December 17, 2012

I opened the package because it didnt say I couldnt! Im glad you got my package. Question...where did you all get the Trader Joe´s stuff?! I love it! I did get Nannie´s card and the package from Craig and Heidi, Tell them thank you bunches for me!

It sounds like you are having lots of Christmas fun!! We had a big talent show of all the Mission today amd a big fancy lunch together! It was fun!

I hadn't heard about the stuff in CT or the movement (Sisters wearing pants to Sacrament Meeting for a protest). Thats so sad about what happened (in CT). I dont know how someone could do that. And how dare they think it is okay to treat the chapel like that! Thats awful.

Thats awesome about Rach´s work! I want some pictures!

 

I'm so excited for Andrew´s Baptism, I wish I could be there! Good luck on your talk, what are you talking about, the Spirit or Baptism? Send me pics!

WE had a baptism this week. So that was good. It was a little girl who is 11, her name is Blanca Luz, After meeting her mother, it wasnt so surprising that they named her White Light.

Oh did I tell you that I'm pretty sure Im related to my zone leader. So thats kinda cool. But anyways! I love you! Thanks for sending all the love! and I'll talk to you soon!!

and next christmas I decided you shouldnt send me anything. Just save up your money so you can come pick me up and see where I live. And just keep the tree up till I get home

December 10 update

Stake Conference sounds like it was great! Thanks for sharing the talk topics with me! Oh and I got a package from you and one from Danielle last week! They were totally fine! Thank you so much! I loved it all! The conference notes were super cute and the food and clothes were great too! Thanks! The only thing though was that there was a little drummer boy in Danielle's package....haha very funny! Also thanks for the cards and the snowflake earrings! I love them.

I have a little stove range in my kitchen and then if we ever need an oven we just use the one in the church.

Thats sweet of the Blackham little girl, oh course Id email her back!

And you can send me those shoes if you want, but Im really not dying for shoes right now, I pretty much just wear my Toms everyday, they are the most comfortable.

This week has been good. We had 5 investigators in church yesterday so we were pretty excited! We are teaching this family right now and they had a child that died and we were talking to them about temples and eternal families and the spirit was super strong! And the woman after a few minutes and when we had kind of moved on, she just looked at us and was like ´´ what´s it like in there, in the temple?´´ Then me and my comp got to testify of the beauty of the temple. It was a really sweet experience.

Then we were teaching this other kid the plan of Salvation and first we had mentioned that one of the things that we have to do here on earth is that the scriptures say we have to be baptized by water and by fire. And my comp jokingly said we needed to throw him in a fire, then she assured him she was kidding and explained about the holy ghost, however then we got to the Celestial Kingdom and she pulled out her example of it being comparable to the sun, then the kid was like...its really hot there! So I was like shoot, this kid thinks we are going set him on fire! It was funny.

There have been a couple families here who have found out that I was studying nutrition and now they want me to help there babies because thy wont eat. First of all, I dont know all those words in spanish, so my comp works as a translator and second I dont have any tools I need to see what is really wrong. But I try to do the best I can, but they really like taking pills here, so they just want me to find pills for their baby to take, when really that isnt what they need.

We had a multizone conference this week. It was good! They showed us this short clip about the Atonement and a couple apostles talked about it! IT was really nice.

So yesterday I became deathly ill. I had a fever of 102 and felt awful. I'm still recovery. But the best part is what I was told on why I was sick. We have a new Latin zone leader, he implied that it was probably because I was being disobedient, his companion assured him that wasnt the case. The next reasoning was because I had the fan blowing on me. And then this morning our neighbor said it was because its cold here......theyre right 90 degrees is cold. They wanted to know if I had gotten injections yet and what pills I was taking. Ha oh Guatemala. The reason I'm sick couldn't be because I shake hands and kiss people everyday who don't bathe or I eat their food made in rat infested kitchens, or just sometimes you get sick. But Im feeling a bit better.

My comp and I started our Christmas decorations today, once they are done, I'll send a pic!

The ornaments look super cute!!! I love you all! I love you have a good week!!!

New Pictures

Emily and A Pirate (She is a Massey Hill Girl)

Guatemalan Temple

Sitting on Santa's Throne

Hard to see BUT Volcanic Ash

New Convert
 

Guatemalan Sunset
 

Cereal for Thanksgiving Feast.

Thanksgiving Feast

Her Dog Bite!

On the way to Guatemala!

 

December 3 email

Hey! Im sorry you and Daddy keep missing each other and that you havent been feeling your best, I hope you feel better! But Im glad you are liking work! I can understand being tired, I sleep so well here, Im exhausted at the end of everyday! I feel like Ill just want to sleep for a week when I come home! Oh and 2 weeks ago you told me you were joking about the spanish, I had no idea what you were talking about, I finally realized afterwards. So this week a volcano by our area errupted, there was ash everywhere, so it looked like snow. They gave us these hospital masks to wear, but I tries that for a good 30 seconds and figured it was better to breathe in ash then suffocate on my own hot air. This week we had a conference for just the Hermanas it was really fun. THe first day President talk to us, we played sports and were fed. It was fun. THe second day we went to this theme park here, and we rode some rides, ate gelato, did some rock climbing and just relaxed for a bit. It was super fun!

Did you like the Christmas DEvotional? I did, it was good, I could understand everything, but I got the gist of some of it. We had 2 investigators there, it was great! We have some really positive people now, so we are super excited! We have been working withe the members a lot more this past week and it has really helped! I love the members in our ward, they are so cute! They are so sweet, and like little children. Like the other day one of the women we are closest to here, we were at her house for lunch, and while we were eating she came up to us and told us she had a serious question, and that we both needed to tell her the truth. Her question was, was it really true that everyone in the whole world sees the exact same moon. It broke my heart a little bit but she really wanted to know, so we explained to her that yes that was true and it gave us some comfort that our families see the same moon we do.

