a different week this week‏

that is why we are emailing on Monday this week. President Brough has organized a temple trip/Christmas activity on Wednesday so he changed a few things around.

 Hey everyone! Is everyone gearing up for Christmas?! I hope so. Last year, it was bloody hot for me so it was kinda hard to get in the Christmas spirit. But, here in Santa Elena, its pretty darn cold. So it's a lot easier to feel Christmas in the air :)

So we learned recently that they are going to be changing the amount of time that missionaries have to be in the MTC which has thrown off the schedules of ALL the missions. Some missionaries are now going to be going home earlier while others are going to stay out a little longer. Luckily and sadly, this mission is being pushed back 2 weeks. So as of right now, it looks like I am going to be released the 26th of June and I will be flying home the 27th. It wasn't what was planned but that's the way it is. That means for me, more time to baptize! And it's weird that there are missionaries that left AFTER me that will get home BEFORE me now. Oh well. What can ya do? :)

Speaking of time, I am pretty sure I completed 18 months this past week. Doesn't seem real does it?

This past Friday was Dia Del Diablo. I think I mentioned it the past year. The story goes that there was this family that was having a lot of problems in the family many years ago and someone suggested that they take out all of their trash and burn their ''devils'', so they did and the problem was fixed in the family. So now, everyone takes their trash out, as well as a paper maché devil and they burn it outside their house. It's a literal way to solve a figurative problem. haha. So that was a fun day to see all the burning devils in the streetes of Guatemala.
We went this past week to take out the papers for Familia Valles so they can get married this past weekend and when we took them out, we realized that Rodolfo's last name is spelled wrong! Freaking pruebas. So now he has to go down to Villa Canales and fix it himself. We hope he does it quick because we are running out of time! and if he doesn't do it, he will be known as Rodolfo Valler is whole life. Please pray for them!

Well thats about it here in good ol Guatemala. Everything is hunky dorey and I am happy. It's crazy how fast time is flying. I can't wait to see you all shortly, but I can wait until after the 6 months passes and I baptize a ton more people. Stay sweet. Read your scritpures and pray. Also, read in Alma about Ammon and Aaron, they both came to those lands to be missionaries and what did they both say to the king? I will be thy servant. They came to serve! Yes they came to preach but with the attitude to serve! So mark those scriptures and read'em again. I love you all and I invite you to laugh everyday. :)

Elder Yates

Decorating David's Christmas Tree

Bici Taxi

Our Christmas Decorations

Hermano Juan

we have a new little friend‏

Her name is Jazz. She is a lost street dog that now follows us 24/7.

Hey friends and family! Well this last week has been good. It has been kinda hard in some things, but we are working hard. On Saturday we went with our ward mission leader to the house of Familia Valles and talked about the following week. We put the day to get married and even the date to get baptized! It was such a spiritual lesson. The mother, Maria, even made the comment that she would walk to Villa Canales if she had to to get baptized. So we left the lesson super excited! But then Sunday, they didn't show up for church. So we called la Maria and she said that they had a problem and didn't want to get into detail over the phone. But that she wasn't going to be able to come to church. But then randomly she showed up to Sunday School. We tried talking to her and she said that she couldn't and that she only came for a little bit but she needed to get home. We had an appointment with them for yesterday. So yesterday we went by, and she asked us to come by today. We are really nervous as to what happened so I ask that you please pray for them. Satan is attacking them hard right now and we want them to get married and baptized the soonest possible. Your prayers mean alot.

 

As for our little friend, Elder Finch and I saw this poor little street dog fighting for her little life beucase a bunch of other dogs wanted to break the law of chasitity with her. So we felt bad and shooed them off and gave her some chips that we bought and then continued on our way. Well she has been following us since. When we go into a lesson, she waits outside the door. It's kind of cute, and kind of annoying. But her name is Jazz, (I named her) and she is now our little friend. haha.

