Beautiful Days

Family,

Dang, always making me emotional with your emails haha.  I love you all so much.

To answer your questions:

No, it is not the same parasite that is not clearing up.  I have tested positive for 5 different kinds of parasites.

No, it doesn't stop me from working.  I just have a lot of nausea and cramping.  One day I couldn't work half of the day but I got sick of sitting in the house so we left.

I have no idea how I am getting them.

I'm good :)

THE RUNDOWN:

-Sorry boys, but I got the cutest kiss of my life the other day.. on the cheek from a 2 year old girl as we were leaving a lesson.  I died.

-Every day since the day I got here I have checked my shoes for bugs before putting them on.  Good thing I never got tired of doing that because today I finally found a big spider in my shoes.  That would have been a fun surprise if I hadn't checked first huh?

-As we were walking down the street a few days ago a little girl opened her door as we were passing in front of her house.  When she saw us her eyes got huge and scared to death she ran back inside yelling "MOOOMMYYY!!"  I don't know if they're scared of Mormons or white people.  Maybe both?

Wow so much happened this week!  I don't really know where to start, so sorry if this is a confusing letter.

We started the week pretty happy.  We went looking for a less active member that we had an appointment with.  As we called "Buenas!"  outside the gate, his mother in law came up to us..... yikes.  She started yelling and spitting her orange all over us telling us to stop wasting her time.  I was very nice to her but after she was done yelling she stormed back inside and I was left with my jaw clenched and tear filled eyes outside her gate.  As we walked away trying to joke about it, it was everything I could do to not break down.  I felt like a little kid in that moment, just wanting a hug from someone who didn't think I was of the devil haha.  Later in the day we had a lesson with Alexander, a new investigator.  He was so nice and really cared about us, who we were, and what was important to us.  As he closed with the prayer and prayed for each of us and our families, I felt like my Heavenly Father was telling me that He knew what I was feeling and that this was His way of helping me grow, but more than anything, that He always wanted me to feel loved.  I felt like I was finally getting that hug I was desperate for.  He is so good to me.

We have another investigator, Asusena.  She can't read, she doesn't understand very well, and hasn't been to church in a very long time.  After teaching the restoration, we were talking about the importance of going to church.  She was coming up with a million excuses like how she had to go to the market, she had to be home to watch the house, she wakes up late, she has to make food, she is waiting for a sign from God that it is time....... my stubborn side came out and I just gave her sincho.  I was not going to accept no for an answer.  After telling her that God is still there, He is still important, and His commandments still exist even if we don't pay Him any attention, she was still coming up with excuses.  She thought about it for a minute, and declared that nope, there would never be time for her go to church.  Feeling a little defeated, I started thinking that we might have to drop her because she wasn't willing to progress.  I just told her it was a matter of her faith and asked if she was willing to show Christ that she had faith in Him.  She stops and everything is quiet for a minute.  Then she asks, "It starts at 9?"  "Si"  ".......ok i'll go."  WHAAAAT!!!!!!  Haha I was so happy!!  My comp didn't know what was going on the whole time but when I told her Asusena was going to go she started freaking out too.  And she went on sunday! Granted, we passed by for her in the morning and we all ended up being an hour late to church.. but she went!  It was amazing.

One of my favorite members from Coban is Mildred.  She was baptized 2 months and 11 days ago and I played the piano at her baptism :)  She loves leaving with the missionaries, is 22, and is so sweet!  Turns out, she is dating one of the members in San Cristobal and went to church up there last sunday.  I freaked out when I saw her and it was a lovely reunion because I never got to say bye to her.  She agreed to come up to San Cristobal and help us with our lessons one day!  It is an hour away in a bus!  She is so pilas and I am so grateful for her help, because the members here... well aren't quite as dedicated.  It was amazing to have her help and see her testimony grow every time she shared her experiences with her conversion.

Wow I still have so much to share about a cute family that MIGHT be baptized this saturday, a crazy funeral I went to, and a great district meeting, but I have no time left.  TO BE CONTINUED.

I love you all and I am so grateful for your prayers, fasting, and efforts to keep me well.  Family, friends, neighbors, everyone.  I love you all so much and your prayers are felt and appreciated.  I have the best support system in the world :)

This week I am grateful for you all and for beautiful days.

