Photos!

This is the Zone of Momos!  Since Elder Maldonado and another Elder, Elder Gutierrez, are leaving, we took a big group photo.  It didn`t turn out as good as I hoped, but still is good!

Most of our Zone today for P day!  Gonna have changes soon as a Zone, so we thought that we should take a couple of photos before we all change up!

Crazy Things Coming Up!

     Hello Family!  Well I don`t know about you guys, but my week has been absolutely crazy!  All I can say is that a lot is going to change in the coming months.  Because guess what?  I am going to be a trainer for a new missionary!  Already!  We went down to Xela on Thrusday for a Multi-Zone Conference, and on the bus ride there, my Zone Leader told me that I am going to be training someone!  It blew my mind!  I really didn`t even know what to think!  I mean, I`m still in training myself, and as soon as I am done, I am going to have to show a new missionary the ropes, when I don`t even know them that well myself!  But I have faith that the Lord will help me through it, because I know that this calling is from the Lord.  It still is going to be crazy!  Which means that I will be in Pancà for at least another 12 weeks!  But it is crazy how many missionaries are coming in these next couple of transfers.  I`m pretty sure it is because of the new age change, and the flood is starting to come!  

     So basically I haven`t been in my area for the whole week.  As you know, last week we had P-Day on Wednesday, and then on Thursday, we had the multi zone confrerence.  After I figured out that I was going to be training, I was told that I had to be in Xela the next day on Friday for a meeting for all the new trainers!  So I did that on friday.  (By the way, out of the 11 missionaries that came to the field in my group, 7 of us are training already!  Maybe that shows that we are a good group or something!)  I wasn`t able to return to Momos until Friday night, and there is no way that we can get to Pancà in the night, so we stayed in Momos until Saturday morning, and took the first truck that we could to get to Pancà.

     Since we were only in Pancà for two days, it was mainly just saying goodbyes to everyone for Elder Maldonado.  Not gonna lie, it got me a little sad.  Because my relationship has been really good with him.  He is a really cool guy, and a great missionary too!  It definitely is going to be really weird without him as my companion now, especially because I have to take the reigns!  But I`m excited for it.  

     We left Pancà for Elder Maldonado`s last time on Sunday Afternoon, so that we could catch the Christmas Devotional in Momos, seeing as there is no way to see it in Pancà.  The devotional was really good!  Even though it was all in Spanish, I understood almost every part of it!  It really boosted my confidence in my Spanish, which I am going to need it if I train a Gringo right?  But I really enjoyed it, especially the Christmas Music.  There really are few things that are better then Christmas music.  Although it did make me miss home a little bit, it still was really good to see.  

     Which reminds me, so about packages, I have heard that if you put a picture of Jesus on the box, that it has a higher chance to get here.  I know that it is too late for the packages that you have already sent, but it is just for future reference.  But I have faith that the packages will get here!

     So yeah, gonna be a crazy week next week, but I feel ready for it, and I hope that it will continue to be good!  Thank you all for your support as always, and know that I am thinking of you guys always!  Wish me luck on my coming week!  Until Next Time!

     - Elder Stuart

     P.S.  The Scripture is Ether 12:4, a really good scripture on hope!

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?!?  

Just Another Week!

     Hello Family!  Well, turns out I´m a couple of days late, but with reason.  We have a multi zone conference tomorrow (Thursday), so instead of wasting so much time in Momos with having P day on Monday, we are having P day today to not waste so much time.  So don´t worry, I´m still doing great!  This week seemed to go by way fast, even though it has been a little longer than a week since I last wrote.  But since Elder Maldonado is going home next week because he have finished his 2 years, it has kind of felt like we are leaving together..  But nope!  I still have a long time to go!  I haven´t figured out yet exactly, but I should be staying in Pancá for another change or so, to help my new companion know the area!  I should have a new companion next week, so that should be fun!  It will definitely be a lot different though, because I have gotten so used to working with Elder Maldonado.  But changes are always good, and I am ready for it!

     At the beginning of this week, we worked a lot with the less active members in our ward.  There are a lot here, because about half the time, when people are baptized here, they attend church for a little bit, but then stop going for some reason.  It really is sad that they give up that easily, but that´s why we are here!  So we have been helping them and trying to get them to come back to church.  We really have been focusing on less actives this week too, because Investigators are hard to come by.  We have this one family, but the Dad had to travel to Guatemala City this week, so we couldn´t visit him at all.  He really is our only progressing investigator.  I really hope that things will work out for him though!

     The way things have worked out this week and next week, Elder maldonado will only be in Pancá for a couple more days before he goes home!  So we have been trying to visit every family that we know so we can say goodbye (Well, really only him, because I´ll still be here!)  But that has meant a lot of walking and hiking, and because of that, this week was a little tiring!  But it was definitely worth it, because the families here are so nice and inviting!  I love it here, and I´m so glad that I had the opportunity to start in Pancá!  

     This week is going to be pretty boring, because I won´t be in Pancá that much becuase of our conferences and changes coming up, but things will be different after that, so I have to be ready for anything!  But these first 3 months of the mission have been absolutely amazing.  It has been everything that I have hoped for and more!  I hope that it will continue!

     I just want to let you all know that I love this work so much.  I am so grateful for the opportunity I have to serve my Lord.  I love it when I see the gospel touching the lives of these humble people here in Guatemala.  It really makes me appreciate everything that I have at home, and I want to just share all my happiness with everyone here!  I know that Jesus Christ, our Savior, Redeemer, and Brother lives, and loves each and every one of us.  I love you guys so much, and love hearing from you every week!  Until Next Time!

     - Elder Stuart

Alma 48:17.  Capitan Moroni is one of my favorite people in the BoM!

Photos!

·      Us in Momos about to enjoy one of the best meals I have had so far in the mission.  The Elder on the left is Elder Wimmer, (yes, that Nick Wimmer) and the Elder on the Right is Elder Andrade, my District Leader

 This is during a P day about 2 weeks ago.  These are called Los Riscos, and they are just part of the city of Momos.  Pretty cool to see!

All of us missionaries in the Zone of Momos.  The person in the middle with the suit is actually a member here, and he just left on his mission to Columbia!  It was way cool, because it happened to fall on a P day, so we all went and sang, and said goodbye to him!

Me doing service for a member!  This is how they carry stuff like logs and big bags of stuff, and surprisingly, it is a lot easier that carrying it normally!  It was a lot of fun!

·      This is Victorina!  Our newest convert!  Looking at it now, either she is really small, or I am really tall..  or both?  Haha but still was great!

 Actually just today, all the missionaries in the Zone came to my area, Pancà, to see some waterfalls!  I had seen these before, but never had time to go down and look for a good spot to take a picture.  But today I did!