Ha also this week we discovered that we have a less active member going around telling people that the missionaries tied her up, locked her in a room, beat her, baptized her, then we made her sell us her land and we took the money to go get drunk.....guess we shouldnt have done that! Ha ha we laughed when we heard this, it was really funny. We came across her after that and didnt tell her we knew but asked her what the missionaries purpose was and that we go about doing good.....she was in the church watching the Devotional a couple hours after.

Anyways that is so sweet that everyone wants to send me something, that is really generous! Little Women sounds fun and so does a parade! I love this time of the year! And I love you!

Novemeber 19 Email

I got the voting sticker you sent me this week! Thank you! Also thanks for your detective work and taking care of my contact stuff! Also tell Craig and Heidi thanks for their generosity! That is so cool that our ward has so many missionaries out! Im excited to get your package! woo hoo! I dont know, I cant think of anything I really need, yes food is always appreciated and maybe perhaps shea hand cream from bath and body works., mine is almost out and me and my comp love the smell of it, its nice to have things here that smell good! But I will be happy with whatever! I liked your thoughts from Moroni 8 Daddy, your are right about the excuses, thats one of our biggest problems here, people cant go to church because they need to make tortillas or its raining and if they get wet they will get sick. We also have a lot of menos activos we are working with right now, who have just forgotten their covenants and promises. It´s really sad that they dont find those things important or sacred, so we are trying to remind them. This week wasnt really exciting, just teaching and preaching but Oh my gosh guess what! I got pooped on by a bird this week! It was gross! But whatever. We maybe also accidently brought a drunk man to church. Everyone who said theyd come this Sunday bailed, so I was like man, we need a miracle, and this man comes up to my comp and asks, tell me, how can I change my life? My comp says to come to church with us, so he does. Once we were sitting in the pews thats when I realized he wasnt sober. He looked at pictures during the first part of sacrament and was convinced all our books were in english...which none of them were. So he was reverent during the sacrament but after that he starts crying and so we take him out of the chapel and on the way out, he was leaning over, and while getting up he smacks his head on the pew, it was really funny. WE go and talk to him for awhile and he is really upset about life, then we send him on his way. WE set up an appt with him and his family...hopefully he wont be drunk this time, even though the drunks are always good for a laugh. We also have a super sweet family here that was just baptized a couple months ago and we made smores with them last night. It was fun! I hope you enjoy the holidays! Do it for me! I hope you have a fun THanksgiving and eat lots for me! I love you

November 26 Letter

Im glad to hear Thanksgiving was good and that you all had fun on Black Friday, My comp and I both wore Black on Black Friday to celebrate. On Thanksgiving the elders in our zone were real sweet and brought ice cream and made brownies and fruit sald for all of us to enjoy. It was fun. Then for dinner my comp and I had a feast of five different cereals! It was lovely. We had interviews with the mission president this week. They were good, he is nice and funny, I like him. He told me my spanish was good and that I had pretty eyes. He says his daughter has pretty eyes too and he always asks her, that when she dies will she donate her eyes to him. So we found out that we will be getting a ton more hermanas in the next few months! We are super excited! And if I understood correctly that each zone will have a pair that work strictly within the organizations of the wards, helping them get established. I think that would be fun. so the other day, my comp and I went to go pick up a member for a lesson and my comp was on her porch and I went to go look to see if she was coming down the road, and she was so my comp came over to me and was like Ow! She said she stepped on something, and Im like well there are rocks everywhere so thats probably it. But then I look down and she is trailing blood and she has this hole through her shoe. So we sit her down and take off her shoe and it is completly full of blood. So I go to clean her foot and, well they have different ideas about health her and the member starts telling me not to get her foot wet with the cold water, I informed her I needed to clean it and then ignored her from then on. We looked around and finally found what she had stepped on. There was this dull iron bar sticking out of the ground that had gone through her shoe and probably almost a half an inch in her foot. She has been in quite a bit of pain, but she is a trooper and weve worked everyday. I told her that I knew on the mission we were suppose to become like Christ but I felt she was taking things a bit too far with her whole foot fiasco. Other that things have been good. WE set up this calender for members to hold FHE at thier houses with a nonmember so we can get new investigators and almost everyday in December is filled, so we are excited for that! The pictures of you all are cute! I bet the house is adorable and Im glad you thought of my ornament! I was sad I might not get one this year! I like that quote by Elder Holland too, I hadnt read it before! Im glad you get to work some extra time! Let me know how your doctor appointment goes. Is it cold there? Is there snow? I hope the packages get here intact as well. Thanks for them! and Ill be careful with the pig! We passed one the other day being taken away and it was so loud! I didnt know they could squeal so loud! Anyways I love you! And hope you are all doing well! Mwah

