A Preparation Week!

     Hello family!  Sorry I`m late this week, but it is because we have a multi-zone conference in Huehuetenango tomorrow, so we have to be here in Quichè to spend the night.  So that we wouldn`t lose so much time traveling and being out of our areas, the Zone Leaders decided to change P-Day until today, so that we could have more time to work in our areas.  And for that I was really grateful!

     First things first, about our most positive investigator, Jimmy.  He was all ready to get baptized this past Saturday, but as we were teaching him during the week, we noticed a change in his parents.  They started listening more and participating more in the lessons, so we decided to postpone the baptism until this Saturday, where it would be possible for Jimmy and his parents to be baptized on the same day.  The only problem is, is that his parents, Miguel and Stefany, aren`t "married", so it causes a problem.  (Believe it or not, this happens a lot in Guatemala...)  People can`t be baptized if they are living with a partner, so we have to work on getting them married this week (which we have talked about with them), and hopefully we can have a wedding this Friday at the chapel, and the next day have a baptism!  It`s a bit of a long shot, but it is possible!  

     Also, we have been preparing for an activity that will happen this Saturday in the morning.  We are going to have an "open house" at the chapel, so that people all over Chinique can come to the chapel and spend about 15 minutes figuring out what we do during our reunions, and if they want to learn more.  This week we have been handing out invintations like crazy, so that hopefully the whole town can come!  It should be a really good way to find new people to teach, so here`s to it all going according to plan!  

     This week in my studies, I have been focusing a lot on some of the questions that are most asked by our investigators, and trying to find the best way to find them in the scriptures.  It has really been a huge help for me to have a basic knowledge of the scriptures, but it makes me wish that I would have studied them more before my mission.  So for all those that are preparing to go on a mission, really strive to study the scriptures and PMG [Preach My Gospel] every day, so that you will be that much prepared when you enter the mission.  Granted, you still are going to learn a TON, but it can`t hurt to learn more, right?

     In our district meetings, they have been focusing a lot on bringing our investigators to church with us.  One time I was talking with President Bautista about it, and he said that apart from baptisms, our most important statistic that we should focus on is investigators that come to church.  The reason is that if people come to church every week to learn more about the gospel, they will have a firm foundation, friends, and all sorts of good things.  That is why we have been really trying to bring people to church with us, and inviting members to help us out.  It really is a joint effort;  working missionaries with members, and I love it!

     That is just about all that I have to say for now, but this next week should be huge, with a multi-zone conference, an open house activity, and a baptism!  So I hope that you all have a great week, like I am bound to have!  I am so stoked always to be a servant of the Lord, and I have a really good feeling that this week will just strengthen my testimony even more!  

     I love you all so much, and thank you so much for writing me every week!  The Chruch is True!  Until Next Time!

     - Elder Stuart

     P.S.  We have been talking a lot about friendship this week with our investigators, so I figured I`d share John 15:13 with you guys, one of the best scriptures about friendship.  It just shows how much the Lord loves us and wants the best for us! 

Photos!

The way we get from Quichè to Chinique is by a mini bus.  This time, this was the last bus out, and it was jam packed, so we had to ride on top!  It was way fun!  And we met a new person who we have started teaching!  (The person to my right)  How awesome is that?

This is our chapel!  We had to take a picture of it for the invintations for the activity this Saturday, so I figured you guys would like to see it!  

This is in Chichicastenango, one of the areas in our zone.  We went here this P-Day for a change, and it was awesome!  One cool thing is that on every thursday, the biggest market in Central America opens here.  So hopefully I can come here on a thursday some day!  Also, the streets remind me of streets in Italy, so I had to take a photo!

Photos!

 We were walking down the street in Pancá one day when a member passed by in this huge truck!  They were going to go somewhere, and they offered to take us as long as we wanted!  It was a crazy ride, that´s for sure!

This little kids are just about the cutest things that you will ever see!  They were all asking me to twirl them around, and after doing it for a while, they kept asking!  It was so hard to say no... so I didn´t!  But seriously, they are so freaking cute!

This was so great!  "Hacia su futuro hogar" means "Towards your new home!"  And what do you know, it points right to the LDS chapel in Xela!  How perfect is that?!?

Photos!

This was last week when we were trying to find a truck to take us back to Pancà.  Well, we eventually found one!  It was just a flat-bed truck instead of a pickup!  It wasn`t the best ride in the world, but it sure makes for a good story!

     So a fire broke out this week, and that is bad news when everywhere around you is basically forest!  We were too far away to help, but a lot of the people that lived close went out and helped put it out.  Luckily, nothing bad was damaged, but all the area is black where it got burned.  So we were lucky!

The new Chapel being built and where the missionaries will eventually live.

   This morning at about 6 in the morning we got on the truck to take us to Momos, and this is the inversion that you can see!  It was freezing on the ride to Momos!  But not anything like you guys are experiencing!  HAHAHAHAHA

Photos!

This is last week when we left Momos for Pancá.  All those trucks that you see are all for traveling to other places around Momos.  I thought how crazy it was that this is the main form of travel for Momos!

 One of the Less Active Members that we have visited just had her second child!  She is so cute!  They haven´t decided on a name yet, but still.  It reminded me a lot of Jace, so I made the most of it!

 Woo Hoo!  Bathing in a bucket!  My dream!  Haha this is at a members house, and one thing led to another, and I was bathing in a bucket!  It was awesome, because it was pretty cold outside, but the water was warm!  So much fun!

The church here in Pancá has decided to build another chapel that is a little bigger, so it can be the center of a Stake in the future.  So now while they are working on it, bthis is where we are meeting.  A lot different than our chapel at home, huh?

On Sunday after church, we were invited to this member´s house to eat lunch!  They are an older couple, and all their sons and daughters came to visit for the Dad´s birthday.  I was so honored that we were invited too!  It was such a good lunch too!

Hah!  So every month, the mission sends out a newspaper type thing will info about the mission.  On the front page, they put a message from the Mission President, and the companionship who had the most baptisms for the month.  And guess who made the front page?!?