a whole new wooooorld.......

Familia,

holy. smokes.

THE RUNDOWN:

-so our mission really is split up into 3 missions: coban-check. polochic-check. peten-let's do this

-coban houses=cockroaches. peten houses=lizards

-mom sorry but I laughed when you said that it's hot in utah... I can't even explain how hot it is here

-nos mantenemos mojadas

-my watch broke. again

-there are pigs running around everywhere, we are writing on an island, when it rains the streets steam, and it is HAWT.

So peten is legit.  My companion is Hermana Bueso and she is fresh from Honduras.  Haha it's super funny to be training at the end of my mission because she reminds me of me when I got here.  I cared about my hair, my clothes, my food, and I had no idea what I was doing.  It's cool though because I get to teach her everything and see her grow, learn and improve quickly.  She is awesome and willing to work.

It has been an interesting week (as always) because neither of us know a single person here.  We have been knocking doors and accidentally finding members haha.  The members here are amazing and are helping us find people to teach.

Once again I have seen that the Lord knows what He is doing.  Every person that we contact has been placed in our path for a reason.  I stopped believing in luck and coincidences a few months ago.  We have found people who are searching for guidance and meaning and don't know where to find it.  They are open to learning and their humility will allow them to feel the Spirit and I am SO EXCITED.  We met a young guy who was so interested when we told him that Christ came here to the americas.  We gave him a book of mormon and marked 3 nefi 11 to read.  I have never seen someone so excited to read that story.  

We found another woman named sylvia who just lost her job a few days ago.  If she had been working still we wouldn't have found her in her house or have been able to return yesterday to teach her for the first time.  It was amazing lesson.  She opened up to us and told us about her family problems and that she had lost a baby and was mad at God.  She listened to what we had to share with her about the importance of the family, forgiveness, and patience.  As we read a scripture in the book of mormon with her we could tell she was feeling the spirit.  We testified that the book of mormon would change her life if she was willing to read it, pray about it, and act on the things she would be invited to do.  When we told her that we would give her the book she was holding she started crying and couldn't believe it.  She hugged it and said, "When you read the scripture it scared me!  I thought, could it be that this scripture is for ME?"  Then of course i start tearing up.. she felt the spirit teaching and testifying to her without even realizing it.  "Yes, that scripture was exactly for you because God knows you, loves you, and knows exactly what you need."  We left her a section to read that would help her with her family relationships and she promised to read it and talk to her husband about going to church next week.

I really don't know much.  But I love being able to be an instrument in God's perfect hands and seeing people come to know Him better.  The same thing happens to me every time.

This morning we went to some caves and it was pretty cool!  It also taught me a few things, believe it or not.  There were some parts of the trip where I would get tired of using my flashlight, and decided to turn it off and just follow the rest.  Borrow their light.  But as we went on there were bumps and holes and when we got to some stairs the rest were rising and progressing with ease.  I on the other hand, was tripping and wasn't able to get up the slippery stairs without my own flashlight.  It taught me a lot about our own light, or testimony.  Sometimes we are okay to borrow others' light.  When life is easy and there aren't too many stumbling blocks we can make our way through the dark okay.  But if we want to progress on our own and be able to keep going when things get hard, we need our own light.  Our own testimony is what keeps us strong and faithful until the end.  Sometimes our light is small but a little light can make a big difference in a big, black cave.  If your light is a little too dim, put in some new batteries, recharge, and use it.

I love you all.  If I don't die this week of heat then I will talk to you next week.

NEC

Hermana Yates

Bring It On

Familia,

Killing a comp is sooooooo BAGGY

Tomorrow is change day.  I will FINALLY be headed to Peten!  I will be training and cleaning an area... so looks like that is where I am going to die.  Literally and figuratively hahaha.  I am excited!!!  It will be a little crazy, peten is INSANELY hot and infested with deadly mosquitos, but it will be cool to start fresh in an area.  I have only heard good things about my area so I am happy!  My area is called San Benito, and I will meet my companion tomorrow.

Sorry we are writing super late today because hna hernandez is going home this week so things are a little out of control.. and we have to go do more things right now so I guess I'll talk to you next week!  haha love you all.  Read your scriptures, say your prayers, DON'T FORGET FAMILY NIGHT, and look both ways before you cross the street.

