Week 13 Report - Lo De Coy - El Templo Con Ronal

Joseph got the package last week at Zone Conference, yay. He said what he really loves in the packages is the letters. I didn't sent any letters from his siblings this last time, so I'll be sure we do in the next one. I also did a test today - sent him a snail mail letter to the pouch mailing address, we'll see if it works! I threw in two drawings that Lily and Sophi had done that were laying around, and Natalie drew a picture of her and Joseph that I put in the letter too. Hope it gets there. I think I'll have the kids write to him every Sunday, write him a letter or draw him a picture.

So here is Joseph's letter for this week:
____________________________________________
            Subject: EL TEMPLO CON RONAL                 

Buenos Dias!

So this week felt kind of long and I think it's because on Thursday we got a little less sleep than we normally do because we had to wake up early. Thursday was for a multi-zone conference and Saturday we went to the temple with Ronal! We are going to have 2 multi-zone conferences this change so that's exciting and one of them was this past Thursday. I don't exactly know what we were thinking for some reason we thought we had to leave at 5 in order to get there on time. Last time it took us like 60-90 minutes to get there and we had to be there a little earlier this week so we woke up at 4 and left at 5. Well there is hardly any traffic at 5 in the morning so we got to Utatlan where the mission home is at 5:30! Hahah we were both like well now what. So we ended up going to the casa blanca (white house) which is where los financieros and executivos live. The financial and executive secretaries. It's also where the valientes ("The Valientes Ones" - aka missionaries who are dying - aka finishing their mission) spend their last night. So we went there and studied a little bit and got a little shut eye before the zone conference started. It was a super great conference and we had a 70 here named Elder Pineda. After the conference we had some little ceasers pizza and then there was a training for new missionaries. All the missionaries that entered 6 weeks ago got to practice teaching lesson 1 in front of the other trainers and President Shumway and they went over rules with different scenarios and it was great. The zone conference was only two days after changes which President Shumway said they won't ever do again because it makes that whole week super crazy for them, the Assistants and the secretaries. It was especially crazy because TWENTY missionaries entered this change! I met a few of them at zone conference but none of them are in my zone. They seem like super great missionaries though and I'm excited to meet more of them.

On Saturday we went to the temple with Ronal! It was so amazing!!! The ward went early in the morning and so we tagged along. Left at 4 and got back at 9. So we were a little tired this week but it was so great. Ronal had a tour around the outside of the temple by the sister missionaries that work in the temple and the tour ended with us sitting in the lobby with Ronal. He was praying to know if he should be baptized and he got his answer that "SI!". Here's some pictures of the temple.

(Joe's Mom here - I cropped it and zoomed it so we could see their faces a bit better)

Shout out to my uncle mark for the tie I'm wearing - from Guatemala with the Angel Moroni on the front. It's my temple tie. 

He still isn't sure what day but we're hoping this Saturday. He's had all the lessons and come to church 4 times but still isn't sure what day. So we set up his interview with our new district leader Elder Erickson for tonight and if after the interview he feels like he should then he'll get baptized this Saturday! I'm excited for him and he's gonna do great. Literally the perfect investigator. Kept ever commitment and yesterday he started 2 Nephi.

We also took a picture outside the CCM that you can't see that well because it was 5 in the morning.

On Monday we had a Noche de Hogar (family home evening) with Ronal, Mario, and Meggan's family. Meggan who got baptized a month ago. It was super great! We had it in the capilla with a family in the ward that are super solid.

Nearly every week on pday we eat at la escala which is a mall and my favorite restaurant in the mall is a krepe store. 

It is sooo good and I've taken pictures of the crepes I've gotten to capture the moment. 

They have oreo krepes, m&m krepes, and almost anything you could think of. Of course with nutella on the inside too. They are amazing.

Here are some other random pictures from the week.

______________________________________

And that's how the email ended this week. One fun thing - Corey and I have a picture of us in Guatemala in front of the temple at that exact same spot!

This was in 2005 for the wedding of one of my mission companions, Hermana Bonilla.

Another companion came to Guatemala for the wedding too - I was the "trainer" for both of these lovely ladies.

Joseph was just a little almost kindergartener at the time, we were living at Wyview at BYU as Corey was about to begin his MBA program. Here's a picture of him and baby Hyrum, my cute kids, helping me take the laundry to the laundromat across the street. So cute. They grow up so fast.

Week 12 Report - Lo De Coy - HAPPY BIRTHDAY GUATEMALA!!

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Subject: FELIZ CUMPLIAÑOS GUATEMALA               

HAPPY BIRTHDAY GUATEMALA!!

