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

New Companion and Area

Hola, wow where do I start, this has been the craziest week of my life. Really crazy. I can’t remember what you know and don’t know. Dad I got your package today, thanks a lot. I also got you and moms dear elders. The mail is just crazy and ended up at the mission home. And I am pretty sure you are supposed to send things to the mission home and not my address. So the last week at the ccm was the fastest ever. It was really good. Conference was amazing. It kind of made me home sick a little bit. I knew that all of you where there in the crowd somewhere and I was watching. And I saw Michael young a million times and then thought of Joseph and the young’s then everybody and missed my friends. But after conference I was fine. The last week was crazy. We just did lots of things preparing for the field and meeting and had not that many Spanish lessons so we al felt like nothing was getting done and wanted to leave But so Monday all of the people that were leaving to other countries left, that was really sad. Two sisters from our district left. Then we got up and left at 8. We had to say bye to the 3 elders that were going to the central mission, they got on a different bus. That was really hard. Our district leader who is from Arizona was in the group going to central. He was a really nice guy. He kind of reminded me of Jon Anderson a little. So that was sad. But some really sweet elders are going to our mission. So we went to the president’s house on Tuesday and we had training and things and his wife fed us and we kind of got to relax with everybody for a little at night. There apartment is awesome. It’s in a skyscraper on the 12th floor. They have a deck that over looks a soccer field, so I watched some people play soccer. Oh by the way I get an hour to write now instead of only 30 min. But it was nice to be with my friends for one last day. We stayed at the AP´s house. There part of the house was nice but then we went out back to a shed type of thing. It was alright, felt like scout camp in a cabin. Then today we woke up and went to the meeting were most of the mission is there and finds out where your going and who your comp is. I was really nervous along with everybody else. They told us that most new missionaries get American comps, so that made me feel better. But then it began, I am with elder Rodriguez. And yes he is a Latino. He is from panama. People from panama talk way fast my old roommate was from there. He is cool so far though. He speaks a little English, enough to be able to describe the meaning of a word even if he doesn’t know it. He hates English though so he tries not to learn or speak it. My Spanish is okay. We just went over to this members house who feeds us for two meals a day. I could kind of understand their conversations. Oh but before that we went to our apartment. AHHHHHH. Crazy. It would be nice but the people before us were filthy. Disgusting. We have some serious cleaning to do. They left trash everywhere and a full sink of dirty dishes and I looked at the planner book and it was just crumpled with papers and things. Not organized. Like way crazy. Gross. SO that is going to be fun cleaning up after them. I don’t really know what this area is like. My comp said that it is a really nice area of town but while we walked to dinner I am pretty sure I heard 3 gunshots so idk. I’ve heard that this is one of the most dangerous places in the whole world like top 5 but people have never ever hurt the missionaries. We're way protected. Elder Lewis who is a huge guy is my old district who pitched in baseball in high school and is really strong, was freaking out. He is starting a new area in the city, and was told it is the straight up ghetto. An elder said there is an area they can’t go because it is the drug capital of Guatemala, which distributes up to Mexico y America. Crazy, most of the killings here though are just because of drugs and dumb things like that so we don’t have anything to do with it. It is kind of scary still walking around here with my comp, he has never been here and we both don’t really know where to go. They say its good area but good compared to what. It is a pretty poor area I think. I am in the mall right now emailing and is pretty run down. Its okay kind of like an idk, a market, with stores or something, there is a nice grocery store in here that has all the normal things. But my comp said there is no McDonalds, or and fast food or restraints or anything. There were tons of that by the ccm. Saying goodbye today to my district was weird; W all