No Empty Chairs

Morgan

Worlds Worst Keyboard

Familia,

So yeah I am using the worlds worst keyboard, so I will probably spend more time sending pictures than writing.

Thank you for the pictures you sent-

Lily's princess dress!!  haha I'm dying.

Mama, are those flower pants i see??  rockinit. Tell Hannah Barlow hi and i love her!

Porter is a dang cutie freak..

Cute picture of all of you and the Caten family. Aw love the Catens.

THE RUNDOWN:

-I HAVE PARASITES AGAIN!  woooooooo.... round 6 and I'm dying.  The nurse is mad and wants to send me home but I protested enough to stay for now..

Me and Hermana Weicks

Legit she is mad haha. The last time i got a parasite she threatened to send me home the next time.  Well now I got another one and i DONT KNOW HOW.  I quote her text she sent me.. "But Hermana Yates.... you have GOT to be careful what you are eating.  You are one of the missionaries that has had the most parasites of anyone in the mission.  It is going to give you lasting health problems if you are not careful."

The problem is I don't eat weird things.  I don't know what to do anymore.

-We went to the zoo today!  Pictures to come

-I finished the Book of Mormon. :)  Love that book.

Well I just realized I don't have anything to say really.  Haha I'm happy, sick, and working!  It has been really pretty the past few days and it is a nice break from the bitter cold.  We are finding new people to teach and I hope things pick up soon.

Touching the monkey

I love you all so much.  Be safe and be happy and don't forget to read your Book of Mormon.  Go read it right now.

NEC

Hermana Yates

Still Alive

Familia,

So I don't have a whole lot of time but I'm doing good!  Things in this area are.... coming... haha.  We hope to help this area improve because things here.. well let's just say there is room for improvement.  And we get to be the ones to help. WOO!!

 

I just am so happy to be here.  I am grateful to be sharing this gospel.  It is so true that when you share the gospel, your testimony grows.  When you testify of what you know to be true, you find a deeper conviction as you are testifying.  If you are looking to strengthen your testimony, read the scriptures like crazy, then SHARE WHAT YOU KNOW.  Just open your mouth and do it.  If you are worried about what others might think or are worried you will damage a friendship then you might need to sort out your priorities.  This gospel is perfect.  It brings happiness.  It brings hope.  It brings eternal life and salvation.  Shouldn't we want our friends and family to enjoy the blessings of this gospel too?  They're not just temporary blessings.  It is our responsibility to share what we know so that they can be happy for eternity.

 

So let's get started, ya??

 

Ok.  I love you all.  Be happy and be faithful.

 

NEC

Mo Rae

Joyful...we found them

Familia,

Waffles with my new comp

Hombre, cómo están?? Estoy tan feliz pero con FRIO!!! esta haciendo bastante frio aqui pero alli vamos.

THE RUNDOWN:

-An incredibly drunk man kissed my hand the other day. I gave him a word of wisdom pamphlet and told him not to drink anymore.

-Our neighbor who cooks food for us gave us blood to eat. Yes, turkey blood. I couldn't do it. My comp and elders fisher and hernandez ate it and almost threw up.

-Today I was standing up on the bus to go to coban and the bus went over a bump and I caught air... and smashed my head on the roof hahaha. Ouch. It was a little awkward.

- I leave the house in 3 shirts, a sweatshirt, a jacket and a rain jacket, 2 socks and i am FREEZING!!! HELP ME!!!!!!

WHAT A WEEK. I think I say that every week but dang. Okay where to start.....

Starting the week was a little hard. We don't know anyone here and we haven't been able to find a whole lot of people yet. My companion was still recovering from a bad start to the mission and was honestly ready to go home. I told her she can't though :) A few days ago we had a lesson with a member named Jesus. He is 92 years old and fading fast I'm afraid. He is so awesome though and I love talking to him when I can understand his mumbling. We got a whole lot of awesome advice from an old, tired, experienced, wise man.