So el dia de independencia fue la semana pasada. It was super Chilero. That first sentence was mostly Spanish but Independence day for Guatemala was this past week and it was great! We took Ronal to the stake independence activity last Saturday but it wasn't officially independence day until the 15th on Saturday. We had a great day full of appointments of course but did get some chocobananas to celebrate. I don't have a picture but it was a chocobanana with peanuts and sprinkles. Absolutely amazing. On the 15th it also rained a TON. Like it was the strongest rain I think I've seen in my life. The street was literally a RIVER! We were in a lesson with Mario (who is super pillas and is really progressing a lot. I'll tell you more about him soon. Probably when he has a fecha) and all throughout the lesson in his house we could hear super strong thunder and saw huge flashes from outside and it was so sick. The thunder lasted like 3-4 seconds and was so loud. When we finished the lesson we put our caps on and walked outside and within 30 seconds I was soaked. The wind kept blowing the hood off and it blew the cap up so that from mid-thigh down I was drenched but it kept my shirt mostly dry. It was raining so hard that even if we didn't have to wade through the river our shoes would have gotten soaked. So we waded through water running down the street that came up to my shins and I totally felt like I was on high adventure again. As we got closer to home a small Guatemalan flag drifted by us and since it was the 15th of course we picked it up and let it wave in the wind on the rest of the walk home. It was pretty sick haha. So here's a picture of me in my poncho after we got home holding the Guatemalan flag.

You can't really tell but I am absolutely drenched. Ah that was so fun. And what made it more fun was that the power went out! So that was awesome too. I'm not even kidding though I thought it was so fun. Making dinner (pb&j snadwiches) with a flashlight. I realized how much I missed living in Costa Rica and what an adventure that was and I'm so excited for the rest of the adventures I'll have here in Guatemala. Anyways so the 15th was super eventful and the rest of this week has been super great too.

I've told you a little bit about Ronal. Well he's going to be baptized on the 29th and this saturday (at 4 am) we're going to the temple with him. There are sister missionaries that serve in the temple that give a tour around the outside of the temple and talk about why we have temples and answer questions for investigators. It can really help people who are thinking about baptism to really feel good about their decision because at the end of the tour they can sit in the lobby of the temple and read the scriptures and pray and get a confirming witness of the spirit that it's what they should do. So we're going to the temple with Ronal bright and early this Saturday and he is so ready to make this huge next step in his life. Ronal is such a blessing. Like literally the investigator I always dreamed of having. We found him almost on accident and he has kept all of his commitments and is just the perfect investigator. So that's happening this week and I'll make sure to take some pics and send them next week. Mario who I mentioned earlier is really progressing a lot as well and I think he'll be baptized in October. He is trying to get work off on Sundays so he can come to church but he is very receptive and we had a great lesson with him last night in the church building after a little tour of la capilla. Oh here's a picture of la capilla.

Mario and Ronal both have 20 years. Wow my spanish is influencing my english haha but my dream would be that they both go and serve missions. Ah I love this work. President Nelson said it is the greatest work and I could not agree more. When we're walking out of a lesson where the spirit was really strong and we could feel it and know that the investigator felt it too I'm just filled with joy. There is nothing better! And the thing is you don't have to be a missionary to feel that! Everyone can preach the Gospel and not only that everyone SHOULD preach the gospel, both in word and in deed. I love the quote by Joseph Smith "When all is said and done the greatest and most important duty is to preach the gospel."The greatest and most important duty is the preach the greatest and most important message. The message of ETERNAL SALVATION. So that's the invitation this week. Not that I have been doing a weekly invitation but maybe I'll start. I invite you to share your testimony with someone who needs to hear it. It could be a nonmember or a less active but there is a marvelous power when we bear testimony of a principle of the gospel we know to be true. We don't know everything and that's where faith comes in and eventually, if we exercise our faith, we will know everything. So do that and I'd really like it if you shared your experience with me in an email next week. Alright, Buenisimo!

Alright here are some pictures of food.

We made French Toast this week and it was amazing.

Look at that beautiful stack of french toast.

This is something called bocada de reina

Taste of queen (translated literally) that is pretty much banana bread and is soooo good. There are a lot of panaderias (bakeries) here and they are amazing. When we're walking down the street there is a variety of smells. Some nicer than others but the best is the smell of the bakery. My favorite things are bocada de reina, sugar bread, and these cream bread things. The donuts aren't actually that good. Well usually. I had one that was krispy cream worthy and it was amazing.

Here is a picture of Chiky's which are a Guatemalan cookies that are amazing as well.

Here is the peanut butter I've been living off of for the past 6 weeks.

I've gone through 3 of these and a big thing of skippy I brought from home. Elder Aquino doesn't like peanut butter though, especially the smell and we made a deal that included me not buying any more so I will be fasting from peanut butter for a while. We'll see how this goes.

Also here is a view of your typical guatemalan street from the back of the bus on the way to the stake center this morning.