left the church and got in taxis to go to our areas. I missed elder hymas and didn’t get to say bye. Oh so an elder said that my elder hymas and elder Lewis are in my distinct. Elder hymas is my old comp and elder Lewis is elder hymas comp here. They were the AP’s. And all of our district expect for one hermana is in the same zone. I think somebody said this zone was struggling and so the president sent fresh blood to clean it up. Everyone seems to say something different about if you are here in the city a lot or not. One elder has been out almost a year and has only been in the city. Everyone calls it the cap, for capital. But they said that basically everywhere we will go is a city. There are really villages. Well there is but you live in the city and travel out there because their area covers villages and the cities. People love leaving the city though. I guess it just gets boring after a while in here. But its really hot most others places so there is good and bad things to both. I saw today my old roommates and old Latinos from the ccm here. They are here until there visas come for Argentina. One already left but the others haven’t. So idk what we’re going to do the rest of the day, track I guess. Nobody has really told me anything, it’s kind of weird. Idk if we have any investigators right now or if there are none and we just have to start tracking or what. Imp not really sure my comp knows either. He has never been here before. I guess well find out somehow. Oh pday is on Mondays now. But today they let me write since I missed it Monday. Wow it’s the 6th already time is flying. I can’t wait till cael is born. I’m not exactly sure how I can send pics home, I could hook my camera up to the computer but it would take forever to upload. Idk if I can send my card home because of people stealing mail and stuff. I can already feel my stomach turning from the dinner that we had. I tried to check and she had clean water to wash things and everything and a really nice house. The house on the outside was weird but you walked in and it was a legit nice American looking home. But I think I am just not used to the food. We get fed by the member for lunch and dinner, so idk what ill do for breakfast, I would just have cereal but I don’t think they have anything I can drink here. Oh and can you send me some more cream for my face, I ran out. And I stopped taking my pills a weeks or so ago thinking we would be getting malaria pills. But no one has said anything about it and we haven’t gotten any yet and I’m in the field so idk. That’s stinks that the cardinals aren’t doing good. Today we went to this fast food place for breakfast, and the TV had espn on it right in front of us. My and elder hymas and elder Lewis were going crazy. It was weird, we tried not to watch but it was right there. And the top ten plays came on. This area we are in seems weird, we were walking down the street and there was nobody there. Then one street over there is a really big busy road, then were crossed it and now were in the mall and there are people but not like a lot. Like normal for like O’Fallon or less than that. I don’t think that anybody in this place owns carpet, everybody just has tiles. Besides the president house but he is the presidents and lives in probably one of the nicest apartments around. I don’t think I have anything else to say. Umm, don’t worry mom the missionaries have never been shot or mugged that much here. Oh so one rule here is that we can not drink caffeine here. The doctor of the mission proved through a study that it does nothing for our stomach. And water is fine. So all of Central America is not allowed to drink it. They said it is because members and investigators will follow after the missionaries and drink it all the time and even though it is only kind of part of the word of wisdom they want us to set the example of not drinking it. I don’t really care. Some elders in my district today were pretty mad though. Yesterday I was way surprised. Idk what was going on but at the aps house there was like 3 elders on their cells talking to people at like 1020. And it didn’t sound like it would be a member or something. I think elders here just call other elders just because and talk. Through the church our phones call every missionary here for free. I think we got to go now love you. I'm sure next week I’ll have some crazy stories to tell. Oh and so the elders that have been out for only 3 weeks all have a baptism and one 2. The goal is here two whole families a month. Our president stresses families because they can get sealed in the temple together. So that’s cold.