November 12th Letters and Pics

The earthquake was kind of fun in my opinion, we were just studying and it wasn't that bad, just stood in the doorway for a few seconds. Everyone here was terrified though, so its been kinda good for business, everyone is like ´´i knew i needed to repent´´ and we were like we can help you with that! My comp´s name is Shroeder. Her dad is retired now. They never lived anywhere we have, he was an MP. I was sad i didn't get to watch the elections, but my comp and I wore red white and blue, and I painted my toenails red with blue stars. A member let us know that Obama had won.Oh I sent a package for you all, it isn't a lot because well there is a lot here but hopefully you get it for the holidays! The only thing I can think of that I want is some multivitams, not chewables...those disintegrated here, not sure why. Anyways spanish is coming slowly, my comp is super patient and sometimes I understand and sometimes I cant so we will see. Everyone says to give it 6 months. The members here are really nice, they say my spanish is good and then they say to each other ´´Remember Elder ****...he didn't know any spanish´´ I don't know this poor elder, but he makes me feel a little better about life. So because of my lack of spanish, I found out my comp volunteered me to teach the yw country dance. She asked me if I knew it and I was like, if I have a good partner and she was like whatever, so on Saturday I had to like make up a routine for these girls. WE did a combination of a line dance, a square dance, and some swing...and did it all without music It was hilarious. Then my teeny tiny bishop started singing and dancing around me and my companion. it was so funny. So the exciting things in my life this week ' I found a leaf that smelled like a fruit loop.WE set a baptism date with one of our investigators yesterday. He was so happy, you could just see him waiting for us to ask him, because we've been trying for a bit to get a date with him and finally he was ready! The spirit was so sweet and I'm so excited for him! So our new convert, she likes to exaggerate and she told me and my comp that she had gone to the doc and had had a temperature of 140 degrees...I told her that wasn't possible and my comp told her she would have been dead yesterday! That is exciting for Remmington! Tell him congrats! I wish I could see your hair, do you feel like you have more fun now. Thank you and thank Craig and Nannie for me. Also tell Pres Scott and and Bro Teague I say hello. and don't worry, I am protected, like it says in D & C 6 if the powers of earth and hell combine against me I will be okay as long as I'm built upon my savior, and I am. I love you!

This pic is not from the earthquake.  It is construction from behind the church building.  They are expanded to make it larger.   But Emily says you can pretend it is the earthquake if you'd like.  :) 

November 5th Letters

Hey Mama! Tell Nannie I love her too and Aunt Annie congrats for me, I hope the reception is fun! Yes the package I got was Halloween, it was great! We didnt do a lot on Halloween but we did have to go in an hour early at 7 just for safety even though they dont really celebrate Halloween here, they did have Day of the Dead the next day. But for Halloween my comp and I bought some candy, but they dont have much here, they think cough drops are candy so they mostly sell those, but we did find some chocolate and had stuff the package you sent! So we have started teaching this cute little old couple and the man knows a ton and they are really receptive! like in our first lessone with them the man said ¨I dont think you just go to heaven, there is a place you wait before that´´ My comp looked at me in the middle of our lesson and in english was like ´´what the heck?´´ not many people know about the spirit world! It is exciting and fun teaching them! THe woman is funny, she is always cracking us up. She told us she needed to walk with a cane because without it she looks like a drunk, but then she just holds the cane, and doesnt use it. its funny. They told us the last time they went to chuch she had the hiccups and the pastor told her she had a devil in her and so he baptized her and her kids right then and there, so they were wanted to make sure we would give them time to learn before we baptized them, we assured them we would. Speaking of baptisms I had my first on this week! It was exciting. It was neat to be apart of it, though im not really close to this women but i was really happy for her.So can I just tell you life is different here and it just makes me laugh, like we went to go visit a recent convert and outside her house there is always a raccoon chained to a tree. it paces back and forth and it just cracks me up that someone has the raccoon as a pet! Also one family was super sweet this week and made us hot chocolate, mind you it is over 90 degrees outside with humidity and were sweating but they made it from scratch so that was nice, Oh and I made tortillas the other day, Im not good at it! The family and i and my comp were cracking up! I was not meant to make tortillas which is okay because thats all they make here. I went to the hospital here this week to visit a member and it was super different, there were lots of people in the room and of course no AC, it was really interesting to see, Im grateful for the hospitals that I go to. My contacts are 8.4 Things are good here, im exhausted all the time but some of the people make it all worth it, some of them are so sweet and I love the kids here, they think it is hilarious when my comp and i speak english, it cracks them up! But i love you! Tell Zoey Congrats for me! 

Hi Danielle! The pics are super cute!!! Halloween sounds like it was fun, no they dont really celebrate here, on nov 1, they did day of the dead but they just visit cemetaries and get drunk, but thats what they do every holiday apparently. THats awesome that you are keeping a gratitude journals, it is true, that someone is always happy with less, especially here, some people are very sweet even though they have little. Im so glad you are using PMG, it is wonderful and so inspired, i love that book. What are some of your lesson plans. Im excited for Andrews baptism, I really want to record my self for him, but i dont know if thats possible here, the techonology isnt as advanced, but i will try if not, is there anything else i can do to participate, write a note? And Andrew is an overacheiver because of you! haha Im excited tohear about elections! Living here has made me appreciate America so much! WE are so very blessed to have laws and the blessings we have there! So I will take you through a typical day and if it sounds bad at parts, thats not my intent, im just trying to be real. So My comp and I (we live alone, just the 2 of us in an apt above a non member family, our apt is really nice, it is made out of concrete, a majority of the people here, their homes are made out of some concrete and aluminum) get up at 545 and run and go to a itty bitty gym down the street! WE love it! THen we go home and get ready, the shower is cold, but we prefer it that way since it is always hot here and we are constantly sweating. Then we study for awhile or have meetings in the morning. THen we teach, we usually teach 5 to 6 lessons a day. WE ride around on these 3 wheeled little cars called tuc tucs. I love them, if i lived here, id want to be a tuc tuc driver. We usually have lunch with a member, but we try to get out of it because first of all it isnt sanitary how they prepare their food and it is usually hot food, and they arent really ever ready so we dont like to sit there when we could be out contacting. Time doesnt exsist here. People say that we can come by at 3 but they arent there or everything runs 30 mins to an hour behind or we try to make appts with people and they say ¨well i might leave, my feet may just leave´´ they dont understand they are in control of there life. THen we go home and study more and then finish the day with appts.WE usually stop by and say hi to the family in the ward that lives on the corner, they are so sweet and they sell tortillas....everyone does! THen we usually stop on the stores on the side of the road and by dinner which is usually bread or chips or cereal. My diet is great here, but really all they eat here is tortillas and coke. Ive had so much soda since ive been here, it is gross.The pan is so good! I love it so much! THen we go home at 8, hermanas go in earlier for safety reasons and we plan and then I was my clothes by hand in this basin we have outside our apt, i feel like the woman in the little mermaid! It is kind of fun! It is so different here but Im happy and my comp and i have so much fun! I love you and hope everything is good! Tell everyone I love them too! 

