Miss Dina, Miss Dina‏

got baptised on Sunday! pictures to follow.

Hey! so Miss Dina got baptized on Sunday! The service was great and she bore her testimony after saying that we (the missionaries) came into her life right when she needed us and that she was grateful to her Father in Heaven for that. She was really emotional and it was great. She said that she is always going to endure in the church!

As for Familia Alvisuris, they came to church again! and they liked it again :) which is great. The mother Hayde is really great and wants to keep going to church forever and gets baptized and the whole shabang. But, the hubby is a bit more slow. He believes in God and everything but he has got some bad habits that he knows he needs to change but it is a little hard for him.  But we keep motivating him and helping him and he is progressing poco by poco. What a great family!

The other family that we are teaching is the Familia Pacheco. They are great and they are progressing nicely. But the mother, Patricia still hasn't recieved a firm answer if the church is true. So we keep animating them and helping them to recieve the answer that the church is true. After recieving the answer that it is, is when the blessings come. So satanás will do everything in his power to prevent people from getting that answer. I got my answer! Do you have yours?

This Sunday was neat because a returned missionary from Utah came to visit with his parents and wife. His name (was) Elder Beck and he was here in Escuintla about 3 years ago. It was sooooo cool to talk to him and his parents. His parents didn't know ANYTHING of spanish nor did his wife, but they were so happy to be here with their son and experience the culture, meet the people, and endure the heat of the coast. haha. His mother told me that in not to long, MY parents were going to back here to visit again just like they were doing. I know she is right. Decemeber baby! Parents, are you ready?!! :D

So overall it was a great week. Yesterday was our zone pday and we played soccer and bought pizza. I got sunburned and now I'm tomato red. Worth it? You betcha. I love playing some soccer. You should try it! How's the weather up there anyway in the states. I bet its getting better now right? nice and toasty. :) Play some soccer! It's good excercise and you'll have fun. Don't forget to laugh everyday. It makes the stress go away and always say your prayers. General Conference is coming up! Has everyone finished the book of mormon yet? I'm ALMOST done! 4 Nephi baby! everyone should read 3 nephi 11. It is my favorite chapter in ALL the book of Mormon. ask yourself, ''What would I have done if I was among the multitude?'' it's great :) love you lots and lots. Have a great week!!!!!!

Elder Jates

hey hey hey‏

I only have 23 minutes left. So imma gone make it a quick one.

 

Sorry this letter is giong to be short. The big things that happened this week is that Fam Alvisuris came to church and they loved it! But then their pastor started telling them a whole bunch of lies. That a pretty face doesn't lead to salvation and that gringos only come to Guatemala to steal little children and sell them in the states. mala honda va? But they didn't listen to him. They believe the message that we are sharing with them and now all of their neighbors hate us.....

We are going to have a baptism this weekend! First with a woman named Dina. I contacted her looking for the Relief Society President about 2 weeks ago. She didn't seem that positive but she has come to church twice and accepted the baptismal date for Sunday! We also have a family named Familia Pacheco. I think I mentioned them last week. They came to church again and are also preparing for this Sunday, even though they aren't 100% sure yet. They still have their duditas that they need to solve. So pray for them! They are great!

Being in a four some is getting better. Althogh the house gets dirtier a ton faster, it gets cleaner a lot faster as well. haha. yep. We cleaned yesterday and the Elder Montero and Elder Garcia made Peruvian food, delish. They are pretty good cooks I must say. I have no idea what it was that they made or what was in it, but it was yummy. haha.

Well, nothing more that I can really say. I am just working hard and enjoying my time as a missionary. Me falta poco. But the time is going by so fast. I promise. I don't even feel it anymore. Keep reading the Book of Mormon because I know it is true. My testimony has grown so much of that book during my mission. I want to read it one more time in Spanish before I finish my mission. It is true in every language! I also have a greater love for my Savior. He loves me and I love Him. I know He loves and knows me. I am grateful for that knowledge. Thanks for everything. Smile and keep laughing everyday. It's good for you. I promise, less stress. Love you all!

Elder Yates

a day with President Brough

is a great day indeed. And actually, he is going to leave and visit with us today! It's going to be so great! I'll let you know how it goes (next week).

Today we had a zone conference and it went so good. It was just us here in Escuintla and President Brough helped us a lot in how to have shorter lessons that are more effective lessons to help budget our time better. Many missionaries are having super long lessons and when they go back to visit they realize that the investigators don't rememebr anything that the missionaries taught the first time. So it was a great and effective zone conference and I learned a lot.

