hola from San Marcos!

This week's blog post:

Just for a giggle.  Jerico's grandma. Can we all just take a second to laugh?  This is my life.  I'm a giant!

Hola from 8000 feet higher than I was last week!  Yep, I HAD TRANSFERS!!!!!! 6 months in Coatepeque and now I am about 5 hours away in a town called San Marcos. LAS MONTAÑAS!!!!!! So basically, I've never been happier in my life. :) I feel super at home here already because we are in the mountains!  It's kinda like Utah, we are in a valley, but we are higher up.  Yeah did you catch that we have an elevation of 8000 feet???  Basically this means it's pretty hilly, says my aching calves, and it's FREEZING.  Yeah I was super smart and didn't bring hardly anything for cold weather, which can you blame me?  I just spent the past 6 months sweating all day long!  But now it's the opposite!  We sleep with 3 ponchos, the super thick mexican blankets, and we have hot showers!  Because if we didn't we would probably die... and I always have my jacket on.  I'm actually going to buy tights.  I never thought I would be wearing tights here in Guatemala but turns out winter does exist here. I actually just spent the last hour shopping with my new companion.  I bought a fake Ralph Lauren peacoat and a couple fake Abercrombie sweaters.  So fake.  SO fake.  Ha!  I'm just trying to work with what I've got here. and I actually bargained!  Proud?  Better be! :) 

Oh I haven't even mentioned yet about my new companion!  I finally have a Latina companion!!!!!!!!!!!!!!  Hermana Lopez!  

Las Hermanas de San Marcos

She is the cutest person ever. and funny thing is we are technically "sisters" according to mission family relations, this means we had the same trainer, or mom. So basically Hermana Morris trained us the same and it has been a breeze/dream working with her!  It has helped my Spanish sooooo much!  After 2 hours with her I have just felt like zero problems speaking with anyone!  She is from Nicaragua and has 10 months in the mission.  I ADORE her!  We have so much fun together and she is a super hard worker!  It is just so easy to work with her and we always have the same ideas! :)  I hope we can be comps for a while! :) 

I finally got my Christmas package.  Even though it was a few weeks late, heck I celebrated Christmas in January! I'm going to keep the tree up till June, at least.  ;)

In other news of why San Marcos is incredible, I am in the best zone EVER.  Since there are only 4 of us sisters in the zone in all of the mountains, they take care of us soo much!  If we have any little worry or care, they are like no don't worry sister we will take care of it for you!  I've never felt so loved and appreciated!  It's super hilarious being in a zone of all elders because, well its just a little different.... all morning we played dodgeball.  Ha!  They crack me up,  I love this zone! :)  Plus, our district is AWESOME.  Seriously, it's the greatest. again, so much support.  Whenever anyone in the district has a baptism, we ALL go! I LOVE IT!  Baptisms aren't as common here in the mountains so its pretty much a celebration when someone has one.

Speaking of baptisms, I had the best welcome to the area when we had a baptism this week!  The sweetest little girl got baptized.  I don't know her super well but she was so prepared and so excited to get baptized! :)  Cutest! She was a reference.  

Another great thing about this amazing place, we work so much with the members!  We aren't even allowed to leave at night without them.  Like I said they take CARE of us here.   Every investigator we have is a partial member family or reference, it's a whole different ball game here, and I couldn't love it more!   A little cold, but I'm just loving it!

So my last few days in Coatepeque were awesome.  I had a few tearful goodbyes with some of my sweet converts; but the sister whose place I took here in San Marcos is now in my area, so I know she will take care of them! :)  

my baby boy Jerico

despedida in Coatapeque.  We learned how to make tamales!

Sweetest thing, I said bye to my girl Marisol, she's like my best friend; and she was all stand offish.  I think she doesn't like goodbyes.  Then the next morning right as I was leaving the house she called us and was like meet me on the corner.  So I ran there and she gave my a sweet little going away gift and another hug and then I just went off crying!  Ah I hope I can see her again one day.  If not, I know I'll see her again after. :)

me and my girl Marisol

Wednesday I packed up all my stuff and went to Reu to go to the change meeting!  