We saw 2 fights this week. One was between 2 drunk men and the other was between 2 very big street dogs. They were both very exciting to say the least :)

 

I sadly could not go to see the Christmas fireside. Our branch had a bus that was going to take us to the stake center but the bus left at like 2 in the afternoon because they all went before to do family history so we couldn't go so early. I heard it was beautiful though. Maybe I'll see it in another occasion :)

 

Welp, welp, thats about all here. Nothing too exciting. But we are going to the temple next week! Well I love you all and I pray for you and I hope that you all have a great week. Stay safe and say your prayers. Also, don't forget to laugh everyday!

 

Love,

Elder Yates

Today is Wednesday.

I feel like today is Tuesday because that is usually when we do emails!

 

Heyyy! So this past week has been great. Lots and lots of new updates. haha.

First of all, the Familia Valles all came to church on Sunday! even the father! and I think they all really liked it. We also talked to them about marriage and they decided to get married!! So we put the date of their marriage the 8th of December. We just need to get the lawyer all ready and get their papers all ready, but they are progressing! Pray for them! When we talked to them they said, we want to get married civil first and after by the church! Saweet we told them. That is fine with us. haha, so they are progressing nicely.

Also, on Sunday, our recent convert David invited his sister and her kids to come to church and they all came! It was great! I think they really liked it too. So that was really cool too. The Lord is blessing us! But please keep praying for us and the people here in Santa Elena Barillas.

Today we had interviews with President Brough. They were great. We hadn't had interviews in a long time. President Brough says that I am doing great and that he is proud of me (which obviously made me feel awesome!). He also told me that these last 6 months of my mission is my time to shine. He said that I am going to start to get really tired and that it is common for a missionary to question if they can make it to the end. But he says that it IS possible and that I am going to need lots and lots of help from my Heavenly Father. But he has faith in me. And I have faith too! I WILL NEVER GET TIRED! hahaha. I hope.....
Other than that nothing too interesting is happening. Our area apparently is set in the middle of a wind channel so everyday our area is SUPER blowy. I promise. It's always windy and it's getting colder and colder so that is different. haha. We are now leaving the house almost everday in long sleeve shirts and sweaters. We have to bundle up! and I thought it never got cold in Guatemala.....

Well I am happy, just know that. There is nowhere I would rather be than right here. Thanks for all your support and prayers. I love you all so much and can't wait to see your beautiful faces again. Stay safe and sweet and I hope everyone had a great Thanksgiving. And don't forget to laugh everyday! I love youuu!!!

Elder Yates

Happy Turkey Day!

Puchica. It's Thanksgiving already?! The year is almost over!! AHHHH!!!

HEY!! So Happy Thanksgiving everyone! What a great day we have to remember all the many blessings God has given to us - by eating a ton of food! Best holiday ever! Haha. I am so thankful for the opportunity I have to be here in Guatemala serving these people. I am grateful for the blessings I have in my life. I am thankful for my family. I am thankful that God gave me the opportunity to learn spanish. I am grateful for my religion and all that it brings. I am grateful to be an American. I am grateful for everything! Everything is a blessing! How blessed we are. Everything that God has given us is a blessing. We have so many blessings! I invite you to think about all the blessings you have and to thank God for them! All of them you can think of! It will be a rewarding experieence. I promise :)

 

This past week has been good. To answer your questions, the earthquake didn't really do anything in our area, just shook it up a bit. So there hasn't been any opportunities for service or anything like that. But right now we are teaching a family named Familia Valles. They are really great. The mother, Maria, is very pilas and has already come to church with her kids. For her, God is the most important thing in her life, even though she doesn't even have a religion. she is looking for a stable church that she can attend every week that has great lessons for her children. After going once, she wants to get married to her husband and get baptized. Her husband on the other hand, Rodolfo, is a bit more hesitant. He likes to sort things out and think them through. So our biggest challenge is with him right now. But we have faith that things will go good.

 

Me and Elder Finch are working extra hard. This change is a week shorter because of Christmas but that doesn't mean we cant have the same success. Congrats on all the mission calls! Missionary work is the best. Everyone in the world should be a missionary because they will learn so much and have an awesome adventure! If its the Lords will, they may even get to learn a new language: a lifelong blessing. Take advantage of the opportunity God has given us to serve him! Missionary work is the most important thing in the church. Just pray and ask God if that is what you should do. I promise you will receive an answer. :)

 

I love you all so much and hope you have the best Thanksgiving ever! keep Christ in your thoughts and eat a ton of food. And think of me too!! And don't forget to laugh everyday!