Letter October 29th, 2012

Hey Hey hey! I;m am in the field! Thanks for the pictures of the boys. they are so cute! Also I got your halloween cards and packages! Thanks so much! Me and my companion loved it! My trainer is spectacular. She is just who I needed. We get along really well and have a good time together. Today our zone carved pumpkins for PDay. I dont think I need anything right now, but Ill make sure and tell you next week. So the field is super different the the CCM and I love it.! It is super hot and humid and I look gross all the time but the people here dont care because Im white and have blue eyes. Ive never had my eyes complemented so much! So I found out that in our mission we are allowed to email friends, because probably the mail is unreliable. THanks! So I feel pretty legit because guess what happened on my 2nd day, I was bitten by a dog! Can you believe that! My comp was real brave and whacked it with her umbrella...speaking of which I'm getting a new one today because mine is already broken, it rains a lot her, like making rivers every afternoon in the streets. But anyway don't worry about the bite its fine the owner says it has its vaccinations and its been 3 days and its still alive so im good. My comp felt so bad but I just laughed about it. I would get bit my first week. My life is super cliche. So how is home. How is life and work. Make sure to tell me about the election please! Tell everyone I love them and tell Aunt Annie....Congrats for me! Take care and know I love you!!!! 

 

October 20th Letter

That is so nice that you got to go to SC and that your Anniversary was
good! And you hadnt told me about it so no worries! I hope you had
lots of fun on your getaway! We should go to Europe when I get back,
Ill have a few months before school, or maybe Hawaii, I feel like I
would enjoy being pampered and my roommate was telling me about her
past pampering in Hawaii, sounds like a dream! Im glad everything got
worked out with my checking account, could you maybe by chance send me
my balance please. It is difficult to check here. I got my absentee
ballot yesterday and have now voted, it was quite thrilling except its
not as good as real life because I dont get a sticker! Oh speaking of,
Im sorry you cant find any stickers, good luck with the internet! Im
glad to hear Seminary is going well and the kids are doing better. Im
reading in Matt right now, but I think Luke is my favorite of the
Gospels, or he was the last time I read the 4 of them.  Good luck with the
fast situation. Gracias for your spiritual thoughts mama. How has
pondering going? Im trying to better at that too. but its true,
everytime I ponder, my prayers are better and I learn more. So I got a
couple letters from Nalani and I have written her back, but so she
knows I cant email her here but I might be able to in the field, it is
up to my mission president, I will let her know in 2 days! Holy cow! I
go into the field in 2 days! I am excited! Im dont with the CCM. I
barely know spanish and this is probably the last time Ill feel clean
for a while because it is super hot in my area, but i am ready to
teach real people and not be stuck inside all day and to be able to
share this gospel. We went proselyting on Monday, without any native
spanish speakers and it was hard and I didnt know half of what the
people were saying but it was good. We got a few referrals and were
able to give out a BOM and some pamphlets. It was a confidence boost I
needed. Ive learned a lot here, about the gospel, spanish, and I can
make this cool snapping noise with my figers now by flicking them
together like a whip!Then Tuesday President Martino, the Area
President came to speak to us. That was cool. He just talked about how
missions are great. I went to the temple for the last time for a
little while.  There is another one right outside my mission, in the
mission next to us, I hope I get to go there sometime.  How is
Danielle? I havent heard about her and the rest of them? Is she
feeling better? How are the kids and Chad? My time is almost out but I
love you and will probably email you once I get to Reu. or at least I
hope so! Thanks for your prayers! Have fun at the beach for me! I love
you! Mwah!

October 14, 2012

Thank you for that quote! I really like it! I also enjoyed the joke
you sent me by Dear Elder! Im glad to hear nanny is doing better!
Please tell her I love her! That is awesome that Amanda had her Baby!
Congrats! and Yes you can cancel that charge. Thanks! Iam sorry about
the job andthat Elder Holland scares Molly. Im excited to get a letter
from Della! I hope itll get here before I leave! I will be sending her
a letter today and maybe a couple of the elders in my district! We had
to do an activity where we had to take on the role of a non member
friend and I chose her and they really enjoyed teaching her and
getting to know a little more about her, so she can be looking forward
to that. I did receive Nannys bday card, and also one from Sister
Baker so that was nice. So anyways, Happy anniversary in advance! I
hope you have fun at the Melting Pot! Enjoy it for me! I wish I could
celebrate with you! Im so happy you and Daddy decided to get married
and make a family that I am blessed enough to be apart of! Thank you
for your wonderful examples of love! So this week was good. So my
mission presidents wife has been a bit envious of that scarf from
Coldwater Creek that I got right before I left, so the other day she
came up to me and was super excited because she found one similar to
it here. She showed it to me and had me teach her how to wear it. Too
bad Rach wasnt her to give her multiple ideas because she definitly
knows her fashion better than I do! For some reason our Elders were in
a fight  in  our district, I dont know why, but they seem to be
better, but man those elders, more dramatic the sisters sometimes! The
language is coming, most days its good,there was one day this week
though that I was cursing the people who built the tower of Babel
making me learn this language! So here are a couple of stories that I
though were funny but maybe a bit innappropriate for some, so Im
warning you know. So the first one, the other night the Latinas found
one of the Nortes tampons and wanted to know what it was,yeah i dont
how to explain that in spanish, nor did I want to, they thought we
were being rude for not explaining but we just didnt know how. and so
we told our teacher about it and she was saying how its a cultural
thing and how when she was on her mission her Norte companions tried
to get her to use it but she was like "no, i cant" so to relax her and
calm her down they started singing hyms to her outside the bathroom
door. She was like "what the heck" The way she told it it was super
funny. Who sings to convince someone to use a tampon? andyways the
other story is My teacher asked me my favorite movie, so I couldnt
lie, and I said Mean girls...edited of course...then she asked me my
favorite part, it was hard to pick but the ones that came to mind
werent the most appropriate and I didnt know how to say them in
espanol, so I did lie about that. Ill repent, dont worry.So i should
probably say something spiritual after that huh? Well we watched a
devo by Elder Nelson and I saw Becky Hinchcliff singing in the choir
in the recording but anyways he was talking about how we are gathering
the 10 tribes of Isreal and how cool it is that profets prophesied of
us 4000 years ago in the OT, that we would gather them in these, the
last days! I thought that was neat! I love you all! How all is well!
and I cant wait to her from Rach! How is everything there? How is the
pig? Love you so much!!!!! Mwah!