He told us we need to do things joyfully because we want to serve the Lord, not just because we want His help. I love the word joyfully and it reminds me a whole lot of Mosiah 24 -go read it.He reminded us of our purpose in this life.. 3 Nefi 27:27. Go read it. All He asks us is to be like Him. He gives us the way to do so. He gives us the scriptures, revelation, prayer, repentance. It should not be a sacrifice to do as He says and live how He asks.This man is an example of a convert truly converted. He was receiving missionary lessons when he was 50 years old and was baptized. As he was crying, he told us how much he regrets not looking for God before because he feels like he lost so much time. He has such a strong testimony though. He never thought he would be able to stop smoking, drinking, and using bad language, but the day the missionaries invited him to do so, he never did it again.He told us that we need to knock on every door with so much faith and hope. Some people may not have been ready to accept the gospel before, but now they can be. He was one of them. He gave us motivation and a pick up that we needed after a long week.

That Halloween night something very interesting happened. We were walking to an appointment and both of us started feeling very odd. We expressed that we felt weird and something was wrong. After talking about it for only 3 seconds I had the most overwhelming rushing feeling go from my head to my feet, stopping me in my tracks. Something saying, STOP. DON'T KEEP WALKING. TURN AROUND. I couldn't take another step forward. We immediately turned around and went straight to the house. We don't know what was waiting for us down that road but I am glad I didn't find out. That was the strongest influence of the Spirit protecting us. We got back to the house and dropped to our knees and prayed to feel comfort and peace in the house and were so grateful for the protection we had.

Then fast Sunday came. We were so ready to fast and receive blessings in this area. We had talked to our district leader, Elder Fisher the previous night about how we wanted to find a solid new investigator. Someone who would really progress. He said he would pray so hard for us and we were definitely praying for it as well. He promised us we would find that person that Sunday and he wanted a text message when we found them. So after church we set out determined. We went knocking and knocking and knocking...... and knocking............... and knocking...... Every house we were so convinced that they would be the ones. "This is the house!! Esta casa! Vamos a encontrar los escogidos aqui. Estoy segura." Nope. Next house.. nope. It was then 6:30 and we hadn't found our person yet. We found another street and I decided we should use the name of a less active who lives close to find out where they live and to find new people. We chose a random door and knocked. A man and his wife and cute kids came to the window and asked us how he could help us. We asked if he knew the less active, and turns out his wife knew. They helped us find the house and then we asked if we could share a message with them. They let us in!!! We were so stoked! A family!! It was a good lesson and they are super pilas. As we left the house we tried to walk away calmly.. but as soon as they shut the door behind us we started yelling and jumping around and hugging so happy! We also might have started singing "There can be miracles! When you believe!" haha first thing we did was send a message to elder Fisher.. Found los escogidos :) His reply.. I have been waiting for that message all day long. Yeah it was pretty dope.

We learned a lot about listening to the spirit this week. And the power of prayer. And the power of fasting. I love being una misionera.

Love you all to death. Read your book of mormon right now if you havent yet today.

NEC

Morgan

Fasten your Seatbelts

Familia,

First things first, SHOUTOUT TO PO!!!!!  Happy Birthday to the coolest little brother in the world.  Even though you're not very little anymore :(  I love you to death.  Comin home in July, wait for me.

 

 

"If you think things are going well in your life right now, just you wait."

 

I was reading those blog entries mom sent me a few days ago and saw that quote by Elder Nelson but didn't think much of it.  Until the next day.. but let's just back up a few days because it's been quite a week.

 

A few days ago we decided to find out just how far our area goes, because it is huge.  We walked and walked and walked in the jungle and after an hour and a half we decided we had walked all the way to Polochic.  A few minutes later we found a road and a few houses and a bunch of guys working!  We ran up to them to ask where we were and found a member sitting there laughing at our confused faces haha.  Turns out Hermana Pape, a member who always leaves with us, lives there and hadn't had visits from the missionaries for about a year.  We ate lunch with her and turns out she had about 8 references for us of guys who work on the cars there with her husband.  We taught one and it was an amazing lesson and he really is going to progress!  It was such a blessing.  Coincidence?  I think not.