Goodbye, love you Elder Gardner

March 23, 2011

(Sorry I didn't correct anything, you will just have to figure it out)

Wow thats crazy, i just open up my email and find out my 3 cousins and my uncle are getting married. I feel like its been like 2 days since I have sent a email but every time I have gotten on something drastic in my old life has changed. A couple weeks ago I found out about ryker getting his mission call, then last week I found about that there was a huge earthquake, tsnami that killed 18,000 people. Then this week I found out that 3 of my cousins and one of my uncles are getting married. Crazy. And that my nephew is going to be born on my birthday. haha. Yes been and shalon I of course pick the 30th. I realized something cool the other day. I get to call on mothers day in may sometime and can talk to kael or hear him scream. ha. How is calling going to work, how am i going to talk to all of my family that doesnt live at home, and especially Gavin. So yesterday we had a testimony kinda district meeting and it was really really good. Since we have been here it has been like all spanish and no spirtually things. It feels way different from provo. And is hard sometimes. But that was like the best meeting I ever had anywhere. Everybody was bearing there testimony mostly about spanish and things. One thing that really hit me that somebody said is that heavenly father jesus christ and the holy ghost know every language, so they can help us in spanish because the spirit is fluent in spanish. We were about to end then this sister said wait, I want to bear my testimony. So she did then like 4 more people got up and went after. So  by this time everyone had gotten up but me so I had to get up. Its a blessing that i had that pressure because i was wanting to get up but i just dont sometimes. So i got up and couldnt even talk, i was  balling. i dont know what i said something about learning spanish. But it was awesome. Than during the hymn I couldnt sing, I was still balling. I am so gratefull for my family. You guys have been the best example i have ever had. I have 4 older brothers to look up to that are all married in the temple and active in the church. That is a very amazing a unique thing to say that everyone is my family is active in the church. I am basically the only person here that can say that, most families there is at least somebody thats not active any more. And for the latinos its a lot different, they come from homes where only one parent is or none of their brothers or active or they parents are active but not really totally dedicated and dont help and care about their children. Its hard for them, I admire them for coming on missions. There are some that have about two pairs of pants and two pairs of shirts and some shoes, and thats about it. They are given scriptures here at the mtc, most cant afford it. I feel so bad. I have been getting a lot better at spanish though because of how nice they are and just talking to them. I have grown a lot. I have taught the first 3 lessons a lot and a couple others. They arent that deep but i get my point across and they understand. I find it funny how in gospel matters I can say a lot, but in just talking at meals and things I cant really say much. I think that is evidence that the holy ghost is teaching my the language and its not me. When its me learning how to say things, like funny things to say to the latinos and jokes and things, I cant remember them. Oh before time runs out can you email jon, spencer, blake, marshall emails through dear elder each week. I have gotten a letter from deor and neal on dear elder every thurday here. You can send packages mom, it will take like 3 weeks to get here though so i will be gone in the field some where. We saw pics of the coast of guatemala where i will serve, it is the most pretty place on earth. cya love ya