October 8, 2012

 I'm glad you all
enjoyed conference, I did as well! I really loved Ucthdorfs talk and
how he said to enjoy the journey .Hollands was great too, I love Peter
and how we need to show theSavior we love him, but I always love
Holland! We watched a devotional by Holland a couple weeks ago where
he gave a similar talk. It was funnier in the devotional, he talked
about dear, sweet Peter, who cuts off peoples ears! there were some
points I wished more than anything my Della and my Johnny had been
listening. Oh well. Did Nannie watch it? I am glad you all had a good
weekend together!! So earlier this week I was in the cafeteria and the
Presidents wife came and got me and my companion, she said they needed
to talk to us, my stomach dropped, I knew something was wrong.It was
terryfying. Apparently there was a man killed on the border of Arizon
and Mexico, by his partner. Have you heard about it? It was my
companions cousin, or her cousins husband, so she received that news.
I felt so bad for her but she is doing fine. But I was so happy to
know you were all okay! We have a ton of new hermanas and most of them
are Latinas, some of them I can understand, we have one from
Argentina....I have no idea what she is saying most of the time. We
have 3 Nortes and one of them is really good friends with Ciara, they
were in nursing classes together, so it was nice having that
connection! This is our last full week of classes because next week is
workshops and proselyting! Its crazy! They keep telling us to pray for
a good trainer, so if you wanna pray for that, that would be great
because i need all the help I can get! How are things at home? Im
sorry you havent heard about the job yet! Good luck! How are the
Scribners? How is Rach? How did she feel about the announcment? We
were all freaking out here! That is super exciting! I love you all so
much!

Emily's Letter Home 10/2/2012

Sorry I am emailing off schedule. We are emailing today because we
dont get a PDay on Saturday I think because of General Conference and
because all the new missionaries are getting here so the schedule is
weird for everyone the first few days. So I will email you a week from
saturday.So since I emailed last not a whole lot has happened. They
have made me coordinating sister again...you would think that I would
learn what ever I need to from it. But I am excited, last time I had 6
sisters, this time I work with another coordinating sister and we will
have 24 sisters, which most of them dont speak english so it should be
a good time. We got to go on a tour of the city today. It was so cool.
We saw this huge life size map that shows the geography of Guatemala
and parts of Belice, Mexico and El Salvador. Then are mission
president went through the whole story of the Book of Mormon and
discussed the theory  of it taking place here and where exactly they
think certain events might have happened, like where Nephi might have
landed, where the Waters of Mormon might be and so forth. It was
really neat. Then we went to the market place to do some shopping and
bartering. Things are pretty cheap here but I should probably work on
my bartering skills. Then afterwards we went to Wendys! Yeah Wendys,
just the same as at home, just in spanish. Everyone was in heaven!
Then we got to go to the temple and then one of the new girls came, so
we welcomed her. The rest will come tomorrow. I just finished watching
a devotional by Elder Bednar. It was really good, he talked about that
the main question most members have is "how do I know if I am
following the Spirit or if its just me". His answer was to quit
worrying about it. To just be a good boy or a good girl, keep your
covenants and follow the commandments and you wont go amiss. That most
promptings arent this big, noticable thing and you wont always know at
that exact moment if you are doing the right thing or not. It was
great, that just as long as we are doing what we should be doing,
Heavenly Father isnt going to mess us over. But yeah thats really all
I have to update on here. Oh and we had a talk the other night and
they asked us if we are ready to live in tents in 3 weeks, in the
heat, with bugs...Ill be honest with you, Ill do it but I cant say Im
thrilled about, bugs are sick. But anyway they talked about those
verses in Nephi "and my father dwelt in a tent". Reminded me of that
talk you talked about Mama that some guy gave once. Anyways how are
you? How is work and seminary? Rachel write that boy yet? How is
Danielle feeling and how are the rest of the Scribners? Oh my dear
Tornado goes into the MTC tomorrow! that is so exciting! I am really
sad that I leave here the day she gets here in Guatemala and we wont
even see each other. She will get here at night and I leave in the
Morning. I was going to hide notes around for her here but I was
telling  The mission presidents wife that my best friend was coming
here and she volunteered that if I had anything I wanted to leave her
that I could just leave it with her, so that was nice and Ill probably
do that, but i might still hide a note or something cause that would
be a good time. Maybe ill leave a map with the mission presidents wife
and bury something for Tori and make her search and dig for it like a
pirate. That could be good. Anyways! I love you all! Enjoy Conference,
dont sleep through it, i am going to try really hard not to! Have a
good week and I hope the house is decorated all up for Halloween! I
wish I could see it! Mwah!

