This week:
Hola hola! What a week! There is so much I need to write about I am kinda overwhelmed! Alright ready set go!
So this week I went on divisions again and got to spend a few days with Hermana Barba! She has 2 weeks in the mission and is from Arizona! we had so much fun together! we ate smoothies and went on a run in the morning to the very farthest part of our area up this huge hill where we chilled by the national tree of Guatemala and enjoyed this beautiful view! Ah I love this country! We had so much fun and saw some miracles as we taught! She had some fun object lessons so that helped a ton! I just love her!
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| Hermana Barba and me |
So while I was with Hermana Barba we taught this sweet old woman, and by old, I mean old. She is 87! She is pretty staunch Catolica; but she totally believes the church is true somehow! she told us once when we asked her if she would pray to know if its true, "You two walk doing exactly what Jesucristo did, how could I think its a lie?" That made me really happy. I wish people would realize that we are here because we love Jesus and we love them! Even if we don't know them! I just want everyone to find this joy that I feel living this gospel! So we are going to keep teaching the sweet old woman, I'll keep you updated!
Another woman we are teaching, Gabriela, is just incredible. While I was with Hermana Barba I had my first experience interpreting dreams! I kid you not! These people DREAM, like a lot. And they all expect dreams as answers to prayers! So when they get one they are like ecstatic! So send me a dream interpretation book! I need all the help I can get! ;) So sweet Gabriela told us about her dream, which I understood a good 20 % of... not kidding. Then she's like, what do you think it means? So I'm just thinking dream dream dream.... Lehis dream! Okay what else did I understand..... something about pan.... then the relief society president, who was with us, goes, "bread like the bread of life which is jesus Christ"! And I'm like, yeah! That! Cabal! (that means "exactly", it's Guat slang). Then we started reading 1 Nefi 8 with her and she's like, yeah! That's my dream! And I was like, well you probably had this dream because you were thinking a lot about baptism before you went to bed. This was my long shot try to get her talking about baptism... and she was like yeah I have been thinking about baptism a lot. It's just that my husband doesn't want to get married! And I'm just like wait... you want to get baptized! Did I hear you right?!!!!!!!!!!!!!! People, this never happens! She actually wants to! Oh my gosh tears just came on the spot. I have been praying so hard for her husband to want to marry her. Sorry they call their baby daddies their husbands even if they aren't married. She wants to get baptized so badly! Miracles happen once in a while, when you believe! That's like my theme song here! But her son is 12 and he really wants to get baptized too! He came to church with us yesterday and LOVED it. When we were walking home he was like, so I can get baptized on the 12th right? And I'm like YES YES YOU CAN!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Ah it is incredible to work with people that are truly prepared. It just makes me so happy and it makes the work so much easier! Do me a favor and pray for this little family! :)
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| I needed this sundae! |
This week we also had a Yogi Monja show up to church..... ha! I guess we passed her on the street once and invited her.... she believes that there is no established house of worship except her own body. She renounced her dead husband and went about doing... yogi business? Ha! idk but she is old and funny and started doing some sort of hail Mary in church. I love her! We invited her to all of our activities! We are going to convert her!
Ha it has been raining SO MUCH this week! Like I got soaked to the bone twice this week. Once we were helping this lady sell lunches as an activity and it started pouring. We were under a tent so it was fine....until the water started rising! By the time it hit our ankles we figured we would call it a day and head for shelter... then all the tables and chairs started floating away!!! Then they turned the corner to go down the bishop's street, which is like a river and super steep. We were all like AY NOOOOOO. So I ditch my backpack ad go running! I turn the corner and see a chair heading straight for a car, no this is bad news! So I'm running and mind you the water is basically to my knees and its just coming down in sheets! I'm running and catching debris and its just hilarious. My comp laughed so hard! We got it all luckily and then we got some free food for our hard work :) Then we went back and changed, thank goodness!
