Just like the weather here....‏

CHANGES ARE HERE! I can´t believe its already been another change. I will be entering my fourth change. But I will NOT be entering it here in Villa Nueva. Yesterday we received changes calls and the verdict was that I´m to leave :( I dont want to leave again!!! I just got here and I fell in love with this area! But the Lord has need for me elsewhere so elsewhere is where I shall go. I´ll keep ya´ll posted because changes are tomorrow. So, next week I´ll be in my new area.

But for better news, we had a lesson with Jorge and Lydia and a miracle happened. THEY FOUND THE PAPERS HE NEEDED TO GET MARRIED!!! I guess the robbers only took the money and threw out the papers and someone found them and returned them to Jorge. The Lord answers prayers! And many times he works through other people. There are angels here on earth :) So great. We talked to them about their marriage and they decided the first or second week in Januray. We really wanted them to get baptized and married this month but they want to wait a little bit and I respect their decision. I am really sad that I won't get to be here for their big days, another missionary will get to experience that. But, it doesnt matter which missionary. Only that they are making covenants with the Lord, right? 

On Sunday, I got to go to the TEMPLE DEDICATION! It was spectacular. Elder Uchtdorf came here with Elder Neil A Anderson and they dedicated the Quetzlatenango Temple, it was great. I could feel the spirit so strong even through the satellite transmission. They really are men of God. What an awesome experience and if you haven't seen pictures yet, you need to look online because it is a gorgeous temple. The house of the Lord. :) 

Well not much else has happened since last Friday. Today I need to say goodbye to a lot of people and pack a lot because tomorrow is the big day. Thank you all for everything you do and I have started writing my letters to you, so be ready for them. And next week, I should be in a brand new area! Keep reading your scriptures and doing good things and being obedient. I love you all and pray for you every day. Keep posted for my new area and new companion! :)

Love

Elder Yates

 

    Elder Yates in front of Christmas Tree



     Elder Yates at the Temple



     Elder Yates and Elder Ortega after the temple

I love to see the temple‏

Hello EVERYONE!!! I cant believe it´s already December! Crazy huh? Yeah I know. So I've had a really busy couple of weeks. First, I FINALLY got your dearelders. I think they were trying to kill me and it almost worked. Some of the dearelders were from October. wayyy too much time. I will now work on writing you guys back. Please have patience, there are a lot of you I need to write and I don't have a lot of time, but I WILL write you. :) please and thank you.

Second, WE HAD ANOTHER BAPTISM LAST WEEKEND!!! We had a woman named Carmen Albisuris and she wanted to get baptized but kept telling us she wasn't ready. So we had her baptism date set for like the end of December. Well last week we visited her and she said ¨I´m ready and I want to get baptized this weekend.¨ There was no arguement from us, so we held her baptism and her grandson baptized her. It was great! I have pictures right here on my camera, but I don't have the freaking cord to the computer. I left it in the casa. So I will send the pictures on Tuesday. Promise. =)

Also this week, we had an actividad navideña and our zona (villa nueva) and another zona (chimaltenango) got together for food, games, service, and a great time. This was yesterday. It was great! First we went to an old run down school and we cleaned it up. It looks real nice now. :) Then we played soccer and human bowling and ate pizza and a whole bunch of good stuff. It was great. Then we had a spiritual night last night. We watched this movie called 17 miracles and it was so good. It was about the pioneers that made their way across America in the dead of winter and the trials they had. EVERYONE NEEDS TO WATCH THIS MOVIE. It was incredible the way these people put their faith and trust in the Lord and the Lord carried them to Zion. Many died of course, but it was amzing how they Lord worked miracles through there ordinary people with extraordinary faith. I COULD NOT HAVE BEEN A PIONEER, ever. It makes the trails we have here in the mission field seem like nothing, really a spiritual experience. A great way to celebrate my six month mark in the mission. :)

Then this morning, we got to go to the temple! It was awesome. Unfortunately, we went to the six o'clock in the morning session. And we had to be ready for the bus at the stake center by about 4:15 am. So we had to wake up this morning at about 3 am. So I'm pretty tired. And on top of that, we were fasting. So we were hungry and tired and extremely happy and grateful that we got to go to the house of the Lord and feel His spirit there as we prepared ourselves to baptize 204 people in Janurary. It was awesome.

Well this month we were preparing Jorge and Lydia Gomez to get married and baptized. But something happened. Jorge went to the capital to get the papers necessary for his marriage and on the way back on the bus, robbers got on and robbed EVERYTHING from EVERYONE, and yes, they robbed his papers for his wedding. It will take about a month to get them again. So we can definitely see Satan working hard against us. But we are determined to work harder. So it looks like we will baptize them in Janurary, adding to the 204 baptisms that we need. But we are working hard so don't worry. :)

Well I think that's about it this week. It has been a very quick week but a very great week.  Changes are on Wednesday. I can't believe I've been in this area for 6 weeks already. I will be going into my fourth change! Eeeek! Where is my mission going?! anyway. I love you all SO MUCH and I just want you to know that trials are good. In some of your dearelders, many of you have been telling me of some hard times you are having. Just remember, the Lord will try you and he will try you hard. But he will NEVER EVER EVER EVER EVER give you more trials than you can handle. EVER. Just remember that He is your Father and He knows you better than you know yourself. Trust in Him, embrace the challenges, and you WILL be blessed. He loves you and wants to bless us when we are faithful to Him and His commandments. And always remember that God knows EVERYTHING. Trust in His knowledge. He knows more than us. He loves you more than you can possibly know and he knows each one of you. YOU ARE HIS CHILD. Remember, that I love you all too! And I´ll talk you soon! :) Have a great week!

Elder Yates

oh what do you do in the summer time....‏

when all the world is green?

Greetings Bloggers! How is everyone? 'm doing great because we had BAPTISMS!!! Hermana Galdis was baptized by her grandson Brayon and Hermana Oralia asked ME to baptize her!! I of course was honored :) The pictures are kinda a funny story. Brayon, Hermana Gladis grandson, didn't have white pants that fit him, and he and I are the same size pants so I told him we could just share. We played rock, paper, scissors to see who would get to baptize first, and he won. So that is why I'm not wearing white pants. Because Brayon is wearing them. But don't worry. I baptized in white pants, they were just wet when I put them on :P

We are planning another baptism for this weekend!! Another Hermana we have been teaching says she wants to get baptized this Sunday and there wasn't any arguements from us. :) So we are planning her baptism this Sunday! I'm so excited for her! 

Unfortunately, we haven't been able to get a hold of the familia Estrada. They have been working everytime we stop by. But thankfully, Jorge and Lydia have been available. We had another lesson with them and challenged them to get married and then baptized, and they agreed!!!! We planned the wedding for the 10th of December and the baptism on the 18th. So they are going to get baptized! They are great. Sadly, we have changes on the 14th of December so one of us might not be here for their baptism! I hope I don't get changed! I want to stay here! 

Elder Ortega and I are wroking very hard and finding lots of hopeful familys. We feel we can find enough people to baptize in Janurary to have 204 baptisms! It's going to be great. I'm so excited. 

I hope everyone is doing fantastic! I miss each one of you very much. Thank you for your support. I will be home in a quick 18 months. Crazy to believe that I reach 6 months next week. AHHHHH. where does the time go?! Anyway, I love you all and hope you had a great Thanksgiving and I`ll talk to you soon! love you! 

Love

Elder Yates

 

 

Elder Yates and Elder Ortega eating McDonalds

 

¡yo recibí tus cajas!‏

Happy Thanksgiving everyone!!! Well, almost. Guatemalans don´t celebrate Thanksgiving.Rrather, they prepare hardcore for Christmas. People in Guatemala LOVE Christmas, for reals. So they are starting to put up lights. CrAzIeS!!