Letters from 9/29

Thanks for the stamps and adresses Mama. That story about the secruity
guys at work was funny! I hope you had fun at the Dixie Classic Fair.
Did Danielle judge something?  I am glad you enjoyed FHE, I havent
seen that movie, Ill have to watch it once I get back! Daddy it sounds
like seminary is going well! That is wonderful about the spirit being
so stong in the class. Thanks for the wall comments and birthday
wishes! I am so excited for Zoey, I hope it was a wonderful experience
for her going through the temple! Thanks Sister Jackson, it is nice to
know I sound mature! haha and yes Brooke, my hair is a mess, my
companion loves it and always tells me it looks fine, but its wild, so
I will take any help I can get! I didnt get to tell you about the rest
of my birthday! That night some of the Latino Elders made me this
Balloon thing that consisted of a card, a pot and 3 balloons withy
glitter glue. It was so nice, and I like birthdays here because not
only did the Elders sing to me on my birthday but for the next 3 days
after as well. My district also got me a couple brownies with a candle
and a card. It was so nice. I also got birthday letters from my
friends Ciara and Owen and also from Aunt Linda and Uncle Terry and
Danielle. It was great. I also got one from Rach with a special story,
just for me! It made my day! So I went out into the real world on
Monday to talk to real people. My teacher lied when he said I wouldnt
have a Latina companion, I did. I actually had two. It was nice but I
felt bad because I felt like I didnt contribute much, but I got to
bear my testimony and I enjoyed being out there a lot! We get to go
out and explore the city with the President and his wife on Tuesday,
so that is really exciting, he even says we get to go to Wendys or
Taco Bell!. All my Latina
friends and some of the Nortes leave this week and now I am one of the
old timers here, thats crazy! I only have three more weeks in the MTC
then they are shipping me out! I love you all and hope you are doing
well! Take care!! Mwah!

Youre right it is crazy they have that many dialects! My roommate from
Guatemala speaks 10 languages!!! 10! I just hope to master spanish!
Thats cool about church, Im sorry you wont see the Scribners but thats
awesome youll be out at the same time! I love you!!! And you are the
good example!
 
 
 

Letter from the Birthday Girl!

Thank you for the birthday wishes!!! I loved all of my cards and
stickers! The other Hermanas were so sweet and wrote notes and left
them on my door (I can read half of what they say, I will have to take
a dictionary to them later) and some gave me a small gift. It was so
very sweet!  but yes I am a good 23 now. I look much wiser now, it
really is too bad you cant see the wisdom coming off me. But it really
is cool that im in guatemala on my 23rd birthday! So the
volcano...yeah i didnt know about it till a day or so later. We are
like 20 miles from it and I didnt even get to see it! there is a hill
here that blocks our view! Im a bit disappointed, but im sorry you
were worried, but im am completly fine! Thank you so much to Aunt
Linda, Uncle Terry, and Aunt Louise! Also thank to Miss Rachel
Jackson! I'm so grateful to them and their support!  So yesterday they
let us out of the gate and I got to go talk to people around the
temple and share my favorite scripture. We talked to to one couple
from Hondurus and the man told us he wasn't a member but he was just
here with his girlfriend. so we shared a scripture and then he asked
us where we were serving, and then he was like "oh I served in Costa
Rica". He tricked us, and he spoke English! it was rather humerous.
Then after that there were all these little kids so we went over and

talked to one, He was 14 and im pretty sure he hit on me, so that was
a good time. My companion and I really didnt know what to do, so then
we informed our teacher after we got back to class and he just laughed
and was like "oh yeah I was wondering about that".  We are suppose to
go proselyte real people on Monday!!! Im excited yet a bit nervous,
but more excited. We were suppose to have Latino companions for our
first time out but we just found out we, the Nortes, will be flying
solo with our knowlege of 10 spanish words, so I should have some good
stories next week! So I got to go to the Temple on Tuesday. It was
beautiful, but really what temple isnt? They did almost everything in
english, Im hoping to do it in spanish before I leave. We also had
Elder Amado of the 70 come and speak to us. It was great. He said that
the hardest thing for missionaries to do is to see themselves as God
sees them, and I think that rings true for everyone. That we need to
remember who we are and how important we are to our Heavenly Father.
Its when we forget that, that things tend to become harder.  So I hear
Ryan has a girlfriend! That is super cute and I hope they are having
fun together! but I can see Andrews point....it is dumb to date anyone
til your 21!  How is everything at home? The festival you went to
sounds fun! We will have to go when I get back! I am so grateful for
all of you and I love you all so much!!!  ...... Also it took 8 days for me to
get your dearelder. They only come on Thursdays I think! I love you!
Email you in a week! Mwah!