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| WET! |
Speaking of free food, are you surprised, let's talk about Sunday! Sunday we went to go get Jerico for church, and his sisters because they want to get baptized now too! His abuela makes tortillas and tamales for her business. So in the morning we are waiting for Jerico to get ready and put on the little white shirt and tie we bought him and she starts serving us breakfast! and atol de tortillas, basically its maseca and water and sugar, sugary flour water. She kept giving us more and that stuff fills you up so much! So after our beans and tortilla and atol breakfast we rolled ourselves out of there. We went back after church to teach Jerico and his sisters and she gave us a bag of tamales for dinner! It just amazes me how kind these people are. They have nothing. Like they own two shirts yet they insist on sending us out with food! They are too kind and I love them too too much!
So this week I have been thinking a lot about hope, I mean my area is named Esperanza, and sometimes I'm a little lacking in that area. But I found some amazing scriptures that have helped me a lot. D&C 31:3-5. Sometimes I forget that I am here living my dream! I mean I am on a mission! How long have I wanted this! Ah! I need to remember that excitement! It makes everything so much better when I have ganas to do this work! (tener ganas is like to want to do something, but really want to! like you have GANAS to do this!) The hour of my mission is now! Live it up! Share the Gospel with everyone! Also Ether 12:4, it's just one of my favorite scriptures ever. Hope for a better world. show faith that you are willing to work for this better world. Do what Christ asks you to do! Have hope and work your tail off! Everyday I pass by this wall where it says, "Dios es la unica esperanza". It's so true. He is the reason we are here, anywhere we are! He is our hope! You gain more hope by loving Him more. Then we will want to do His will and we will have more hope! I Know this!!!
Well, I think thats it. Oh we are moving today! The house is packed! Finally! Our house is gross. and our new one is awesome. It has an amazing view and is above a restaurant. Wanna know what this restaurant serves? Crepes and chocolate cake and hamburgers and nachos and hot chocolate. I kid you not! It's an American and French restaurant. Parents you should probably start putting more money in my account, because I have a feeling that the chocolate cake will be calling my name.... every night. ;) ha!
Well I love you all! Go out and serve someone today! Get excited for conference! I AM!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Ahhhhhhh. If only I could watch it in English. ;)
love love love,
Hermana Moore
p.s. I'm off to eat Chinese food, oh the perks of living in the city! :)
Last week:
Hello! I'm alive! Ahhh! Well, I am sure you have noticed that it is actually Tuesday, not Monday. ha! Let's just talk about the past 48 hours of my life. So Sunday morning we get a call from my DL that we need to be at the stake center at 4:00 because I'm going tio Guate! yep! I had to go to the capitol to sign some visa papers! So Sunday we took a bus from Coatepeque to REU to stay there for the night before the long haul trip on Monday. So I get to the mission office and SURPRISE, my entire group from the MTC is going to Guate too! Wow talk about the happiest reunion of my life!!!!!!!!! Ah there were definitely tears of joy! :) So that was just so fun!
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| reunited with my MTC comp! |
We got to stay at a hotel and have a bomb chapin dinner and then just catch up! Everyone is doing great! What a relief! Then we went to bed, and later woke up at like 3 to go get on a bus and drive to the capitol! So 4 hours later, there were 30 of us in this tiny bus and we were quite squished, we got there! We had breakfast at McDonalds and I had a mcgriddle and a mcflurry! Ha great example of America no? It was divine! Divine I tell you! Then we went to the church area office and waited for a bit with some other missionaries from other missions around here! Then we went to immigration but the weren't ready for us, and it was lunch time, so back to McDonalds we went! ha! I am not kidding, I ate lunch and ANOTHER mcflurry. I mean yolo right? No I really just wanted to try the one with m&ms too! hahahaha. Yeah so I know now why Guatemalans all think that Americans only eat fast food! But really, we don't have that opportunity like ever! ha!