 

We have a new family that we are teaching (between the 4 of us) named Family Pacheco. They are really pilas and were able to attend church on Sunday. They REALLY enjoyed it and are progressing really well. The dad is William and his wife Patricia and their son Kevin who is 11. We also found another family last night that had been praying  that we would show up. They are Familia Alvisuris. The mother Haidé and her husband Marcos. She had always seen us pass by her house and she made the comment to God that if one day, we talked to her, she would receive us and listen to the message we bring. Well last week we talked to her and she LOVED the message as well as her husband. They have 4 patojitos (kids) and want to come to church this week!

 

We are having lots of success and lots of fun. Once we all got to know each other, things in the house go a lot better. We are joking a lot more with each other and working really well as a foursome. It is great. I like where I am right now and the things that are happening. I am happy. :) The mission is treating me great. I think I am going to have one more change in this area and finish my mission training or something. I feel that is what is going to happen, pero solo Dios sabe, and until then, I will keep working like a missionary.

 

Also, the volcano exploded again this week and it was so pretty, promise. My beloved companion, Elder Garcia, wanted to test his baseball skills by throwing a rock at a wasps nest. First try, he nails it. I have never ran so fast in my whole life. I promise. haha. But it was a fun experience. haha.

 

Welp, love you. Keep working hard. Have fun, study. Don't forget about me. Say your prayers and laugh everyday and remember that I love you. (that's a lot of advice!) :)

Elder Ya-tes

Elder Maldonado's Birthday Cake

 

a new mission...

is going to be made in Guatemala! Guatemala Coban Mission. Woop Woop!

Hey hey! So this past week has been good. We are trying to get in the swing of things here in Golondrinas as a 4 some companionship. It is fun actually. Kind of weird honestly, but fun. Living 4 in the house is good. It's hard because the house is kind of small but it's good. It gets a lot dirtier a lot faster but there are more hands to make the work lighter. It's going to take some getting used to, but I will figure it out haha.

So yes! There is going to be a new mission in Guatemala. They are making 3 in Central America (another in Honduras and another in El Salvador) so there are going to be 6 missions in Guatemala: Central Mission, South Mission, East Mission, Coban Mission, Quetzaltenango Mission, and Rhetahuela Mission. Yeah! The work is progressing! But what does that mean for us? They are going to be rearranging the boundaries of our mission. We are going to lose 2 zones in the capital to the South Mission (Zona Nimajuyu and Zona Mariscal) and we will be receiving another zone in the coast (Zona Tiquisate (which I would LOVE to go to haha)). All of these changes are going to start taking effect soon but the actual changes won't happen until July. So it looks like I will be in the clear and that I will be finishing my mission here in the Central Mission (phew!). So I am really excited for the changes that are going to go down. How special, huh?

 

Well other than that nothing too exciting has happened this week. We found and caught an iguana in our house this week. I named him preston. Then we let him go. It was a fun experience. Also, this last week, a nearby volcano began to erupt lava (at night!) and it was gorgeous. It was a small eruption, but it was so pretty. I promise. But I had left my camera at home so I wasn't able to take a picture. oh well.

 

Another big focus we have right now is making Escuintla a Stake! Right now it is a distrcit and therefore there are no wards, just branches. President Brough wants to send the request in before General Conference so there is possibility that Escuintla becomes a stake! How cool would that be? And I get to be part of the magic. Our challenge right now? attendance. So we are visting ALL the innactives in the area to get them to come back to church so that we can qualify to become a stake. So pray for the (future stake) of Escuintla!

 

We are working hard. Finding new people to teach always and setting high goals. It's what missionaries do. I love you all and I invite you to read ALL of Helaman 5. It is great. What an amazing chapter. Keep saying your prayers and don't forget to laugh everyday! I wuv you!!!

 

Elder Jates. (thats how they say it here)

 

Elder Yates and his Companions eating ice cream

Catholic Church in Antigua

Elder Lagos' "Family"

 

I left 2, and got 3!

So about 2 weeks ago, President Brough gave Elder Acosta and I another missionary named Elder Gomez from Honduras who was having some companion problems and told us to kill him the following 2 weeks. So we did :) The past week, my companion(s) and I have gotten up at 4:30 everyday and we had 70 lessons, 65 new investigators and 1018 contacts over the course of the week. Needless to say, we were all pretty tired but at least Elder Acosta finished his mission strong. (he flies home tomorrow!!) So we show up to change meeting and I receive my new companion (Elder Montero from Peru) and then we both receive ANOTHER companion! We are both senior companions to 2 other missionaries. His companion is Elder Maldonado from Guatemala City (waiting for his visa to go to Mexico) and my companion is Elder Garcia from Peru. So right now we are 4 missionaries living in the same house. I leave now everyday with Elder Garcia and Elder Montero leaves everyday with Elder Maldonado. They are all Latins so no English for me! But it's good and it's going to be so good for the area. We are going to destroy the area!

Elder Finch stayed in Santa Elena and is still training but he went up to District Leader. pilas!! And my trainer, Elder Lagos went home! haha. How crazy. He was a good father. I learned lots and lots from him.