Letter from 9/16/2012 at Guatemala MTC

Hey Hey Hey, Yeah it is colder here than I anticipated, I wear a
jacket or sweater everyday. It isnt too bad though. But apparently my
area is really cold or really hot, depending on where you are at. Tell
Brooke than you and Justin as well. That was so nice of them! Nalani
has my phone and I bought a phone card from the bookstore in the Provo
MTC! My flight over all was like 7 hours and the layover was only an
hour, so not long at all. Dear Elder does work here! I got one from my
friend Alison so that was nice, I also got the birthday cards you
sent! Thank you, but i havent opened them yet! Johnny also sent me a
letter, it had a lovely picture of the 2 of us he drew....however im
bald in the pic....i dont really know why that is. So about the mail
here, this is all I know... If you are going to send packages put
pictures of Jesus and the Virgin Mary over the seam of the package,
pouch mail takes longer and you dont need an envelope, just fold the
paper in a trifold and put the address on the back and use one
american stamp.  Also after about 2 or 3 weeks, just start sending
letters and things to my mission, sont send them to the MTC anymore
because I probably wont get them. So when we got here they took away
our cameras, passports, and mp3 players. I guess things tend to go
missing, as they put it, but we will get them back in 3 weeks when we
get to tour Guatemala City and when we leave the CCM. The temple is
right outside my window, it is so pretty, its nice to wake up to that
every morning. It is super chill here. I like it here, however I feel
like I have even less time to study than I did in Provo, but thats ok.
My spanish is coming, my grammar is not so hot but i usually can get
my point across with some charades and patientence on the part of the
native speaker. My speeling has gone down the tubes though I feel
like, because my brain is trying to figure out if it is spanish or
english, so thats good. Im not allowed to drink the water here or
brush my teeth or anything like that but I can shower in it and stuff.
Everyone is really nice. I ate dinner with some Latinas last night and
was able to hold a conversation. It was fun, but then they found out I
was studying dietetics before the mission and wanted me to teach them.
I can teach you how to pray in spanish, but a balanced plate that was
more difficult but i think they got it. however while trying to speak
to the Latinas there is a lot of laughter, I think because they think
Im cute and funny, they arent mean about it. We arent allowed to eat
with the elders here during meals, so thats different, but hermanas
always get to cut in line, so thats a plus! How are  things at home?
Anything thrilling happening? I love you all and want you to know that
I know Im suppose to be here and Im learning so much! Can you believe
ive already been out almost a month! Crazy! Oh this next part is for
Tornado, you can read it if you want, but Im pretty sure she will be
the only one that cares! Tornado, it is such a small world! let me
tell you why. First, in my district in the MTC an Elder was on the BYU
volleyball team and I told him about our fantastic date with those 2
volleyball players and I couldnt remember who we had picked except for
Frosty...He told me he is apparently a jerk and is now playing
volleyball in Serbia. I couldnt remember who was with who, so I told
the Elder you had picked him. Also my companion went to high school
with our dearest Crosby, she says she thinks he was in her seminary
class and that he was nice - if you know what i mean. Also do you
remember that race Mattison did  with the binkies for Italian club? Do
you remember that ittty bitty girl on his back in one of the pics he
showed us? Well I sit by her missionay everyday now. So You never know
the coonections youll find. Also be looking for a letter Im mailing
you. It has special information you need to know. I love you!  Anyways
thank you for the Toms everyone! I love them, I was wearing them
earlier today!  You all are so sweet! I love everyone, but my time is
almost up! Ill email you in a week!

Safe and Sound in Guatemala

Hey Everyone! 

I am in Guatemala safe and sound! Sorry I could not talk
long yesterday and I tried to call Daddy but I apparently did not have
enough money left on my card. Sorry. Guatemala is cool, the drivers
are insane though, it is like Utah drivers on steroids. People really
don?t care if there are signs or if you are in a lane or not. It is
much cooler here than I thought it would be, it isnt too bad. Everyone
got off the plane and were saying how humid it was....I have no idea
what they are talking about, feels relatively normal to me. However Im
sure my mission area will be way more humid! It is super small here
and very different than Provo, but I really like it. It feels more
homey....except everyone speaks Spanish. I am with Hermana Morris
again as my companion here, so that is nice. According to everyone
here the Nortes (Americans) have taken over. There are not as many
Latinos as expected. I am pretty sure my P Day here is Saturday, so I
can write again then. I love you all very much! I will write more on
my P Day when I am given more time! I love you all! Thanks to everyone
who has helped me be here and thanks for all the letters of love! Take
care!

 Hermana Krueger (Emily)

MTC LETTER # 2 from Hermana Krueger

Thanks for your emails! I loved them! Also your Dear Elders are much appreciated! They make my day! I got a card from Nanny, it was so sweet! That is so generous of her and Dan to contribute to my funds. I got letters from Tornado and Nalani this week as well! 

Tornado - you will be getting a letter, I'm never too busy for you (like one missionary we once knew)  I'm glad you got a day off....I didn't but that's okay I enjoy myself pero estoy muy cansado (but I'm really tired...look at that spanish!!! what what!... I hope it's right) 

I have 2 new investigators this week so that cool, but I won't get to teach them very long because I leave for Guatemala in 4 days!!!! So I might be able to call from the airport sometime on Tuesday, so be watching out Mama.  I had to get the Hep A shot today and it was a stinkin' 71 dollars....but I guess it's worth it to not get Hep A. They also tried to give me Hep B again but I already had it, so I got that taken care of!

 We have new hermanas in our zone and I love them! They are such a good time! We played soccer the other day, as you know this is a big deal for me. Some of our elders asked why I don't play the sports and I said because I usually get hit in the face, so I tried volleyball my second day here right...and guess what, I got hit in the face, BUT I was super brave and tried soccer and my face was okay! I even scored 3 goals! I didn't know the spirit could help with sports abilities as well because we all know Emily would never have been able to score three goals! 

Thanks for the package! It was wonderful! 

Oh and also I figured out that I want Rach to marry one of the boys from my district. I described him to her in my letter to her, but he is super funny and I showed him a picture of her and he said he could marry that!!! I keep looking at the elders here and imagining my RM friends being here and it's so strange! Oh one of the elders is going to make a record of the hardships of our zone and is going to bury here at the MTC, it's pretty funny!

I got to go to the temple today and it was so nice, it was just what I needed! We also got to watch Prez. Monson's birthday celebration, it was so nice, we got to listen to a bunch of broadway music! Thanks mom for raising me to like the same music as the prophet! We also had a great devotional. There was this sister from Germany who spoke and English wasn't her first language but she was so excited and so cute, so I decided I don't need to learn the language super well, I just need to be super cute. 