This week has been good. We unfortunately didn't have a lesson with the familia Estrada because he work's everyday and doesn't have a set schedule, but we are working hard with them. I'm not ready to give up on them yet! But, we have other investigators! They are Jorge and his wife Lydia, they are an older couple who live alone. Their kids are married and moved out and they are very receptive. They have been coming to church and even came to stake conference alone yesterday!! The problem is, like everyboedy in Guatemala, they aren't married, but that's an easy fix, only if they want to get married. Which i hope they do!! 

Yesterday was stake conference here in Villa Nueva and every other stake in Guatemala! The first presidency sent a satellite transmission to all of Guatemala and only Guatemala!!! IT WAS SO COOL!!!! Elder Holland spoke and so did Elder Ucthdorf!!! IT was awesome! and of course it was translated, but they spoke directly to the people of Guatemala. Such a spiritual experience, very cool. 

Also, President Brough, our mission president, posted a goal that we have: To get 204 baptisms in the month of January. So, in December, he has invited the whole mission to got the temple and to fast in the month of December to demonstrate our faith to achieve this goal. I know we can do it!  I'm so excited to go to the temple! Also, the Temple in Quetzaltenango is going to be dedicated on the 11th of December and we get to watch the dedication!! I'm so excited!! :) The temple is gorgeous. I LOVE TEMPLES!!!!!! 

Well, that's about it here. Keep praying and doing good things and trying to better yourselves everyday. That is the purpose of our lives, to also try and better ourselves to be closer to the Lord so we can have the spirit to be with us. So be obedient and God will bless you. It's that easy. Well I love you all! And hope you all have a happy happy happy Thanksgiving! Be grateful for EVERYTHING you have because there are always people that have less than you. :) Love you!!

Elder Yates

trabajando como burros‏

Good Day Jovenes!!
How is everyone doing? This past week has been a great week. Elder Ortega and I are trabajando como burros y echando fuego in our area. If you can't understand that, learn Spanish! Or use google translator, whichever is faster :)  Elder Ortega and I found a great new family this week. They are the familia Estrada, Edgar, the father, is 19!!!! So young, and so is his wife! They have a 8 month old daughter named Jimena! They are great. They were outside their house and we talked to them and asked if we could share a message and they said yes. They were really grateful that we stopped by. Then we had another cita with them and we brought a member family with us and we had our lesson plan and everything. Then we started and Edgar went off about many of the things he did in his past that he's not too proud of and how he is still struggling with some of these things. But, he knows he can't anymore because he has a wife and daughter.  I bore my testimony that Elder Ortega and I weren't there by accident, that God has a plan for them, and if they would let us, we could change their lives for the better with our message. I told them that we weren't there to obligate them to do what we wanted, but we know that if they do, they will be blessed beyond ALL measure. And then the wife started to cry!! I've never made anyone cry with my testimony before. The spirit was SOOOO strong. The wife, Estefani, told us that she worries for her husband everyday and hopes that he makes good choices for his family but she worrries because she knows his track record. They are the PERFECT family for this gospel. I just pray and hope that they will let us change their lives for the better because that is what this message can do. So, please pray for them!!! They need your prayers!

Also, we are getting a baptism set up for two abuelitas who are going to get baptized this month as well as another woman whose daughter was baptized and now she wants to be baptized. Her name is Oralia. She is great. She has a firm testimony of the Book of Mormon.......and she can't read! She cannot read a single word but she reads the Book of Mormon with her daughter and her neighbor because her neighbor is a member. I'm so excited for them! But, we need to work with them a lot to prepare them for the covenants that they are going to make.