March 30, 2011

hola family. Hows it going? happy birthday tommorow mom! Thats crazy its almost april already, I just left like 3 weeks ago. Yesterday we got to go tracking again. It was really good. I went with this elder  in my district elder eyre. He is awesome. He is great at spanish and he knows the book of mormon like nodbodys business. So I still didnt get to talk too much since he is so good and people loose interest when im taking for ever to stop thing and then speak. I talked a lot more though. The great thing though was that I wasnt totally in the dark this time. I knew what they were talking about. So if I had a comment I could say it. We got 7 refererals it was great. The first guy we talked to at the bus stop was awesome, i was blown away by every thing he said. He belived in god and jesus and has always wondered why there arent prophets today and things. We gave him a book of mormon and like 4 pamphlets. He was really interested and wanted to learn more. Everybody suprised me. they were all really intersted and eager to learn more. I didnt expect that. People in america would just be like go away I dont want any girl scout cookies. ha. After i get out of  here i get to do that full time, im pumped. yesterday we listined to a talk by elder bednar it was awesome. He said that the way we answer peoples and our questions is not by application but by the doctorine. We show them the doctorine and then find the principles in the doctorine and learn for themselves how to apply it. He said this can pertain to any instance in the world. He told this hillarious story how he gave a Q and A session at a church and this really new convert asked him if he could eat pork. He told him that if he wanted to know for himself to go do d and c 89. The guy was like okay but can you just tell me, elder bednar was like no. And this went on for about 10 times. Finally elder bednar said I recognize a pattern here, your going to keep asking me to tell you if you can eat pork and im going to keep telling you to look it up in d and c 89 and so lets call it even and you go look it up in d and c 89. I t hought that was hillarious. But the reason is  if you just tell someone that they should stop smoking and they agree and then you help them to quit eventually there just going to do it again when your gone. But if you tell them the doctorine and they understand it in their heart then they will see why they need to and do it themselves with no help. it was an awesome talk. To sum it up it said doctorine answers the question of why principles answer the questions of what and applications answer the questions of how. It doenst matter how i need to quit smoking it matter why. My espanol is getting better. I can start to conjugate without looking at the my cheat sheet. I just need to memorize more words now. Soccer is going great, I am getting so much better. I was juggling today and it was easy, i could have gotten like 30 or more. If i go to byu idaho again I definately wanna play more soccer and be a coach. I am pretty scared to go to the field next week, to has flow by so quickly i dont know what happened. I was just in provo, now i just got  here now im leaving, i know im not prepared to go to the field but who is? ill learn quickly. This morning I heard something pretty disturbing I woke up and was putting my soccer clothes on for gym and i hear a pop pop pop pop pop, then a big boom. I am pretty sure it was a machine gun then one loud shotgun. I hope everbody is alright. it was right by where we trackted. Then we heard a lot of police sirens a few mins after, so i think it really was. This place is one of the most dangerous places in the world but the missioniaries have never even been mugged here. Im going to miss my district a lot, we have grown really close. Lots of us are going to the south mission but now 3 elders are going to central. and two sisters to panama and honduras or something. I love all of them there great people. Im so great full for all of you brothers for being so nice to me and a good example, almost all of the elders from utah have an older simpling that is way inactive idk why. But im gald our family is all active. today i got some cases for my preach my gospel there sweet, i love them. There blue and the other read. We looked at some pics of guatemala in my mission last week on the coast. It is the most amazing place in the world. Forest then beach, then ocean, then a amazing sunset. I cant wait to go to the coast. Also little villages in the top of the mountains. Oh dad no I havent gotten the package, ive heard it takes two to 3 weeks to get here. So idk what will happen, I might be gone. Thanks for sending chocalate though, thats what ive been craving. For my brithday the greatest thing you could send would be some good drinks, they have drinks here that are just pure fruit drinks there sick and disgusting except for the straberry one. So i drink lots of water. And idk what else, basically just food and drinks. maybe some soft toilet  paper, ha jk. Hmm maybe a sweet pens,  or oh my shoes are torn apart my tennis shoes, but i can get some here for much cheaper actually so dont send any. you should send some pics over the email. I cant send pic here I can next week in the field though! I dont know where im going yet i cant wait to find out where. We have coast, villages, and city, and mountains, forest, everything, its the best all into one. best mission ever.

Hola,

 

    Everything is going great here. Yesterday we went outside for the first time and went tracking around here for two hours. It was awesome. I loved it. I went with my Latino companion, so that was nice. I would start talking to people and then they would start talking and so my companion would take over. I was actually very excited because I actually got what was happening. I didn't really understand 40 percent but I got enough. I would hear like book of Mormon, Americas, laminates, Joseph Smith, words I recognized so I could follow what they were talking about. Then after I would bear my testimony about everything. The first guy we talked to seemed really interested. He has had a really rough life it looked like. He owned a parking lot. Just some dirt area. And he had a little shed by the entrance where he took money to park and it looked like he lived there. There was a bed and alarm clock, and toothbrush and mirror and stuff. So I think he did llive there. But we gave him a book of Mormon and testified of it and he said he has nothing to do all day long but sit there and be bored, so he would read all day long. We promised him the gospel would bless  his life and his circumstances. The next guy we talked to could speak English and Spanish. He made me speak English to him. So I told him about the book of Mormon. He had heard all about it before. So I told him about Joseph Smith and was about to recite the fist vision when he just interrupted and then said I want to go to church and he said where is it?  Where can I go. So I explained to my companion what happened and he knew wheere the church was since he is from here and he told him in Spanish directions, they kept talking in Spanish more about the book of Mormon, but we didn't actually give him one, just pamphlets. Then there was this guy who was working on his car off to the side of the street. I started talking, but the guy talked a lot so my companion took over. He seemed  interested at first, but then when we brought up Joseph Smith, he flipped out. My companion said that Jose smith is a prophet of god and he said no he is not prove it I don't believe you.  I was thinking we should just leave and not worry about arguing with this guy. But my companion opened up the Bible and showed him some scriptures, I don't really know what. And the guy understood and changed his view and I could see his heart soften, then he came up with another problem about our church, but again we answered it and he agreed and changed his mind. He committed to reading the book of Mormon, and going to church this Sunday. He said he would call the missionaries serving here, and find out where it is and when to meet with him. He has a family of like 5 people, and seemed like a nice guy. It seemed like he had just heard from another source bad things about us but then realized they weren't true and wanted to find out more. So that was all of our book of Mormons we had. We passed out a lot more pamphlets and things. I did talk to this security guard about the book of Mormon and he was really interested and was impressed I would come here to this horrible scary place to serve. I hope to serve here sometime since it is in my mission and I can come find these people again.

    It is pretty hot and humid here and all the Elders from Utah are freaking out but I think its fine. Its only like 80 degrees. The food is pretty good still. I have no clue how they prepare it mom. There are lots of weird things too though. Hot dogs for breakfast and beans. Weird fruits, gross drinks. some good. But mostly good things. I am really craving some chocolate though. I did get diarrhea this week though. It started like on Thursday and I have had it a week. I am starting to get used to it though.

    So what else, hmm, I cant think now. My companion joined the church only a year ago. he is from Idaho. Time is flying by really really fast. I swear I just got here. Mom soccer here is awesome I love it. I can actually keep up with the Latinos. Guatemala is not that good at soccer though. There is are a couple of locals that love football and basketball.

 

Love Brandon

2 March 2011

Hola family.
   
    So I realized I don’t really remember what I wrote last time so I’ll probably repeat myself. Soccer here in the MTC is the coolest thing ever.  The Latinos are really good, not as good as I thought though.  I can keep up with them and compete a little.  It reminds me of Nathan’s Xbox game fifa street soccer.  It makes it that much better because I am playing in a poor little country on a concrete basketball court.  There are hoops, but the poles come down to form a goal.  They are like that all over the city.  I don’t know why they bothered putting the basketball hoops up since nobody plays it but oh well.  This one Elder from Argentina is great he can do almost any move.  He jukes everybody out.
    Oh so I was just reminded, if you order the lihihona here we’re going to be in it next month. Also you can go to guatemalaccm.com and look at pictures.  We live in some really nice apartments, much better than Provo.  Because of that, we have to have guards guarding the building and have 20 ft high walls.
    The Latinos are awesome. They love to joke around and are always happy. They love to come and talk to the Americano and then laugh at our Spanish. It makes me work harder and is good practice. They talk super duper fast.  It’s crazy.  I can’t even understand Hola Como Esta sometimes.  They also slur everything into one, plus they speak quietly.  The food here is amazing.  We have like chicken, pasta, fruit, pudding, cookies, hamburgers, beans, tortillas.  I love their tortillas they’re the bomb.  There are some pretty weird gross things every once in a while.  Like yesterday morning for breakfast we had pancakes, bacon, and a hot dog just plain.  I didn’t eat it.  Also for breakfast we have had these like refried bean type of things, they were alright, but they looked like umm, mud, or poop or something, and they would just plop it onto your plate.  I have the exact example; the food they eat in Holes the movie.  
    They split up me and Elder Hymas and now my companion is Elder Graham. He is a convert to the church, he joined a year ago.  I love him but miss elder hymas.  He was awesome, he is just one room away and I am with him in class a ton, but we don’t really have time to talk anymore.  There is this Latino in our room named Elder Garcia, he is awesome, and he speaks fluent English so we can actually get to know him.  He is the nicest person ever.  He told me to tell you that he is my fat Latino roommate.  He is kind of chubby. I feel so bad for all of them; they come from rough backgrounds and situations.  Most are poor but elder Garcia is rich and his parents were always gone at work because they own a company, so he grew up on the streets without a real family support.  He really was thinking of going home the first couple nights because he missed his brothers, or friends.  They need him because most are in bad situations and he is right down the street but can’t help them.  There are lots of Guatemalans here but also people from Argentina, Honduras, El Salvador, and places like that.  The city is awesome. There are like big skyscrapers and then little houses its way random.  
    I have realized that since we have been to Nauvoo a bunch of times and other church history sites that I really have a strong testimony of Joseph Smith.  I love teaching the first vision.  We have already taught like 3 lessons in Spanish.  It is really hard but nice to practice and see what we need to work on.  
    I have to go now, but oh yeah, that food does give you the squirts, it hit today, ugh.  Oh well. Well c/ya.

