Pictures!!

 

Pictures!!

 

 

 

 

His District.  They are standing in front of the Guatemala City Temple.  His companion, Elder Ang is the short guy on the right. 

 

 

All the missionaries at the MTC.

 

Week 1 in the Guatemala CCM

Hola from Guatemala!!!

 

I am so glad to hear that everything has been going pretty good! Tell Kelci and Tairyn congratualtions for me, and tell Tanner good luck on his driving test for me.

 

I am sorry about my very brief first message, but when we arrived to the CCM, we were only given two minuets to write home, so i tried to cram as much information into one email as possible. Also gess P. day is on tuesdays while i am at the CCM.  This week has een one crazy long but incredible week. When i was flying in, I met up with 10 missionaries at Salt Lake, and we met up with 5 more in Los Angelas. There is a total of 32 nortes, or North american usa, missionaries, there are 30ish latino missionaries in the CCM. New missionaries come in every two weeks so there are three groups of Nortes, and one group of Latinos. In my group of Nortes, me and my companion are the only ones going to honduras, and just about everyone else is going to El Salvador.

 

I have to say that the roadways here in guaemala are abslute chaos. A bus driver picked us up from the airport and we rode this scary beaten up school bus for a good 30 minuets. There arent much traffic laws, and it was a miracle that we even made it to the CCM. When we arrived at the CCm, we were greeted by President COx, and he took our cameras away. Apperantly he has a rule against cameras, so we can not use our cameras while we are here at the CCM, so that means that the first pictures will be in a few weeks, sorry.. We were than assigned companions and rooms, and we got to settle in for a bit. My companion is Elder Ang. Elder Ang is from Southern California, and he is a smaller Samoan..haha. Elder Ang is going to the same mission in honduras, so thats all good. There are 6 missionaries in our room, and they are all a bunch of goofballs. They are constantly cracking jokes, and just being dumb, but they are all incredible people.

 

Being here in the CCM has definatly been a culture shock for me. Other than the Nortes, no one else speaks english. I have kinda been thrown in, head over heels. I have already been frustrated with myself that i can not understand anything. The latinos are always trying to talk with us whities, but it is so hard to speak with them. They try their hardestto be patient with us while we try to figure out what to say, but I just wish i just knew spanish so things could be easier. We have to sit across from the Lations at all the meals, and we try our hardest to speak with them, by the way, the food is freaking incredible, and it is pleantifull. Also the wether is fantastic. It has been a nice 70 degress all week down here.

 

Me and Elder Ang have had the opportunity to go out and preach our message of the gospel to teachers who act as investigators this week. This sounds like an awesome way to learn how to preach the gospel, but the only problem is, is it has to be done in spanish. We have had three lessions this week, and they have been some of the most frustrating things that i have ever done in my life. There is so much that i wasnt to teach, and there is so much good that i want to spread, but there is this barrire that is preventing me and my companion from speaking our miunds. Last night me and Elder Ang had our third lession. About halfway through the lession, me and elder ang were asked some questions that we did not understand, and that we did not know how to respond to. I said a prayer in my heart that words would be put in the mouth of me, and into the mouth of my companion. I got this feeling to respond with my testimony in the middle of the lession, so i did. I didnt think it was all that great, but some thing clicked, and the spirit immediatly entered. Elder Ang immediatly just started speaking. I had no clue what he was saying, but the feeling that was emmitted was the best feeling ive ever felt before. We left the invesigator in tears, and both me and elder ang were in tears. All the older nortes were thinking what the crap just happened in the room where we were teaching. I asked Elder ang afterwards what he said, and he had no clue. Elder Ang just said that couldnt even remeber what had happened other than he felt good. I can testify that God is out there. God wants to hep us, but we need to ak for permission first. The spirit is the most powerfull thing in this world, by far. I know that our heavenly father loves and knows the desires of our hearts, and he wants to help us. I love you all more than i can express. I think about you guys at almost all times of the day. Ive been praying for for every day and night. Remeber that god loves you all. and I love you all

 

Elder High

Day 1

He made it to Guatemala.  Here's the first email we have received.

I have to make this very brief, but I have to tell you that i made it safely to guatemala. The flights were extermely long and i am exhasted, but luckily the MTC president is allowing us five minuets to write home. This is really all the time that i have to sayeverything  but everyting is awesome down here!!!

*He titled the email "I'm alive!!"  I told him that he better write every week even if to only let me know that he is alive.  Hopefully he'll write more than that, but I need to know every week that he's alive.  Kinda silly, but a mother needs to know these things!

Here's a less sad picture: