San Juan

Hola!!!!!

I am finally in the misison field. Sorry I could not write last week, we did not have a P-Day. I would tell you about my last week in the MTC but I feel like you would rather know about my first week in the field. As you can see from the Heading I am in San Juan. It is a town in the mountains in Guatemala. I like it because it is one of the coolest parts of my mission. I do not like the heat and this is almost the hottest time of the year here. They speak two languages here so it can be confusing, however right now I am only focusing on Spanish. Sometimes my companions will speak the other language and I will get super confused.  

Driving to My Area

Me and My Companions

 

View from our Apartment

So I am going to be honest with all of you and say that this has been one of the toughest weeks of my life. Guatemala is really different from the United States and so it takes time to adjust. I am in a Trio with Hermana Calero and Hermana Rodriguez. Hna. Calero is from Nicuragua and Hna. Rodriguez is from Guatemala. She is waiting on a VISA to go to Peru.  They do not really know English but that is good beacuse it helps me to speak more Spanish. My Spanish is actually not that bad. When I talk people understand. It is not perfect but I can at least teach which is good. My companions say I have the Spanish of a missionary that has been out for 7 months. I don`t agree but oh well. The members are really nice and they also say I have good spanish. The thing is that I am better at speaking than understanding. I think that is funny. 

 

The first two days in the field were some of the hardest but Heavenly Father blessed me with rain. I loved it and got totally soaked. I was wet but happy. My companions thought I was craz. They did not like the rain and wanted it to stop. It was helping me a lot though so I prayed out loud for more rain and it would rain harder. :)  

 

What I woke up to my first morning in the field

Being in the mountains we travel a lot. We travel by walking, riding buses and Taxi's ( Tuk Tuks)  We are always going places. I actually really like the buses because there are always a lot of people on them and they drive really fast. People do not really follow speed limits here.  I love teaching people and helping them. When we go to houses it is crazy. The houses are tiny and very dark. A lot have dirt floors and they are just so dirty. What is interesting is that the peoples cloths are usually clean.  There is trash everywhere in the street and dogs and cats running around. It is different but I am getting used to it and I know that I can help these people by  teaching them about the gospel of Jesus Christ.  

 

One of the best things that happened this week was with our investigator. She is going through a rough time because her husband is leaving her. We had one lesson with her and set a baptism date for April 26th. She said that was too early and pushed it back to May 25th. Then we had a relief society conference at the Stake Center and she really felt the spirit. The next day in our lesson she told us that she wanted to get baptized sooner on the 26th of April. I am so happy for her. She is so ready for the gospel and it will bless her life. This Sunday was her first at church and she was participating and asking questions it was great. She says that we are her angels.  

 

We had other investigators come to church as well. They are progressing and they really seemed to like it. We are in a Branch. It is small but so great. I love the church becuase no matter where you are in the world it is the same. Another thing that is different here is that their addresses are really unorganized and they will just go ahead and feed their baby in the middle of the street or during a lesson. 

 

I love the families here especially the family where I go to eat food everyday. They are so kind and are sort of like my family right now along with my companions.  Oh, just so you know, the town that I am in is really safe. ninjas protect us. Well everynight people dress up as ninjas and protect the neighborhoods.  I love you all and I will write again next week. thank you for your love and support. Also Happy Birthday to Timothy and Grandma B.Nana. 

     Hermana Cailey Gurule