It's good to know that Remmington will hopefully be writing soon. I told my companions about his letters, they are looking forward to it. Also I got the letter where Molly wrote her name - that is awesome!!!!

Yeah I haven't minded being in charge too much, it's given me the chance to get to know the other sister's however my Branch President called me fearless, he is seriously deluded! Ha but he is a good man! 

I don't know Elder Brock's first name! As far as I know it's Elder....

Mom I hope things liven up and aren't too boring, I'm glad you got to see Owen's new house! Seminary sounds good Daddy, good luck passing stuff off, that's awesome!!!! Rachel, I'm glad you'll be figuring out your life! Danielle thanks for your letter and your sweet spiritual message! 

Well I better go, the next time I write you I'll be in Guatemala! I love you all so much!! I'm so happy to be here and know that I am suppose to be here! Take care! Tell everyone I love them! How is life in NC! Anything thrilling happening?! Tell me everything!

Love always,
Emily AKA Hermana Kruger

First Letter from the MTC 8/30/2012

Hey Everyone!

So sorry it took me so long to write. I have P Day on Thursdays, so that is when you can expect emails, or as long as I'm here in Provo. There shouldn't be any delay in getting to Guatemala because apparently you don't need a visa to enter the country so this time in 2 weeks I'll be there! Woo hoo!
So I love it here, it is very busy and challenging but I love it! The language is coming slowly but surely. I understand a whole lot more than I can say. I often feel like I'm in the "Peter situation" again from when I was a child. Pronunciation is a problem for me but I'm getting it! Guess what I can pray, bear my testimony and kind of teach in Spanish! Guess what they did to me my 2nd full day here! They gave me an investigator to teach in spanish!!!! Those monsters...haha jk. No it has been pretty cool, my companions and I taught him yesterday for the fourth time and he agreed to be baptized!!!! Too bad he's a teacher here and just pretends and served a mission so my guess is he has already been baptized, but hey it's still pretty cool.
I'm in a trio right now. There names are Hermana Morris and Hermana Fusi. Hermana Morris is from New Mexico and is kind of quiet but I really like her, we get along really well. Hermana Fusi is from California and she is Tongan, so in the words of a little black girl in Wal-Mart, "She got hair like me". We all get along great. It's been a blessing having companions I really like. I really like my district as well. The Elders are all very impressive and they keep me laughing. I made a baseball analogy to the gospel the other day and one of the Elders told me he loved me and then looked super uncomfortable cause you know, we are missionaries, and was like "in a completely missionary way!" It was rather funny in my opinion.
So they've made me coordinating sister, which means I am over all the sisters in the zone. So I get to go to lots of meetings and trainings! There are only 7 sisters but we got new ones yesterday and it was my job to tell them how things go around here, not like I've only been here a week to figure it out myself. But it's been fun, I like it!
Also you can write me using DearElder. com It's free and I get the letter the same day you send it! So use it while I'm here, though I really do appreciate all your letters. I got Mama's and the card Daddy snuck into my luggage, that was so sweet! Thanks! I also just got the Scribners letters and more from Mama and Daddy but I haven't had a chance to read them. Sorry.
Usually on P Days I get to go to the temple but my companion didn't bring here rec here so I couldn't go through so that was sad, but we'll get to go in next week. On Sundays we have a General Authority come and speak. This week it was Perkins of the 70. He talked about the conversion process and how we should be our first convert. His wife talked about how the most important thing is to love your investigators and your companion. I really enjoyed her talk.
They also have gym classes here in the mornings so I'm loving those!!! Oh and I've seen a ton of people I know, lots of friends from Dietetics, a couple people from Freshman year, some girl I don't know, but that knew Danielle....Isenhour I think? And guess what President Brock's son is in my zone, so that's cool. I also got to see Nalani on the day I did my service, so that like made my day!!
I love you all, sorry my time is short! I want you to know that it's challenging here but I love it! the spirit is super strong here and I'm glad to be here! I miss you all! Tell me everything about your life! How's work? How's Seminary? Rachel are you loving school? Dating anyone? Danielle, are you super busy? Anyways you're the best! You're letters are much appreciated! I love you!

Adios Fiesta

 We threw Emily a going away Fiesta the Saturday before she headed off to the MTC. 

As guests arrived, we asked them to make a Worry Doll for Emily, with a note written inside. Worry Dolls are a Guatemalan tradition.  Children make these small dolls to tell their worries to at night and then place them under their pillows.  She took these cuties with her on her mission. 

Of course we had to eat at our Fiesta!  We had enchiladas, rice, chicken, beans, veggies, and lots of fruit.  We served flan and Tres Leches cake for dessert.

After everyone finished eating, we headed outside to hit a PINATA! 

 This cute little guy managed to break open the pinata.  Everyone dashed for the candy, of course. 

There were still lots of people who didn't get to hit the pinata, so they just took turns beating his head. 

 We ATTEMPTED to play a fun hat game.  It is played in a similar way to musical chairs.  Each person begins with a hat and passes the hat to the person beside them.  One hat is taken out of play. When the music stops, the person without a hat is out.  This is what is SUPPOSED to happen.  

We started out well.  We each put a hat on our head and managed to form a circle. 

The adults got the hang of it and started out well. 

 However somewhere along the way we kind of bottle necked.  And hats seemed to multiply.  At one point I was holding 6 hats!  And several people had none.  We tried a couple of times to get it going, but in the end, we gave up and just had fun laughing together.  And the kids just had fun playing with all of the crazy hats!

Emily got pictures with all the guests before they left....all the guests EXCEPT for the Kruegers and Scribners.  

 We love you Emily!