Love all of you!!! Id y Haced Discipulos!!
____________________________________________

So it looks like Joseph's Spanish is coming along since he's starting to insert it in his email letters, haha. That last statement translated is "Go and Do Disciples!" - "ir" and "hacer" - conjugated in the command form. Looks like he had a great week. Glad he's enjoying the food and having adventures! I remember a few "El Nino" downpours in Arizona that flooded the streets, and I agree it was exciting for me too. And yes, we did have a few downpours in Costa Rica (after church was fun and at our home there it would flood the pool over it's edges, made for a fun time swimming) and Brazil in 2007 and in 2015 too when we visited there as a family.

Also, I had a companion from Guatemala, Hermana Bonilla, and I remember we always looked forward to her getting packages from her mom cause she would send the chiky cookies and Hna Bonilla would share them with us. I wonder if Joseph remembers those from when we were in Costa Rica (pic 4). I wonder if he's able to buy peanut butter there? If not I think we'll send him some more in the next package on the condition that he can't open it unless Elder Aquino approves. He might have to wait until transfers and they are not companions anymore.  And we're excited for Ronal! The field is white.

Week 11 Report - Lo De Coy

                                                                              

   Subject: Week 11                                               

Buenos Dias!

So this week was really good. They just keep getting better and there are of course ups and downs but we have a lot more appointments in the evenings when we can't knock doors anymore and it's been great. We have had to practically run from appointment to appointment and my legs hurt haha. Elder Aquino walks so fast and I don't know how. I have longer legs than him but even when I match the pace of my stride with him somehow he still gets ahead of me. But the good news is that P90X every morning is paying off. Every area has a P90X disc for exercises in the morning and I never really did exercise at home except running but between the P90X of chest and back, plyometrics, and ab ripper X I think am gonna come back in super good shape if I keep up P90X for 2 years.

So this Saturday is Independence day for Guatemala and a bunch of other Latin American countries as well and on the 8th, a week early, there was a huge stake activity to celebrate with the two best marimba bands (marimba is the national instrument of Guatemala) in Guate directed by this guy here who is famous for marimba and is also a member of the church! We went with an investigator Ronal so he could meet more members and see the other kind activities the church does. 

He is such a blessing. a week and a half ago we found him. We had an appointment fall through because they were ocpuado (busy) so Elder Aquino was calling someone and I was trying to ask a guy on the roof of a house across the street if he'd talked to the missionaries before. Elder Aquino was leaning against the wall next to the door of a house we had contacted before and without even thinking about what he was doing knocked on the door. Then he was like why did I knock on that door. Well this guy named Ronal came to the door and he let us come in! And he was SUPER receptive! He could like repeat what we said about the restoration back to us perfectly when we asked what he understood about what we said. So that was on a Saturday. We invited him to church the next day as well and he was like sure. The next day he came to church!! We had been having a bit of a hard time getting investigators to come to church and with only a day notice Ronal came to church. Elder Aquino said in his 17 month in the mission he's never seen that. So now Ronal has already come to church twice and the stake activity and is reading the Book of Mormon and hopefully will be baptized at the end of the month! So like I said Ronal is such a blessing. And he's 20 years old and has his whole life ahead of him haha so he could go on a mission and then come back and get married in the temple and go on to become a General Authority and every time he speaks in conference I'll be like Ï remember him when he didn't know anything about the church and now he's teaching me. So I'll keep you all posted about Ronal but he so far he is killing it.

Here are some more pics of the independence day thing. I didn't get to celebrate the 4th of July in the US so it was really nice to at least be able to celebrate the independence of Guatemala here. The whole activity was to raise money for the youth to go to SOY which is basically EFY as far as I can tell.

I am starting to get the mark of a real missionary now. Once it becomes more tan and less red I won't be a greenie anymore.

Here is the view outside the stake center.

It's super pretty here, especially on the long walk to campanero, part of our area, it is amazing.

Elder Aquino has some more pictures but they aren't coming through so I'll try to send those some other time.

This church is so true!! It is really so so important to read the Book of Mormon every day.

Hasta Luego!
__________________________________________________

So that's the email from Elder Wride for this week. I logged onto his drive and found a few more pictures - not sure exactly if there is a story behind them, but most are of food, lol. Looks like we've got some crepes - 

... Mmm, crepes with Oreo - the same crepe as above, must be a real big dessert crepe!

I didn't upload the one of the Great Value crunchy peanut butter, cause that is not a novelty here in the US of A.

I can't tell what the one above is, but I think the pic below is fried bananas

Not sure what this pic was for, but it was nice to get one of the front of his head. 

Looks like a companion missionary FHE? A movie night at home, with popcorn, yay!

(Sorry to post one of you half-blink, Joseph!)

Week 10 Report - Lo De Coy

Today we'll just get straight to Joseph's email:

_______________________________

Subject:  2 MONTHS IN                        

Heyo long time no see! This week was really great but was kinda long since it's been 9 days since the last p-day since p-day was Monday last week. A lot happened this week too.

