Two Months On A Mission!

Wow, what a week!  Here I am again!  This week honestly went by fast!  Everyone says time will start going by really fast, so maybe that is already starting!  So today marks my two "monthiversary" of being on a mission!!!!  Wow, it seems like it has been so much longer than that, but I'm really loving it!!!! :)

view from a member's roof

So this week, in terms of weather... it is officially rainy season!  Meaning, everyday it rains from like

3-6 pm.  But it's definitely getting colder!  When I first got here, it was hot hot hot in the morning, now it's more like just warm and sometimes there is an awesome breeze!  But everyday, without fail, it starts raining at 3 o'clock, which is right when we leave for the afternoon!  I usually change into my rain boots before I leave.  Those boots are a LIFE SAVER!!!!!!  Seriously, the days I don't wear them I'm just sad because my feet are wet.  I love them.  Ha, the people here are always like "Woah, those boots are huge."  And I'm like, "Yeah I know, big feet, welcome to my life!"  But everyday I go out with an umbrella, my rain coat, my boots, and all my books triple wrapped in plastic bags in my bag!  Usually I can stay relatively dry, unless it torrentially down pours, which happens a lot.  Then it's like I just showered or stood under a waterfall with my umbrella!  I'm just glad I didn't really bring any all cotton skirts.  All of my skirts dry pretty quick! :)  But yeah, Guatemala rain is just comical. the streets turn into rivers!  Absolute rivers.  Seeing people riding through the rivers on their motorcycles cracks me up. They hold umbrellas on the motorcycles!  These people.... so funny.  But I'm loving the cooler weather. I was actually cold one night!  I actually used a blanket!  Normally I sleep with just a sheet, solely for the purpose of not getting eaten alive by mosquitos. (which is still a problem.  I don't know what is with my blood, but they love it!)

So this week, amidst all the contacting and lesson teaching, we had our first activity!  I woke up one morning and I was like, I know what we need to do for our activity!  Family history!  So we were both stoked, we told the ward and went around and invited everyone!  We bought tons of cookies and Vikinga, hilar name for a soda, and we planned it out really well!  So we got to the chapel a little early to set up and we had music and everything was looking great!  And then.... 2 hours later when no one showed up, we called it quits.  That's right, nobody came!  Zerooooooo.  So that was kiiind of a bummer.  Plus side, now we have hundreds of cookies in our house!  Really it wasn't too bad, we ended up talking with a girl in our ward that was at the chapel and she gave us an idea for a different activity!  Now we are planning that one!  It will be next weekend and basically its gonna rock.   People are way excited!  We are doing a bonfire in the cancha, (field), behind our chapel!  We are going to teach them what s'mores are! :)  Oh, and the activity just happens to be planned on my birthday...... haha!  It's a coincidence, I promise!  So yeah I may or may not have somewhat planned myself a huge birthday party. ha! ;)

Activity treats all for us!

Another first this week, our first baptism commitment!!!!!!  When she said yes and agreed to be baptized on Saturday, I literally cried.  My smile was soooo big!  She was laughing because I was just like exploding with excitement!  Then on Saturday, after cleaning and filling the pila, (font), and setting up for the baptism, we went by to visit her.  She kindly informed us that she would not be getting baptized.  So yep, first baptism, fell through!  We cried a little then decided hey, we are missionaries let's go do work. so we contacted and that day ended up being the best day of the week! we achieved all of our daily goals!  We had like 10 lessons that day and 5 new investigators!  I challenged like 6 people to baptism that day!  And a few of those new investigators look pretty positive!  I'm excited!

 Other news in the work, we have decided that contacting does not work!  Surprise, knocking on doors is ineffective. so we are really trying to work with the members!  We started this new program where we will have a family home evening with a different family every night.  They invite a family and we come and teach a lesson and have an activity!  It was like pulling teeth getting people to sign up; but eventually we filled the week!  Our first one is tonight!  I am really excited!  I think it will be really effective and we will find a lot of new investigators! 

FHE calendar!

Oh so this week one day I went on an exchange with a different sister!  I was with her all day in her area!  They are the area next to us, gardenias and wow, welcome to the Guatemala I was expecting! Corn fields for days!   Rolling corn fields, because this place is so dang hilly!  We had to cross the interstate, a corn field, a river, climb a mountain, basically, and walk through 2 villages to get to her cook's house!  That's what I'm talking about!  It was crazy; but we had a great time!  I was with Hermana Cruz and she is from Nicaragua!  Whole day in Spanish and I didn't die!  Haha, I'm definitely starting to get the hang of this language just with a lot of pantomiming! :)  I don't know if I said this already but my area, La Esperanza, is more of a city.  I'm in like a neighborhoodish thing next to the big city!  So there are buses, (which are actually vans), and cars and tiendas and stores and tortillerias everywhere!  It's kind of insane here, but I'm loving it now!

Another roof picture

OH I GOT A PACKAGE THIS WEEK!!!!!! AND ANOTHER DEAR ELDER.  Heck to the yes I love you guys!  First package, and all full of mints!  Ahhhhhhhh, just what I wanted!  Thanks for the poster Jill!  It's on the wall and it glows in the dark!  So I love reading it at night!!!!!!! :) 

first package!

This week with our cook I ate something new, chicharonnes.  Basically this is the Guate version of pork rinds.  Uhm, yum?  No, it's not good.  It's like pig fat/skin cooked.  I almost gagged.  So yeah, I still smiled and ate it, but it was rough.... also we had stuffed succhini. that what they call zucchini here. ssssucchini, haha!  It was way good.  I like the food and it's starting to like me back.  Oh my, will my digestive system ever be the same!  Other than that I eat lots of cereal and Eggo waffles.  We found a mega deal for a box of waffles for 5 quets!  That's like less than a dollar.  We bought a ton! 

So, this morning we deeeeeep cleaned.  We had a wall of mold, ew, so we had to clean it or move out! So cleaned it we did! 3 hours and bleach and bugs everywhere, it is cleaned!  Hahaha I love the before and after pictures.  It was pretty bad. 

sideways moldy wall!

rightways clean wall!

Oh, so fun fact for the week, a bread man comes around the neighborhood all day everyday beeping a little bike horn selling bread.  We LOVE him.  He comes by every night at like 8:30 and we always buy.  So I sent a pic of me buying from him.  I love pan dulce.  I'll die when I cant have it every night at home!!!!!  That and my tortillas, ah I have a problem!!!!!!! 

pan dulce!

Amidst all the rejection and rain, I know this gospel is true!  Without a shadow of a doubt.  I know that I am in the right place. I know that the Lord is with me in every step I take, and even though it is hard sometimes, I know that these trials are bringing me closer to Him. I am so grateful that my family is sealed together in the temple, it brings the most comfort.  I am so happy that I can kneel and pray so much!  It is such a gift!  I love sharing this glad message.  I know that someone is waiting for us here in Guatemala, and we will find them and bring them this joy! :)

Well, I need to go; but I love you all!  I think about you all the time and I just love you! I feel the prayers, so thank you so much!

Write me :) and thanks for all the emails!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Love, Sister Moore

P.S. (from the editor)  Erica also wanted to include that she doesn't have time to answer everyone's emails but appreciates them soooo much and says THANK YOU!!!  She prints them out and reads them over and over.  They give her great strength and encouragement.  (Thank you from her parents, too!)