Saw my favorite people at the change meeting! Love em! Elder Krueger and Hermana Pister are in the office, Hermana Pister is the mission nurse, and Hermana Webster is training! 

When I saw my name that I was going to the mountains I almost threw up; but then before I knew it, off we went on our 5 HOUR bus ride to San Marcos.  We had to go through Quetzaltenango to get there!  We finally got here at like 630. We went straight to correlation with our ward mission leader.  This was when I learned how incredible this ward is.  First off someone picked us up, in a CAR, to bring us.  Then they FED us!  I have gotten so much food here!  Lunches, dinners, morcaf (not coffee but tastes like it) hot chocolate, pan, and other goodies.  Like I said,  I'm feeling incredibly loved.

More than that, well I'm not sure if there is more than that.  I'm basically ridiculously happy and I've never wanted to work harder. LETS GET TO WORK PEOPLE!!!!!!!!!

love love love,

hermana moore 

p.s. did i mention there are not ants, cockroaches, or MOSQUITOS in San Marcos? yeah, I'm basically the happiest girl in the world. 

gross

ya, this is real

Last week's blog post:

Haha I have like zero desire to write this email right now.  All I want to do is read all the crazy exciting news that I got in emails this week!  I feel like everyone is getting married!  Goodness gracious!  But I'm sitting here like jumping up and down! I don't know if I could be more happy for all of this ridiculously happy news that is coming through my email!!!!!! AHHHHHHH!!!!!!!  Life is just a string of amazing surprises. :) 

So anyways, holy cow, its 2014!!!!!!!!!!  Can I just say that this is about to be the best year of all of our lives!!!! 

My new year started off with a bang, literally, with the amazing Guatemalan tradition of fireworks.  But I don't think you understand just what fireworks, or bombas, mean here in Guatemala... basically it means that everyone buys Disneyland sized fireworks and they all set them off at midnight!  Everyone in the country!  We were sitting out on the roof terrace thing and then at midnight it started!  The loudest half hour of my life!  Oh my crazy!  We have this incredible view of the mountains and we could see huge fireworks all the way in the mountains!  Just imagine, baseball field Fourth of July fireworks all around you for 30 minutes straight!  Then when I thought it couldn't get any more incredible, our neighbors started lighting off fireworks 20 feet in front of us!  It was like IMAX but real, huge fireworks directamente arriba de mi cabeza, to quote the words of Jose Smith.  Not kidding, the most incredible new years of my life!  I have like 3 minutes of it on video, so don't worry, in a year I'll show it to you! :)  But yeah, incredible! 

Before the midnight madness, we spent dinner time celebrating with my favorite family that we also spent Christmas with!  

We brought stuff to make gingerbread, or graham cracker houses and they provided the firecrackers!  We made gingerbread houses for a while and then blew them up!  

'bouts to explode!

It was so fun and def gonna be a tradition for their family here in Guatemala! :)  Let's see.... what else.... oh we ate so much during that two day period of new years that.... well I just would rather leave that in the past.  I'm glad the holidays are over.  We will just say that! :) 

This week we worked really hard, and it was really fun. and well, I cant remember much else. ha! I spent all morning today learning how to make Guatemalan tamales with some women in our ward, get ready for when I get back because we will all be making tamales! :)  They are super different then Mexican tamales, they are more aguado.  But they are bomb!  And I know how to make them! 

I'm so grateful for the opportunity I have had to serve in this area and meet so many amazing people. I have never felt so loved!  This 6 months here has been incredible! :)  I can't believe how quickly the time has passed by!

And..... I'm kinda done, that's all I can remember!  Sorry this email is lame, but I want to email all the amazing people in my life that are having such amazing things happen!

love love love,

hermana moore

ps  Mosiah 18:22, preach the gospel, become children of God.