So that was about it for our week. We just worked really hard and then had changes. So it has been a good week. Escuintla is doing good. It's getting hotter and hotter. All of the sudden President sends me to the mountains to suffer haha. But I would really like to go. I hope I go there, but we'll have to see. Thanks for everything. This week, read Alma 60 and 61. Moroni writes a (very, very, very, very, very) strong letter Pahoran and how does Pahoran respond? Out of humility. What a great example. We need to be more humble like Pahoran so that we solve the problems instead of causing more. Like the scriptures say, humble ourselves to the dust, that's my goal this week. Anyway, keep reading your scriptures and laugh everyday. I love you and will see you very, very soon!

Elder Yates

The war chapters in the Book of Mormon would be rated R if it was a movie

Hey, Hey, Hey! How's it going ya'llllll?? (Texas accent) Everything is going good here. We are working hard always and living large.

So we had interviews on Friday! They went superb. President told me that I am doing good and that he is proud of me. :D He also told me to enjoy the coast becuase he is pretty sure that I am not going to finish my mission here...... :O I really thought this was my last area. It makes me happy and sad. I have come to love the coast. Really. I love the heat and the people. But, I would LOVE to go to the mountains. It would be fantastical. So I started praying that I finish in the mountains ;) I also was able to ask President if he sees me training again in the future (I like training) and he said he thinks so. :D So im pretty stoked for that. Training is bomb like Donkey Kong. I promise. The mission is the best. So interviews went great.

We also got a new companion this week! haha. With so many changes going on in the mission, the Lord saw it fit to put me and Elder Acosta back into a trio. Our new companion right now is Elder Gomez from Honduras. He actually entered the mission field with me so we have about the same time. It's good. He's here to work hard and have fun. So that's a great blessing. Being in a trio though sure is weird!....

 

Yesterday we went to Antigua!! Antigua was great. I bought some stuff and went to tons of old ruins, including an old preserved Catholic Church. It was beautiful and I learned so much. I also got some great pictures and had fun with the zone. Antigua is a great place. Who wants to visit it with me after the mission?! :)

 

So I was going to send pictures but the computers that we are using today are super, super sketch. Mejor no. I don't want to get a virus (for the umpteenth time) so I will send them next week when we are using better computers.

So, I am reading right now in the Book of Mormon all the war chapters. It mentions many times that all the things written in the Book of Mormon are of great worth so I have been pondering alot about how the war chapters are of great worth. Well, Jesus in the Bible always uses parables. In reality, the wars chapters are a big actual parable. The Amalikites are Satan and temptation and we are the Nefites. What does Moroni do to prevent enemy attacks? He fortifies the citys so that when the Amalikites come, they are powerless. They can't reach the Nefites. We must be the same. We must prepare ourselves in easy times so that when the hard times come (like breaking the law of chastity or word of wisdom) we know how to react. We know wha to do. We can stay calm because we know that sin has NO power of us, rather that we have control over sin. We must be strong and we can never stop fortifying ourselves! We must ALWAYS read the scrptures, pray, and go to church. They are essential! So my invitation is that we can never stop preparing ourselves. Today is the day. Start now! yeah! :)

I love you all lots and lots. Keep being awesome, study hard and play harder. Say your prayers and laugh everyday. Have a great week!

Elder Yates

changes during the change

yesterday we had changes!! ....during the change.

 

Soooo because so many are entering the mission everything is all weird now with the week changes happen and stuff. We had a change meeting yesterday in which 20 something new missionaries entered the mission and not one person went home (until the 19th). The cool and weird thing is 17 of the newbies are Guatemalans. They are serving in their own countries! It's kind of a blessing to really know your own people and be able to serve them. So it was kind of a weird change meeting because the only people that went, were those that are training! One of them is Elder Finch! again! haha. He is on his second trainee already. I have 2 grandhchildren. How cool is that? haaa. So that was pretty neat.

We split our area! The mission is growing so much that we arent going to be able to fit anymore  missionaries, so they are splitting the areas. There are now 2 more missionaries in Golondrinas which is going to be a huge help in the branch. We'll have to see what other changes come!!!

Today we had zone training. We learned alot about faith and hope. Faith is great because it is a believe in God, but hope is the optimism and enthusiasm that shows and demonstrates faith. As a zone in Escuintla, we had a lot of baptismal dates fall through in the month of January and lots of missionaries were kinda disanimated about that. So the topic was hope. Don't worry! God will bless us. We just need to be diligent and obedient and happy. The blessings will come. The zone is a lot more animated now. I'm excited for the month of Febraury. :)

Welp. I don't have much more time. I love you all lots and lots, read everyday and pray, and don't forget to laugh everyday as well!

Elder Yates