NEC

Hermana Yates

Trio Swag

Familia,

So I got emergency transfered last monday about 3 hours after I wrote home!  I am now with Hermana Hernandez (mi mama) and Herman a Riley (9 months in the mission, from Minnesota, super cool). I will probably be with them until changes next week unless something else crazy happens this week!  Hermana Hernandez is going home next tuesday!!!!  I have to kill my mom!  It's super baggy but asi es la mision de los viejitos.  I'm in the Coban Barrio area, Coban 1b.  I am happy though.  and safe.  Oh p.s. another sister who is going home next week informed me that her cousin was isaac's trainer in the mission.  whaaaat.  Small world.

So besides being in complete depression that I had to leave my last area after 6 months there without getting say goodbye to anyone... it was a good week.  the AP's had an amazing baptism, and surprise... i had to sing.  It was pretty though, I sang the alto part in If You Could Hie To Kolob in a duet with Hermana Riley.  The couple who got baptized is an older, classy couple.  They are very different from pretty much anyone you will meet here where we are teaching.  They are amazing converts and it was a really special baptismal service.  Hermana Curtiss spoke and Elder Zavala (who went home to honduras last change) came back to speak as well!  So crazy!

Anyways, I am doing great!  I hope you all have a great week with all of the craziness alli!!  Porter, congrats on graduating, your seminary graduation talk was amazing, and you all better send me pictures!

NEC

Hermana Yates

 On Mothers Day when we got soaked (Hermana Escobar)

Mothers Day call

Just keep swimming...

Familia and everyone else who reads this,

So I know you already do this all the time, but please pray for our safety this week.  We are okay and I know the Lord protects His missionaries, but we could use some extra help.  Thank you :)

THE RUNDOWN:

- there was a city wide power out... sketchy!  Haha we were walking right by the neighborhood strip club so we went pretty quickly to the Ibarras house haha.

- mom and dad, we played our family's famous mind reading game with the ibarras for family night.. they were freaked out! Haha it was the best!!

- A pretty drunk guy contacted us the other day and as we were leaving he did some crazy handshake with me as if we had been friends since the pre existence.. you never know..

After being in my area for 6 months I think I have it memorized like the back of my hand.. and yet we are still finding new people to teach!  There are always more people here it's insane!  We have found some people who are really receptive and open to receiving us again.  This week we have been in the house at 6 pm instead of 9 pm but we are still able to teach a lot and the Lord is blessing us like crazy.  The Ibarras went to an interview with the bishop the other night and it was the first time they had entered the church in a loooooong time!  WOOOOOOOOO!!  poco a poco people.

After a series of events that have happened this week I have been able to reflect on how much I have changed in the past (almost) 15 months.   I am so grateful for what I have learned about my Savior and His atonement.  The atonement not only helps me be forgiven of constantly messing up, but it helps me and allows me to forgive others.  Before the mission I would have reacted differently to these situations and I wouldn't have been able to have the peace and comfort that I have now.  Christ constantly lifts and carries me when I need Him.

I love you all and I hope you are all so happy!

NEC

Hermana Yates

The Lord Is Preparing His People

Familia,

THE RUNDOWN:

-sorry to inform you but i probably wont be sending any more pictures home because they got deleted again.  i can't risk attaching my memory cards anymore

We had some pretty cool experiences this week!  We were walking down a path and we saw a young father sitting with his little girl.  I had seen him before and whenever I see people several times I know it is for a reason.  I felt very strongly that I needed to talk to him so I did.  Turns out he has several "friends"  who are mormons.  Those "friends" are about 12 missionaries who were visiting him years ago.  He spoke so fondly of them and was very sure when he testified to us that he knows that la Iglesia de Jesucristo de los Santos de los Ultimos Dias is the only church of God on the earth.  He wants to get baptized, knows everything about the restoration, knows all the lessons and doctrine, and has been reading his Book of Mormon for 5 years.  It was amazing.  The only problem is that his wife doesn't want a thing to do with the church.  He has been praying that she will change so that they can all be baptized.  We hope to be able to visit them soon to see how receptive she is.  I know that the Lord and His angels are and have been preparing people to receive the gospel.

We also contacted a house and they let us right in!  That never happens!  Haha turns out the guy doesn't live there but wanted us to pray for his wife who had gotten in a motorcycle accident and hurt her leg.  We visited them for a while and they are so so awesome.  They live in a town far away where they only speak q'eqchi' and they had never seen missionaries.  We gave them a book of mormon and they were so grateful.  They want visits from the missionaries but there aren't any where they live... we will see what we can do to help them.  So awesome!

