Week 20: He Kills It In Lessons

So I got my new companion on Tuesday. His name is Elder Ward. Brandon Paul Ward is his full name. He's from Centerville, and played Lacrosse in high school. He's 20, and just completed 21 months in the mission...freaking viejo! His family has a cabin up Weber Canyon, and chances are I've waited on him at the drugstore multiple times. His dad was the CEO for Mrs. Fields, and is now a lawyer for the Color Run. But yeah, since Elder Ward is so old in he the mission he knows a TON! He kills it in lessons, and also knows all sorts of tricks outside of lessons having to do with living the mission life. He taught me how to make corndogs, and he spent 6 months in an aldea called Colotenango where he learned how to make corte! I learn a ton from him every day.

Elder Ward making corte

He is one of the harder workers I know so far in the mission, but is also really firm about how you have to enjoy yourself here, so he is super fun, and really funny. I definitely have lucked out having two gringo companions in a row as my first two companions. Not that latinos are bad, but it's a lot easier to relate to and develop a friendship in your native language with someone who had a similar life to your own. I say I'm lucky because Elder Ward has also had two gringo companions his whole mission, out of 14 companions so far... Anyway he is a super cool guy, and being his companion has been really great so far, and it's making time go by really fast as well.

This week I've basically spent the time showing Elder Ward around the area, which has been really fun, introducing him to the members here that help us out a lot, and our investigators. Elder Ward's first area in the mission was Las Rosas, which is in the zone, right next to the district Chiantla, so we keep running into people who knew him two years ago, during his training, when he couldn't speak Spanish very well which has been crazy.

Sorry about the shirt, but I couldn't resist helping a member out with his car! (stupid idea)

 Also, we got a little rain this week. Haha!

Week 14: Students of the Bible

So my companion and I have pretty much done most of what there is to do around here, so nothing new as far as pday adventures. We just played basketball and soccer with some other Elders, and ate lunch at a small place up the street.

The work is going pretty well, but we're still having a hard time finding people that are serious about listening to us. We have tons and tons of friends who love to hear what we have to say, and talk to us, and sometimes give us food, which is nice, but they don't really seem interested in acting on anything we tell them. So we're going to focus harder on finding other people who are more serious.

We did have a wave of people this week out of nowhere just stopping us on the street because they wanted to hear from us, and had questions. One dude was delivering newspapers on his bike, saw us, stopped and turned around. He asked us if we were "students of the Bible," so we said "Yeah, pretty much." He asked us if there was a God, so we talked to him for a minute and set up a visit for the next time he is available, which is in the next week.

I did have the 6 week meeting for new guys this week. I was kind of nervous for it, because our mission president is what they call around here a 'machetero', which means he likes to hand out chastisements, or 'machetes' for nothing, all the time. My zone leader made me go buy a suit, even though it's not a requirement for Central American Missions, President Smith still wants us to wear them to meetings. We had to get up at 4 in the morning to get to the meeting at 9. A 5 hour chicken bus ride is never fun, super cramped, bumpy, windy roads, crazy, fast drivers, in a hot bus... yeah. I can never escape without bruises on my knees from being smashed in the seat in front of me, but I usually can't feel it while its happening, because your legs are usually asleep for the entire way. But I'm just compaining, haha.

The meeting went well, we just discussed a whole bunch of topics out of Preach My Gospel, and I actuallly did very well. People said they were impressed with me, but I do know I still always have lots of room for improvement. I did make it out of the meeting without a 'machete,' a lot of people don't make it this far into the mission without getting one.

We then had lunch in Xela (local's nickname for Quetzaltenango), cooked by Hermana Suli. It was the usual chicken, rice, beans, the difference was rolls instead of tortillas. People were super excited that she was cooking. I guess she always cooks really great food, which she did.

So I do have a lot of crazy weeks behind me. I expect them to be for the most part a lot more tame from here on out, so any questions are welcome, and they always help me have something to talk about. :)

Always glad to hear from you, looking forward to it next week. Love You!

P.S. Almost 100 days!

Corte Shopping

In the Corte Shop

Elder Ramos' Selfie

P-day Lunch

Not P-day lunch

Elder Langsmith, Elder Lee, Elder Mailo, reunited at 6 week meeting.

Chicken Bus

Chicken Bus

And more Chicken Bus

Back to Chiantla

Auto Zone?

Packed on the Chicken Bus

Elder Van Selfie

He'll be sporting new corte ties soon!

Week 13: Thankful for that trial

Hi Everyone!

I am feeling better! The double dragon lasted into Tuesday. I think it's the sickest I've been in my life. I'm glad it didn't last too long. I'm pretty thankful for that trial, I found out that not having to leave the apratment for a couple of days isn't all it's cracked up to be...I was wishing could go out and work the entire time.

Nothing much new this week. It is the end of the change (every six weeks). Everyone in our district is staying besides the district leader, Elder Ramos. We're sad to see him go, he was super tranquilo (chill). Lots of Elders like to ask me questions about working out (I don't mind, I love talking about it.)

Elder Van is from a very active family. His older brother got back from his mission in the Dominican Republic while Elder Van was in the MTC. He's from San Diego if I remember right. He was a basketball star in highschool, had tons of colleges looking at him, but he got acceped to BYU, so he's not going to play basketball in college. By the way...His grandpa lives in Provo, and went to the drugstore sometime last week, got the Gonburger, as advised by me throught Elder Van... He loved it. But the server there didn't know who I was!!! What THE FREAK!!! So no one knew that my comps grandpa came in last week I guess. He said that the ice cream counter was spectacular.

There's a hand woven traditional fabric they make here called corte. Every aldea, (small farm/village) and city has their own varieties/patterns. I bought my first Corte today. (It is pretty expensive.) I bought enough to make a couple of ties, which is what most elders do with it.

This week we have our six week meeting so I'm going back to Xela again, not really looking forward to the hours on a chicken bus again, to be honest. But all in all, everything is still going pretty well.

As far as missionary work goes, this is actually not really much of a baptising area. People love to let us in, and hear from us, but for them, it's like their own personal sermon in their house and that's pretty much it. No one seems to be interested in going to church, converting, or those who do seem interested, won't ever keep their commitments (simple things like read the introduction to the Book of Mormon.) But anyway, the members here think Elder Van and I are super Pilas (kind of means skilled) because we actually get investigators to come to church sometimes, which is nearly unheard of. But my comp and I are starting to make progress towards a couple of baptisms, which is pretty exciting.

No photos from this week, but he sent a picture of mailing instructions to pass along. :)

Packages are very expensive, and we were encouraged by the mission president to keep them to a minimum, so let us know if you want to include something in the next package we send. 

But I'm sure letters would be welcome. Address instructions are the same either way.
Or, as always, you can easily email him.  jackson.lee@myldsmail.net
If you read on a computer, these instructions are always on the sidebar of the blog. :)