Well, my friends, that's about all this week. Please keep praying. Don't pray for me, but I would ask if you could please pray for my area and our investigators. THEY need your prayers and pray for everything! Heavenly Father loves to hear your prayers because YOU are his son or daughter. HE loves YOU.  Keep reading the scriptuires because that is how he guides you, through the counsel of the prophets. Oh and remember that I love YOU too! You're my favorite. mkay. Well keep sending me letters!!! :)

Love,

Elder Yates

The other side of the rainbow

HOLA A TODOS! Como estan ustedes? Awesome I hope. Well changes were this past week and I GOT CHANGED! I know! I couldn't believe it either! Elder Lagos stayed in Ciudad Real. He was pretty bummed and actually I was too. I kinda wanted to stay. I LOVED Ciudad Real. Iit was great, but the Lord needs me elsewhere and I must answer the call. My new area is in the Zone Villa Nueva, so I'm still in the capital. The area is called La Union. Fun fact: it was Elder Lagos first area so everyone here knows him. Weird huh? The area is great, even though I really miss Ciudad Real. My new companion is Elder Ortega and he is from Panama. He is very short, very fast walker, very hard worker, and has 20 months in his mission. I will send pics soon.

Since I'm still new, I don't know a lot of the investigators yet but we are working hard so that we can have 3 baptisms this month. I`ll keep you all updated on it. We are teaching a lot of people here and its great. The difference between here and Ciudad Real is the people seem much nicer in the streets (always saying hi and what not and smiling) but when we contact them in their homes they don't want to hear a word from us. Ciudad real was the opposite, but everything is great. Working hard and I can't believe I already passed my 5 month mark! One more month and I`ll be a fourth done with my mission. Please tell me that isn't completely crazy, because it definitely is. Where has the time gone? no sè. 

Anyway, nothing really too exciting this week. Just getting situated in my new area and trying to get everything figured out. I'm sure my next couple letters will be more interesting when I start including stories about investigators and what not. Just know that i'm doing good. Working hard, smiling, laughing, eating ice cream :P (The rains gone! It hasn't rained in like a month! It's getting really hot here! The weather is super weird)  and baptizing of course. Keep sending dearelders so I can stay sane please.  I love you alllllll soooooooo muchhhhhhh and I hope you enjoy the pics.  Keep reading the scriptures!!! and read D&C 58: 2 - 5 and focus on verses 3 and 4. the BEST! LOVE YOU!

Love,

Elder Yates

My Zone

My District

Playing Futbol on P-Day

Saying Goodbye to Ward Mission Leader

Saying Goodbye to a Family

Saying Goodbye to Alma and Lorenzo

Elder Yates in Cuidad Real

Elder Yates Leaving Cuidad Real

¡dulce o dinero!

Happy Halloweeeeeeen!!!!! The niños here say dulce o dinero! (candy or money. pretty smart huh?) Unfortunately, they don't celebrate it like we do in the states. They sure are missin out. Oh well. I hope everyone had a fantastic Halloween! Full of lots of laughs and screams!

So this Wednesday is changes!! I have no idea if it's me that's leaving the area or Elder Lagos. We get the official call tonight. He has one more change in the area than me so he is CONVINCED that he is leaving. He is telling everyone and is slowly and secretly beginning to pack his bags. Even though we both don't know still. I kinda hope I leave and he stays just because it would be funny, anyway.

So this past week has been a bit rough. Elder Lagos got sick on Wednesday and I got sick yesterday. Yuck!! The worst, so this week was kinda rough when it came to tracting, but this next week will be better!

All of our families are progressing nicely and Alma and Lorenzo even went to the temple this week to do baptisms for the first time! and they loved it! I'm so happy for them and I love them so much. They are beginning to do the work for their ancestors! yay! and they are preparing to go to the temple in a year too to make everlasting marriage convenents with our Father in Heaven. So awesome! Oh and Alma is pregnant!

I unfortunately don't have much time (or really anything that exciting) so I need to go but I miss all of you and love all you tons and tons and I love getting your dearelders so please keep sending them. Next week I´ll have a new companion and maybe a new area! so stay tuned!!!! :) much loveeeee!!!

Love,
Elder Yates