One is that it was Elder Aquinos birthday last Tuesday. HAPPY BIRTHDAY ELDER AQUINO!!! We celebrated by contacting haha but I'm actually not kidding. We had our consejo de zona las tuesday though and so of course we sang to Elder Aquino and Elder Benson bought a confetti cannon that Elder Millich fired straight at Elder Aquino at the end of the song. It was pretty great.

Here are a couple funny stories form this week. So almost every day we eat lunch at a comedor. Basically just at a members house and Hermana Sabån, who's house is the comedor, made cupcakes to celebrate Elder Aquinos Birthday. They were super good but we couldn't eat all of them so we decided to take the extra cupcakes to an investigator. Well it started raining like it usually does and so Elder Aquino held both the cupcakes underneath his cap and about 5 seconds later one of them got smashed on his tie. To really appreciate the hilariousness you would've had to be there but I was laughing so hard I could barely walk.

There's this really good paneria (bakery) by the capilla (church building) and once when we were getting something from there I asked "como se llama?" to the girl but I think she thought I was talking about the donut so she said "Donut" and I thought she said "Dona"meaning that her name was Dona so then I said "mucho gusto Dona" which is nice to meet you and she and the other person working in the bakery just started laughing and I didn't know why. Haha Elder Aquino explained it to me later. I don't know what her real name is but it's not Donut.

So this past week was my first multi-zone conference but it wasn't just any normal multi-zone conference. We had the new area president for Central America Elder Uceda and his wife come speak to us. It was so amazing. We had I think probably 6 hours of instruction from Elder Uceda and he is incredible. He talked a lot about what we need to so that investigators progress and stay active. He said a lot of times missionaries leave investigators because theyé looking for "the elect"when they're already teaching the elect but just not the right way. He said "talking is not teaching"which is so true. And he promised us that if we will sincerely pray with our investigators, read the Book of Mormon with them, and get them to attend church then they will progress. So we really applied that this week and it totally works! Like last night we went by Gloria's house and read the Book of Mormon with her and it totally works! Same with Aura and Fernando. We went back and read the Book of Mormon with them and they're a lot more receptive and it's amazing. Also for zone conference lunches they bring in some chefs from the CCM and I miss that food haha it was sooo good. Zone conference was amazing in every way possible and things are starting to progress a lot faster here now. I can't wait for the next one.

The night of zone conference I started my first 24 hour divisions with my district leader Elder Benson.

He is so awesome and we probably spoke too much English overall but it was great. We work really well together and got 2 investigators who didn't want to come to church agree to come. One of them ended up being out of town on Sunday but this next week she should be coming. We also got Dominos!! I got Dominos with Elder Aquino this week too

I also finally decorated my agenda with a story from an old ensign called a sure witness that I totally had the exact same experience so I put that picture on my agenda 

We did some redecorating

We also got some more water. They come in these tiny bags that you open with your teeth 

These are some pics from when we went to this thing kinda like the DI here. Megapaca 

utah state is aight but...

BYU is the BEST SCHOOL IN THE WORLD

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So that was a decent letter, good job Elder Wride today. I told him the big new from our side - we are having a boy. I had the ultrasound on Aug 28th, I'm due in January, which is when Joseph's birthday is. So kinda appropriate to have Joseph's replacement be a boy born in January. Here is his reply to my email -

I didn't have time to read the whole email but I took pictures of it to read.
ITS A BOY!!! Mom we don't have a B do we

What if his name was Benjamin

And I'm his older Brother Joseph who is gone (in Guatemala/Egypt) haha I don't know but that's what I would vote the name to be. Benjamin. Even though it doesn't follow the pattern really.

I'm super excited for Natalie to start Kindergarten and miss you guys but the work is going well here. I need to take more time to write in my journal.

So I'll read the rest of this email during the week but looks like things are going great there and I really Love you all!! Wish happy birthday to Abi on Monday and Sophie tomorrow and tell them that I loved the pictures they sent.

Oh also when is the next package?

Yeah, about that package... well, I hope you didn't have anything you wanted to tell me about it, cause that would be unfortunate, seeing as I asked you 3 times in 3 different emails if you had any requests. But you must have missed my notes or you ran out of time before being able to reply to my to your question above, so drat. Now I don't really know what to send ya. I'll just have to pray and try to be really in tune. I have been reading two books that I've ordered to send (A Remnant Shall Return and the Apocrypha), but they don't arrive until Saturday, and I have to have the package at Ikea at 10:30 am, so I might need to send you my copy. That could be fun for him though, cause it has all my notes in the margins, so it could be like we're studying it with me. :) Since he mentioned redecorating his room, maybe a few things for the walls? Something birthday-ish for Elder Aquino, and maybe we'll find some BYU paraphernalia for him too. Feel free to comment below with suggestions :)