go without them. So she wants us to teach them so the whole family can come, which is great. We taught them last week just about the family proclamation to the world and the importance. It was kind of akward but through talking about it we found out they are divorced which she didn´t tell us. But oh well they just have to get married before baptism. But then the husband and wife came to church yesterday. I felt great, because i could talk to him in english and explain things and just talk to him. Sometimes he would ask me things that happened just becasue he didnt want others to understand, that was funny. He loved it though. Durning one meeting we were reading in moses, and he was confused, so we explained about the pearl of great price and d and c and the bom. He said where can i get one? so thats good. There kids didnt come to church, i dont know why. Today the husband herbert came and played basketball with all the missionarys. I think it was good, he could talk to all the greenies too in english and bond with everybody. And he lived in salt lake city like half of the people there and talked about that. He i think and hope will be baptized. He is really interested. But we have an appointment for this wednesday and friday nights to teach them. Two of the kids are interested, but the 18 year old is kind of in a rebel stage right now, and so his parents go to church so he does the opposite and if they tell him to do something he will do the opposite so, i think he will take some more time. But we hope to baptize the husband, and two kids, maybe the other by the end of this month.

 

There is catalina the grandma. She is great. Her daughter and their family is members. She knows the bible like the back of her hand so it is pretty easy to teach her. Because she believes every every thing the bible says. So if she has a question we flip out the bible and say read this please. Then oh okay yep it must be true it is right here in my bible. She really liked lession two about the after life. I think because that is because she is old and will die soon so it is scary to her where she is going and all of that. She had lots of questions about living with your family, because some of her sons she said are not good people and she worries about not being with them after this life. One of her granddaughters is taking the lessions too and is liking them. She is reading the bom and loving it, we didnt teach her lession 2 though. She is in college and has a job and is really busy, its a miracle she was their the first lession with her grandma.

 

Then their is jefferson and maria, they read and pray and have a testimony of jose smith and everything. But they have some issues right now with their aunt or sister, who is a member. So they wont go to church. They said they would yesterday. But we went and their neighbors said they left in the morning early somewhere. I think once they go to church and see what it is like and all of that they will be good.

 

So I bore my testimony in sacrament meeting last week. Everybody came up after and was like wow you speak spanish now, great good job and stuff like that. I realized what the problem is that i need to fix. People think i dont know anything in spanish because i never talk. But i realized it is not all because of spanish because i dont talk in english either. I can talk a lot now, I just simply dont talk a lot in any language.

 

Our investigator manuel is doing awesome, awesome, he is on the way to be the next prophet of the church, ha no. But he is doing great. He does everything on his own with nobody telling him anything. He goes to institute every week and to this other class thier is. He is friends with all the other people now his age. He is studying like crazy. He is reading the bom, bible, principles of the gospel, teaching of the prohets, and teh liahona. He knows tons. Last week he went on splits with my comp and helped teach like the first two lessions. He would be the best missioniar. But i dont think he can. Does anybody know the rules for that. My comp said he cant because he has a kid. But he does not live with him and he doenst have responsibility over him so he could leave for two years. I want to ask the bishop about it but i dont know. The way i understood it is that he can talk to the bishop and he has the decision yes or no, not matter what you have done in the past. He asked last week about it and how he could go, but my comp told him he cant because he has a kid, I just want to make sure he really can, because he asked about it and is thinking about it and wants to go. He also came today and played basketball with all teh missionarys. That was fun. He got a calling this week to the first concelor of the sunday school. So he gets to teach class now. Thats great, he is nervous but will do great.

 

But I need to go now. Oh joseph hope all is well with your back so you can go on your mission. Ill pray for you. And if you cant go for a while longer, take advantage of that time, Their is so many things i wished i had done before i left and things i wished i had studied like in the sciptures and stuff. I try to study a lot now. But one or two hours is not enough. The mission is just really busy and you dont have much time. It all flys by so fast. I really feel like that a month ago i was home. ANd two weeks ago I was in the mtc in provo, and last week, I was in the mtc here. But now the weeks are months, I have been on my mission for 4 months!!! wow. Love you all.

 

Adios cya, elder gardner!

 

(Nathan and jason, i read your letters you wrote in spanish today while in the mtc in provo. I finally understand every word of it. That was awesome. You should write more dear elder letters all in spanish so i can practice my spanish.) OH flip and no mom i didnt get the dear elders yet. Those take like a month, because i got one from sis j about conference 2 or 3 weeks ago, haha. Sometimes i get like 2 or 3 at a time from different weeks. but I like it because i can have the paper, and go back and read it, but i cant with emails always. but got to go cya elder gardner