Elder Yates

 

Making Tortillas

Tortillas

District Meeting

Cool Pic

Turkey Hats

 

¨shakin¨ things up a bit‏

We have changes tomorrow!! and.......I am staying in the area and Elder Finch is too! Another change together!! haha

 

So I imagine that some of you may have heard that there was an earthquake down here in Guatemala. the truth is..... there was. It was last Wednesday. We had to go to another area in my district called Ribera del Rio. My companion and I were just walking in the street and the all of the sudden we stopped. ¨do you hear that?¨ I asked him. ´´Yeah what is that?¨ he asked. Then we looked down the street and we could see that all the telephone polls were shaking and rocking from side to side and people began running out of their houses. ´´Is this an earthquake?´´ I asked. ´´I think it is!´´ he tells me, and sure enough, it was. We just stayed there in the middle of the street watching the people run around and the telephone polls shaking. The earth didn't shake, it just moved, it was weird and hard to describe. And as quickly as it started, it was done. So, we continued on knocking doors and talking to the people. The last I heard, the death toll was just over 60 with over 100 people missing. But I'm not sure if that number has changed. Every missionary in the mission is great and unharmed. The earthquake hit the hardest in Retahuelu so I'm not sure about the missionaries there. The earthquake measured 7.5. and there was another 6.4 earthquake on Sunday. The earth is restless! Preparing for the end of the world ;)

 

As for other news, we had the baptism of Blanca on Sunday! and my companion Elder Finch got to baptize her! Everything went great. She was happy and her mother was too. Now everyone in their family is baptized. So that was a great blessing. It was a great service and Elder Finch now has his first convert. Hooray!

 

As for changes, WE ARE STAYING TOGETHER! but this next change is a week shorter because the Area Presidency wants all the missionaries to go home BEFORE Christmas. So this change ends the 19th of December instead of the 26th. It definitely has its pros and cons. We'll see what happens at the next changes! Tomorrow will be the first change meeting I HAVENT been too. So that'll be kinda weird. haha. As for other changes, I will have a brother in the mission! Elder Lagos is going to train again. I have been an only child for so long that it is going to be weird. And Elder Finch will have an uncle in the mission that has less time than he does haha.

Well that's about it my friends. I forgot to put the picture of me eating the chicken foot in the last email so I will do it today. Thanks for everything and all your support. I love you all so much. right now I am reading in Mosiah 27 about the conversion story of Alma the Younger. I challenge you all to read and ponder it. Read about the love Alma had for his son and read about how after he was converted, he suffered persecutions and afflictions, just like a REAL missionary :) laugh everyday and say your prayers. Have a great week!!

 

Elder Yates

 

 

Chicken Foot

 

Me eating it.....

Blanca's Baptism

 

 

and the last week...

in this change is here. We have changes next week!! How fast this change went by. en serio.

HEY EVERYONE! wow what a busy week. So, this last Sunday, we had Stake Conference. They are going to make ANOTHER stake here! They are going to split the stakes of Villa Hermosa and Villa Nueva and make the stake El Frutal. and we will be in the new stake! So they came this week to annouce that, and when I say they, I mean Carlos H Amado of the Seventy and ALL the stake presidents and the mission president, President Brough. We had 6 investigators there! It was great! What an awesome day.

 

Something else that happened during stake conference is that they annouced everyone that would be receiving the Melchesidec (sp?) priesthood! Hermano Jose Luis Hernandez that got baptised in June (when I was with Elder Streeter) got the priesthood as well as Hermano Jorge Argueta!! Hooray! And remember Hermano Jorge Gomez from Villa Nueva? Jorge and Lydia? yeah. HE GOT THE PRIESTHOOD TOO!! Best day of my life, for serious.

