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!!
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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.