"I've watched lives being changed"

Thank you for your e-mails and such! And late Happy Birthday again, Mom!

First off, Zander is lookin’ like a li’l boy now, haha . . . I love it! He just doesn’t kill me like Aaliyah does . . . LOL . . . Sorry, Zander! You all understand, though, haha . . .

I have not yet received the package, but I know it takes forever here. I’m sure it is okay, but we will have to wait and see! We get our mail and packages on Wednesdays, so we will seeeeee . . .

Okay . . . My stories . . .

I thought I would first just recap my first six weeks in Guatemala. My Companion ended up bein’ a really cool guy. We had a bunch of good times and laughs together . . . LOL . . . Sounds cheesy, but it’s true. Hermana Esperansa was amazing. She made everything so easy at our house. She cooked when we wanted, did laundry when we wanted, sewed for us when we wanted and was just willin’ to always help us out. The Maya was a little hard because of how small it was, but we did a good job. Of course the last couple days weren’t our best days at work, but we did good. We got three baptisms in six weeks which is the goal the President has set for us for every change. So, we did a solid job and it was really cool because the three baptisms completed a family. The Maya was a really cool place, though, and I did have a good time and learned a lot. I thought I’d be happy to leave but, of course, I wasn’t really. I was used to it and comfortable . . . Oh, well, though!

On Monday last week, after I wrote you guys, we had a huuuuuge rain storm. It was really, really cool. Before it started raining, though, there was the coooooooooolest thunder. It was literally scary how loud and shaking it was! It was absolutely pounding! It was by far the loudest I’ve ever heard. It was awesome!

I already said Happy Birthday to mother twice now, but I wanted to apologize to Stacie for being so late on this . . . Happy Birthday, Stacie! Haha! I love you! Go gamble a bunch! That’s the advice from your Missionary brother!

Luis and Teresa haven’t been able to go on their honeymoon yet. They were planning on goin’ to El Salvador, but he couldn’t get off work . . . LOL . . . Just so you guys know . . .

This past week my Companion, Elder Ireland, got kinda sick. He and I were talkin’ about how cool it is that Hermana Esperansa loves us and is dying for us when we are sick. But, then we were talkin’ about how there is nothin’ like being healed by your own Mom in your own house. Something very, very special ‘bout that. We both decided we really miss that for sure!

Dylan will like this . . . I saw a rollie polie the other day . . . Which I hadn’t seen in a long time for some reason . . . And the first name that came to my mind was . . . See if Dylan can guess it . . . It was Max! LOL! I remember when every first rollie polie that Dylan would find (at Grandma and Grandpa’s or at Grandma Trudy’s or at our house) would always be Max. He always swore it was the same old Max . . . Hahahahaha . . . I was laughin’ pretty hard . . .

Three days before I left the Maya, we set two baptismal dates. Maria Jose and her Mom. Maria Jose has really grown and she seems pretty ready. They have a date set for the 26th now. They are kind in a weird spot, though. The husband of the mom, Vilma, has lived in the states for five years now and hasn’t lived with them. And, they aren’t even married . . . But, yea, Elder Ireland has to figure out that situation now! But we will see . . . I have hope for them.

It was funny yesterday . . . We passed by our good friends’ houses to say “good-bye” and I had some good, awkward moments. One girl kept hugging me and tellin’ me not to leave. And I couldn’t hug back, so it was reeeealllly, really funny. My Companion and I were crackin’ up after ‘cause I had no idea what to do! Then, I was taking a picture with one family. Elder Ireland was taking the picture and doin’ the countdown. Then he just started smirkin’ and I didn’t know what for! LOL! So, I asked him later and I guess one of the girls, Maria Jose, hahaha, pulled her shirt sleeves off her shoulders for the picture . . . hahahahaha . . . How sexy! Then saying “good-bye” to Teresa was a li’l weird ‘cause she tried to hug me good-bye and I told her I couldn’t. I felt bad, but she just gave me a really long handshake instead . . . Haha . . .

Then, last night, Luis and Teresa threw a surprise party for me at my house . . . Haha . . . Like twenty people came over and we played some games and stuff. Elder Ireland has been out about a year now and he said he has never heard of or seen a “leaving party” or anything before, so that was really cool that they did that for me. It was really nice ‘cause they all went around one-by-one and said something to me, too. It was a really cool experience. Then, after they all said something, I got to talk too. I even had a few people crying, haha, but it was really, really sweet of them. Those kinds of things make a Mission worthwhile for sure!

Now the big news! I’m now in Zone Atlantico and Area Atlantido. It’s about ten minutes away from the Maya in a car or bus. This area of ours is huuuuuuge, though! It will be a big change ‘cause the Maya is the smallest area in the Mission. The area has a lot of “coolish” stuff, though. It has the “Hiperpice”, the Wal-mart basically. And the mall and all . . . So it will be way different ‘cause there was nothin’ in the Maya. My new Companion says this area is hard ‘cause the people are a lot richer. But, the good news is that we are already set up for three Baptisms this Saturday! LOL! Pretty easy to reach my goal! I guess our new goal will probably be six or something.

I just got into this area a few hours ago, though, so I don’t know a bunch about it yet. Our house is still big, but it’s a big change. We don’t have someone to clean our clothes and we will only have our lunch prepared for us. In the Maya, we were treated like kings! They did it all for us! Oh, and the house was really dirty when I got here, so the first thing I did before I unpacked, was broom the floors. Then I had my Companion mop the floors, haha! I’m not a clean freak or anything, but a home isn’t a nice comfortable home to me if it isn’t clean. We also have a bunch of mosquitoes. That stinks ‘cause we didn’t have very many mosquitoes in the Maya house and I already got eaten alive there! All the people here say the mosquitoes love my healthy blood. So, yea, estoy fregado aqui. And, yea, they’ve tried a bunch to spray, but my Companion says we live where they want to be so they just come right back!

My new companion is a cool guy. He has been out on his Mission for twenty-two months already, so he is almost done! He’s a really little guy, like 5’6” or something and he’s from El Salvador. So, yea, he’s my first Latin Companion! I think it will be fun, though. Different for sure, yes, but still fun! I should learn a lot here. Also, Elder Legua is in my District, so that’s cool ‘cause he has been like my best friend here since the CCM.

I sure love you all and think ‘bout you aaaallllll everrrrrry day. It isn’t always easy bein’ out here, but I know it’s the right thing to do be doin’. I’ve watched lives being changed.