 

What made the day even cooler is that in the night, we went by Hermano Jose Luis Hernandez and I asked him to give me a blessing with his newly acquired priesthood and he did! I love them. What an awesome day. and when you are asking why I needed a blessing, yes I am sick, with a really bad cold, to the point where I lost my voice. But I am doing great now. :) I even contacted the bus today :)

So on Monday, we made papusas! A very El Salvordanian food that is DELISH! They didn't turn out so hot becuase we had never made them before and well, we actually AREN'T in El Salvador. But we had tons of fun and even watched the movie 17 Miracles. Best movie ever. What a fun pday!

 

This morning we had a zone training, so that was fun. We learned how to contact better. We did lots of practices and learned how to do an effective contact in every place that we are able to contact, in church, at a door, in a tienda, or on a bus. Everywhere we are, we should be contacting! always. This last week, Elder Finch and I did over 400 contacts again, so it's easy to contact and we should ALWAYS be contacting.

And finally today, my companion cut my hair. It actually didn't turn out that bad and it was cheap too! Best comp ever award, oh and at lunch, we ate chicken feet. pictures attached.

Well my friends, that's about it. Everything is going great up here in Santa Elena. I love it. I hope to stay one more change. Please pray for that haha. Have a great week. Start thinking about Thanksgiving! Not for the food, but for the the things we are thankful for! ok and the food too. We sadly don't celebrate it here in Guatemala so everyone is already starting to think about Christmas! So I'm ok with that too. haha. Smile everyday, say your prayers and laugh everyday, and as my grandfather says, don't forget to wear clean underwear. :)

Elder Yates

Elder Yates and Elder McQueen in a bike taxi

 

Making Papusas

 

Eating lunch after divisions

 

Happy Halloween! year 2.

Happy Halloween ya´ll! Hope everyone is having a spooky time! Me and Elder Finch are for sure. Thanks to our mothers, we have some super scary costumes! I have some pics right now but the rest I´ll send next week. Send me pics of your costumes please! I would love to see them!

 

On Sunday, David was confirmed and Elder Finch confirmed him! How awesome is that? Something even more awesome is that Sunday was David's birthday! What a great present: the Holy Ghost and on top of that: the priesthood! How pilas, anyways, so on Monday, Elder Finch and I decided to go buy him a cake and celebrate with him. It was so much fun and he was so happy that we were there to celebreate with him. His family was very impressed and even cooked for us, pollo frito con arroz. mmMMmmm. so good. que buena honda. So that was a nice little treat. David is awesome!

A funny story about him, I mentioned a few weeks back that he was doing a lot of stuff that he shouldn't have been doing in the past, before we started teaching him, and he almost died from it. He told us that when he was between life and death, he promised God that he if lived, he would become a Priest in his church. Well he lived and went to go be a Priest for the Catholic Church, but they denied him saying that he was too old. So he left disanimated. But this Sunday, he recieved the priesthood and was confirmed to the office of Priest! haha. Wish came true he said. how cool is that?

So we have been working out with him everyday. We run to his house and do about a half hour of weights and then we run home. So it's been great. I'm getting stronger! or weaker depending on how you look at it because I am ALWAYS sore now haha. But it's a good sore. This week sadly, we won't be able to work out with him beacuse some members invited him to go camping up in Coban this week. So he wont get back until Friday. But oh well. It´ll be good for him to go hang out with some members.

 

This pday was fun. We went and played kick ball as a zona in Villa Hermosa. It was fun but I got sunburned. Should have thought that one through huh? puchica. oh well. haha. It's good for my complexion right? ....or maybe not.

 

But this week has been great. Right now we are also working with a girl named Blanca (who I accidentally called Hermanca because I combined her name with hermana and she couldn't stop laughing for like 10 mins. haha oops.) and she wants to get baptized on the 11th of November. Her parents are both memebrs but she studied every Sunday and could never get baptised. But right now they are in vacaciones and she wants to get baptized. So pray for her that everything goes good!

 

I can't believe this change is almsot over! How crazy. They just keep going faster and faster. Keep up the good work ya´ll and keep an eye out for some letters that I may have sent ;) I love you all so much and pray for you. Behave well and pray everyday. Follow the spirit and laugh everyday.

Love,

Elder Yates

 

David's Baptism

David's Birthday Cake

David's Birthday

Halloween