 Love elder Gardner.

Elder Gardner Enters the Guatemala MTC

hola!

    Im in Guetemala typing this letter, that still blows my mind.   If I look over to my left out the window I have a perfect view of the temple.  It is really, really poor here.  I expected it but am still amazed and surprised.  When we flew into the airport lining the runway was millions and millions of shacks that are people’s houses.  There are basically no traffic laws here.  You can just go and do whatever.  On the bus to the MTC this morning we almost died more than one time from people cutting us off and random things like that.  It is the weirdest town I have ever been in.  Just in one block there will be this huge really nice hotel or business skyscraper and then surrounding the skyscraper lots of little run down little shacks and street vendors.  

    They did split me up from my MTC companion.  I’m not even in the same room.  I am now companions with this other kid.  It is actually really nice here.  Our room is a lot bigger and nicer than in Provo.  The showers are way nicer.  The food is amazing!!!!!!!.  For lunch just now we had tortillas that we dipped in rice, chicken, and broccoli.  The tortillas and rice were the best I’ve ever had.  The chicken was really good.  The broccoli was okay.  Here in the MTC they straight up told us that this center is here to help us learn the language, but we will also get to do some gospel things, the opposite of Provo.   We can only speak Spanish all the time now.  I have one companion for when I go to class and things and then when we do anything else, like go to the market or go to play soccer or something, I have a native companion. And they basically speak all Spanish.  So, that will be good to help me learn to talk like them.  Today my native roommate asked me how my Spanish was and I answered and said its just okay, It’s coming along. He was like what no habla ingles.  I didn’t realize the reality of them not speaking any English at all.  So I had to answer and speak in Spanish.  I think the natives get a kick out of talking to us because they always come and talk and ask us questions and get to know us and laugh when we say dumb things.  Its good though to talk to someone that knows what they are doing.  Things that I could understand in the Provo MTC I can’t anymore because they say it so much faster.  When you say it that fast it sounds like a totally different word or phrase.  

    The other American elders said that the first couple of days they were here they played basketball but they just creamed the natives because of their height and because the natives never play basketball.  So they said it was no fun.  Now they play soccer everyday and nobody plays basketball.  I can’t wait till tomorrow to play soccer with them. The Americans get worked in soccer but they said they have gotten a lot better. The ones who are really good now didn’t play any at all before.  I think that will be fun.  

    This whole experience in this MTC is really weird and doesn’t seem real.  I can look out one window and see the temple with a huge skyscraper behind it then another and see tons of little houses crammed together.  There are also tons of people everywhere.  Even just looking out the windows there are people all over on the street.  Lots of street vendors and things like that.  The elders that are already here said that they have had their stomachs messed up already.