So then we went to immigration, signed something and waited forever. hahaha we finally left by like 3:30 to head back to Reu! It was a really fun day though, we just told every story we have all had and it was just so good to hear from everyone! Guate is beautiful! It reminds me so much of LA! Big hills covered in trees and houses! And just a huge city! It is way colder there, like I was cold! It was a strange feeling! Normally I'm like sweating a ton, it's hot! So then back to Reu, but it was raining and there was traffic... so it took a while! By the time we got back to the mission office it was like 8:30. so we stayed the night in REU with some other hermanas, Hermana Bontempo and her comp! We made pancakes and giggled a lot. haha. Then my comp and I woke up early and caught yet another bus back to Coatepeque this morning! Just in time to turn around and go straight to district meeting! The buses are hilar. I was wedged in between two fat men BOTH times! hahahahahaha It's comical the amount of people they shove on the old colorful school buses! I swear Guatemala is where buses go to die! But needless to say.... I'm tired. but it doesn't matter! I'm off to work here after this!!! :)
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| a sweet investigator who is also a carpenter |
So the rest of this week, last week rather, was just awesome! I went on divisions quite a few times because my comp had a meeting in Reu and because my comp is an Hermana Lider which means she does divisions with other sisters to see how they are doing. So she goes with one comp and I stay here with the other! It's a cool opportunity to see how others teach! Tuesday I was with two other sisters, one who came in with me from the ccm here in Guatemala and the other who got here 2 weeks ago! We ate lots of food and laughed a ton because we are all really tall! Everyone was looking at us! Including the old man who called us his "angelita mamita linda gringitas mis amores"! These people and their cat calls! They just make me laugh! Then my other divisions I was with an hermana from Honduras. We definitely have a different teaching style, but I learned a lot from her! And she painted my toenails! hahaha. I def have blue shooting star glittery toenails...... good thing no one can see them! ha!
We also went to a mission call opening this week of a girl who always helps the missionaries! She is a recent convert and got called to Mexico! Wow it was incredible to see the excitement of a mission call opening again! Helps you remember why you are here! :)
Really this past week FLEW! It went by so fast! I cant believe it's already Tuesday, it still feels like last week! probably because I didn't have a p day... haha but I will survive! We don't really need to buy food for the week I guess, and I can do laundry at night? Ha, no I'm kidding, I'll work it out! }
So food this week, of course this has to be a weekly section. I had real homemade carrot cake this week! Ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhh and they served it with this stuff called morcaf, it's like coffee but not, obviously. its a coffee of grains, so it has no caffeine. but I'm obsessed. It's like hot coco but lighter and just delisioso. :)
This week we had a sports night activity in the ward! so fun! Our ward mission leader was so excited! We went and bought a basketball, we totally bargained for it!!!!!! ha I was like, listen hermano.... this ball is used. I'm not paying 65 q for it! And he was like no its just sun damaged, and I'm like eh that's the same thing! I demand a price cut! So he cut it 5 q.... ha! Just imagine the situation above but make 'it 30 times more awkward because lets face it, I hate confrontation, so bargaining is hard! hahahahaha! but the activity was so fun! We wore our sports clothes and just played basketball and volleyball! my team won, much to my ward mission leaders displeasure... that man is competitive! hahahahahahahahaha.
Another funny story, we were teaching a lesson to a guy and his girlfriend in his house when all of a sudden I hear someone yelling in the other room. Turns out their pastor was there and he was attempting to cast us out! Like I'm not joking at all, homeboy was praying that we would reaLIZE OUR SINS and leave! I'm just like, are you kidding me... we are 2 20 year old white girls. It made me laugh! but we aren't going back, don't worry. I don't need any of that!
This week we really just saw miracles. We worked a ton with less actives and we just got results! Our church attendance broke our record! We received so many references, contacting actually seemed to work, after we met with less actives! We had been praying about what to do with our area and we both just felt that we should focus on the less actives! So we found a really old ward directory with addresses and we followed that revelation! and wow, the Lord has blessed us! bastante! Ha and it's been fun trying to learn how to read directions here, they make no sense! :)
Well family, I gotta go! but I just love all of you so much! I am so grateful for your prayers and love and emails! I'm sorry I really have no time this week to respond, I have to run to a lesson, but next week I will! Love you all so much!
love love love
Hermana Moore!
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