 

Later that night Bishop Coy called us and asked if we would go to a funeral of a woman in the ward, who also turns out to be our investigator's mother in law.  It was definitely a different experience.  We all entered this tiny room and waited for it to start.  Half of us were members and half weren't, including her children.  The funeral was bittersweet for the members and devastating for non members.  Or maybe more confusing for them... I can't imagine going to funerals of family members and friends without the knowledge of what happens next.  It would be like stopping a movie at the saddest part when things go wrong- you would never know how much better it gets.  There is a happier ending than we can imagine.  That night I saw a lot of reflecting in the eyes of the non members as members testified of the truthfulness of the restored gospel of Jesus Christ.  I think sometimes God presents us with desperate moments and humbling experiences to enable us to take a step back and think.  Reevaluate.  There was a heavy feeling there, but the Spirit, to me, was easily distinguishable from the dark as testimonies were born.  I hope our investigator was not only listening to the speakers, but to the Spirit there that night.

 

Friday: Road trip anyone????

Hello Salama!  We got on a bus for 2 hours to go to Salama because Hermana De la Rosa had to go to the doctor.  We got on the bus in the rain early in the morning and headed off!  As we drove it kept getting warmer and sunnier.  Salama is full of sun and palm trees and it is very different from Coban!  The clothes, people, climate, everything.  It was so refreshing.  Funniest parts of the day..

1. The pitstop along the way.  13 people crowded the little van door shouting all sorts of things that they were selling- gum, peanuts, cookies, limes, chili, and who knows what else.  I died laughing as they were all pushing, shoving, and yelling. 

2. The bus got stuck in muddy grass and we all had to get out so they could push it.  I think it's because I was sitting in the back.  And I'm fat.

3. The stares.  We got off the bus and walked straight into a market.  It felt like my first day again haha!  It was a nice refresher because all the weird things have become too normal.

As we were coming home on the bus late that night I pulled out those blog entries that you sent me mom.  About that young mom whose husband has cancer.  She is so inspiring and I loved reading her entries for the 5th time over.  That's when I read that quote that I started with,  "If you think things are going well in your life, just you wait."  She then talked about how we are given changes and trials in order to improve.  I just thought, Oh that's so true!  Ok cool.  Then moved on with my life.  I think it is a little ironic that I was so happy that day and at such peace with my life in Coban 3B. 

 

Nothing can change now, I thought........ then the next morning BAM.  I get a phone call from President.

"Hermana Yates!  Are you ready for changes?"

"No.."

"Well get ready and pack your bags because you have changes.  You're going to San Cristobal."

"Are you serious?"

"Haha yes I'm serious."

"Uhhh... okay..??  When?"

"Today."

"TODAY?!?!?!"

"We will be by to get you in an hour."

 

Freak.  No.  Emergency transfers.  Once again, first thing I do is start crying hahaha.  I was so sad thinking about everyone here!  All the investigators progressing, my Marisol who we baptized, and all the recent converts and members here.  No!  I can't leave!  After a few more phone calls from President and Hermana Curtiss, I found out that I would be training again.  But PLOT TWIST!  She's from Utah.  Hahaha I just said, "Hermana Curtiss, she doesn't speak spanish does she...?"  "No, but you do Hermana Yates."  "Hermana Curtiss no I don't!!"  "Yes you do, and you can do this Hermana Yates.  Trust in the Lord!  Trust in Him with all your heart."  Oh okay, well I can't protest to that.  "Okay Hermana Curtiss, thank you."  A little while later I was off in a taxi.

 

Hermana Weicks was 4 weeks into her training with another sister who was really disobedient.  Things got really crazy in their area and that's why I got transfered so quickly because they had to get the sister and an elder away from each other as fast as possible haha.  So me and all my bags are now in San Cristobal and it is SO PRETTY.  Neither of us know the area so we have just been contacting a lot to find new investigators.  There is a pretty lake and not as many stairs.  It is way too freezing at night though, I sleep in my sweats, two socks, a shirt and jacket and I wake up colder than ice.  I think I'll be buying some more jackets  :)  and gloves.  and a hat......

 

I think things will go well in this area!  As long as I can understand the people haha.  Pray for me.

 

I love you all!