I hope you enjoyed your time in la ciudad de mexico!!!  I am so jealous, so we should probably go back when I get home.  We can go to guate first and then make our way up there ok?  Isaac I can only imagine how special it was for you to see those people and those streets again.  So cool :)

pues, les quiero mucho.  cuidense.

ninguna silla vacia

Hermana Yates

I Feel His Love

Familia yeix (that's how my comp says it.. jajaja),

FELIZ DIA MAMA!!  TE AMO MUCHO!!

THE RUNDOWN:

-Well we talked yesterday.  You all sound old.  I think it's good that I can't use skype because I think I would have been in shock.

-So I had on a decent outfit for mothers day... ready to take pics talking on the phone.... then an hour before the phone call we were in an appointment in the mountains... it started pouring.  We got soaked!!  I got home right in time to dry off, change into a sweatshirt, and talk to everyone hahaha

-There are deadly caterpillars here and everyone freaks out when they see them because apparently they sting you with venom or whatever... i accidentally grabbed one the other day.... I'm still alive though so I think we're good

-I found a worm in my rice the other day. mmmmm

-I think we have fleas.. again

So turns out that the Ibarras were going to have their visit with Elder Alonso from the area 70 but he wasn't able to make it so the stake president went to visit them and he is pretty worried about them.  He gave them simple solutions to fixing their problems, like reading the scriptures and praying as a couple.  The problem is they don't do it.. but hopefully they listened and felt the truthfulness of what he was saying.  Improving our lives, following God, and being happy are things we all want, but it is a choice that we have to make.

This week we went crazy finding new investigators!  We were able to find 10 new investigators and we are excited to keep finding new people to teach.  Something we learned from Elder Alonso in the conferencia is that having faith and trusting in God is crucial.  We need to believe that He truly is preparing people to receive the message of the restoration, and then we need to find them.  We need to be prepared to teach the doctrine and we need to have the Spirit with us.  If they are prepared they will feel the truthfulness and the importance of what we share with them.  If they aren't ready, well we ask for references and tell the future missionaries to go back in a few months.

The conference with Elder Alonso was amazing.  He truly is a special witness of Christ.  I could feel so clearly how real this gospel is.  God is truly my Father.  His Son atoned for me and He lives.  The church is true and that is why I love being a missionary.  I am figuring out who I need to become.  I am getting to know my Savior on a personal level.  And like I told you yesterday, I know who I am here.  I represent the most perfect, loving Being who ever lived on this earth.  He is real.  He lives and is so involved in the big and small details of our lives.  I can see it more and more as I meet and teach new people here in Guate.  They live in the jungles in tin shacks in the mountains and God is perfectly aware of them, who they are, what they need, and hopes that I will live worthily enough to teach them and guide them by the Spirit.

I feel His love more than ever before.  His atonement is real and eternal.  He has showed us the way back to the Father.  I love sharing His gospel and I love how He teaches me through the Spirit.

I hope you are all so happy and are getting to know Him as well.

Love you all

NEC

Hermana Yates

Santos venid.....sin miedo...sin temor...?

Familia,

THE RUNDOWN:

-sorry i haven't had a rundown for a while

-i have giardia again

-....It sounds a lot worse than it is

-i will be singing in the conference this friday.  a member of the area 70 is coming but this time it is in a group of a few missionaries.  all is well, all is well!

-bretta peterson is getting married..?????

-Happy birthday abuela!!  I love you so much!

In case you didn't know... I LOVE BEING A MISSIONARY.

Things are hard and the people we are teaching really are struggling and not progressing.. at all.. but I still am so grateful for the things I am learning and I love being able to see people grow and improve.  People here have so much faith in Someone they have never seen.  It impacts me over and over again and it makes me want to improve and have more faith myself.

Gustavo Ibarra moved out... they are already making big steps in their divorce.  It is really really bad in that house, but the bishop hopefully will be able to talk to them before they get a divorce if Gustavo will stop ignoring him.

The gonzales family is doing much better. colocho got out of jail and is supposedly a "changed man" from all the time he had to think in jail...... ok.

Summer ended here and it is now bitter cold once again. I think I am getting used to it though!  my companion on the other hand.... haha she doesn't have enough shirts to leave the house in!!  things are better with my comp, the president's wife talked to her and we are figuring things out.

This week as we were teaching less actives I felt over and over again the importance of knowing WHY we keep commandments.  If we just do it because our mom said we should, it's not enough.  When trials of our faith come we need to know why we are obedient because if we don't know why, we will stop doing it.  We follow God because we love Him.  We can't fear man more than God.

Well, talk to you in a few days I guess? not sure how that came so fast.

NEC

Hermana Yates