No Empty Chairs

Morgan

"Happy Birthday ya old fart"

Familia,

Soph, I know I'm an old fart now.  Thanks for reminding me...

Feliz cumpleaños a mi.......

 

We have changes in a week and I will be so sad if I have changes!  I love so many things about this area.  I want to help this area improve so badly.  Word on the street is that if the church continues to grow here, there will soon be a temple in Coban.  Downside:  Satan knows that too.  He is working harder than ever here in Coban, I think.  The whole mission is pretty discouraged, but we keep working hard.  President was talking about it in our zone conference.  He related it to the battles in the Book of Mormon.  Right now we aren't exactly winning the battle, but we aren't falling back either.  Right now we are retaining the line, but we have to come up with battle strategies in order to win.  We have all come up with new plans in order to accomplish 2x more, with our zone leaders and district leaders as our "Captain Moroni" and "Teancum."  We all hope to see this work improve, and I really hope to see the work improve in my area, Coban 3b!

 

Family thanks for celebrating for me.  While you ate my special birthday dinner, I ate dry Life cereal for dinner.  Livin large in Guatemala right??

Well don't be mad, but I don't have time to write anything else haha.  Love you all!

 

NEC

Morgan

I wanna be forever young :(

Familia,

 

Pues... ya soy vieja.  This is my last week to be a teenager.  Ever.  freak......

 

THE RUNDOWN:

-I HAVE PARASITES AGAIN WOOOOOO!   Is that breaking the mission rule of "no pets" again??

-Happy Birthday Lily!  Happy Birthday Grandpa!  Happy Birthday Steffeny!  I love you all!!

-Isaac.  You still can't get married.

-So word on the street is I'll be coming home the last week of July because there are no changes in August and we can't serve more than 18 months.  Porter...... wait for me.

 

Conference Sunday

Another week of learning here in good ol' Guatemala.

 

The other day we were walking down the street to a lesson.  A truck drove by us and the guy in the passenger seat threw water at us, leaving us pretty wet.  It's a good thing that I was pretty sick and had no voice, because I just started yelling but no sound came out haha.  Dripping and upset, we continued walking.  I just wanted to cry.  Luckily Heavenly Father was kind and helped me see how beautiful the day was and we had an amazing lesson with Lupita right after.  I was able to forget about my problems.  We taught Lupita how to pray correctly.  I was a little worried because people are often upset when we tell them they aren't praying right, or that their idea of God isn't right, but she took it all in stride and was willing to change.  When she prayed at the end, she was so focused on praying right.  When she would make a mistake, she would stop and correct it.  I was so happy!  It is amazing to see the faith and humility of these people who let us in their homes, let us teach them, and then seeing them accept our teachings and change their lives and habits is truly priceless.

Rain!

Yesterday when one of our investigators couldn't come to the house of our recent converts to have a lesson, we decided to come up with something to teach to our recent converts.  My companions looked at me and I opened my scriptures to find something haha.  I went to Alma 5 (alma sincho)  and found a scripture that I like to share.  I also kept looking in Moroni 7 and found a few scriptures about charity.  Thinking about what I would share, I noticed something that I haven't before.  Alma 5:14 asks an interesting question:Have ye received his image in your countenances?  I was thinking, how can I receive His image in my countenance?  Then reading the scriptures I found in Moroni, I saw verse 48: Wherefore, my beloved brethren, pray‍ unto the Father with all the energy of heart, that ye may be filled with this love, (charity) which he hath bestowed upon all who are true followers‍ of his Son, Jesus Christ; that ye may become the sons of God; that when he shall appear we shall be‍ like him, for we shall see him as he is; that we may have this hope; that we may be purified‍ even as he is pure. Amen.

 

Bautizar y retener

Aka, if we have charity, we will have an attribute of Christ.  If Christ and His Father are one, we will also have an attribute of God.  We will become more like our Father and we will have His image in our countenances.  I realized that I was lacking in charity when that man threw his water at me in la libertad.  Instead of praying for him, I got upset.  REALITY CHECK haha.  Looks like I have something new to work on as always.  Once again, teaching that lesson taught me more than it taught our recent converts I think.

 

Well time to go!  Love you all!

NEC

Hermana Yates