Pictures‏ (They weren't attached....I'll update when I receive them)

Hola, hola...

Ok, ok, we´ll start with the day in Antigua with Hermana Wetzel! It was an absolute blast and (very, very sadly) WAY too fast. We hardly did anything (just shopped ;) of course). We tried to catch up on everything, but there wasn´t enough time. Everyday, I just realize more and more how much I learned from her. It´s crazy. I´ve never learned that much from one person in that short of a time period. It was sad (AGAIN!) when we had to leave, but we´ll see eachother on May 10th for the "Hermanas Only Activity."

Pictures
Me wearing the gifts for Goose, Toph, and Izy before sending them :)
Baptism of one of the boys in our ward. The familia Morales.. they are incredible and always helping us!
Baptism of Sonia. We´re still teaching her 3 teenagers.
Our ward trip to the temple!! It was awesome. Someday, I´ll tell all the stories of each of the people in the picture to you :)
Baptism of Cinthia (yesterday). Don´t worry, she´s way cute in person. I don´t know why she decided to smile every other moment besides in the pictures ;)

Semana Santa (the week of Easter) is HUGE here. Everyone books it for the beach, because no one works or studies all week, so it was a little dead here in La Mariposa. There are lots of processions, but we didn´t see anything because nothing is done inside the colonia here, just out in the pueblo. We ended up having to travel 3 days in a row to Escuintla (normally an hour away), so that was insane (the prices for the rides sky-rocketed and there weren´t as many buses as usual - it was interesting seeing economics at work). We went on divisions with some other hermanas in the coast. I was with one of the Latinas that I entered with from the CCM. It was awesome. I learned a lot from her and she is an excellent missionary, and, again, it was fun showing off La Mariposa.

When they want to get places here... they FILLLLLL the cars, motorcycles, and buses. 2 adults, 2 teenagers, and 1 baby on a motorcycle. At least 15 people in the bed of a truck, etc. It´s awesome and crazy....

Hna Rizo is from Nicaragua. She has only been a member (almost) six years, but seems like she has been one her whole life. She has 3 brothers, but only her, her mom, and her oldest brothers are members. What else? Her mission is over the end of June, but don´t worry, she´s not real baggy, yet.

Love,
Hermana Marin

:)‏

¡Hola familia y amigos!

Life in La Mariposa is still amazing. Everyday I just become more and more sure that I started out in the best area.

Hermana Rizo is fantastic. Things are very, very different, but I´m learning lots and we´re both adapting and getting along great. She has sixteen months in the mission, so she will be finishing in La Mariposa at the end of June (this change and the next). Because of that I really have no idea if I´ll be leaving at the end of this change. It would make sense for me to leave, but at the same time be weird, because Hermana Wetzel had 7 months in the area, I will have had 5.5 months, Hna Rizo will only have 3, and if I leave the Hna who would come in after me would only have one change of getting to know the area from someone who only had 2 changes until she would have to show the area.... I´m sorry, I´m sure that´s all sorts of confusing... I just don´t know what´s going to happen! If I stay this change, I would probably end up being in La Mariposa until August (which would be amazing), or they would take me out at the same time as Hna Rizo and replace us with Elders.... vamos a ver...

Anyhow... awesome experiences this week:

- Miracles: two less active members that Hermana Wetzel had never seen in church in her whole 7 months came to sacrament meeting yesterday.
- Yesterday was ward conference and our ward went all out for the whole week:
- Monday: special family home evening theme that all were supposed to do in their homes.
- Tuesday: Self-esteem lesson for adults 18 and older in the church
- Wednesday: Casa abierta with different rooms for different activities (Mission work, food storage, etc.)
- Thursday: Ward temple trip (we got to go!!!!) - 50 adults, teenagers, and kids in a school bus bus to the temple :)
- Friday: Everyone came and cleaned the church
- Saturday: Excursion for the teenagers in the morning. Afternoon: all of the stake and ward leaders made visits to various ward families
- Sunday: Ward conference.
Incredible. I´m telling you... the people in La Mariposa are amazing.
- We didn´t have running water for a day (which really is not that big of a deal here at all, but it just caught us by surprise - supposedly they had gone around the colonia announcing it), so we bathed with baby wipes :)
- This didn´t happen this week, but I forgot to mention it from the last week that Hna Wetzel was here. I finally became a "real missionary." The custom here is to greet everyone with a kiss on the cheek, but as sister missionaries we just kiss women on the cheek. Well, I was talking to a guy my age (which is always hard, because you never know if they´re interested in you or in the message) on the bus and when Hna Wetzel and I got off he gave me a kiss on the cheek. We get pretty good about dodging the kisses and putting our hands out, but it just came out of no where! It was pretty hilarious. Writing this out makes me realize that this story is probably really lame for everyone else, but for us it´s a big deal ;)

It´s interesting, because as missionaries we are so immersed in the world, but at the same time we are trying to live with very high standards and do things differently. I have seen and heard more crazy things here in the past 4 and a half months than I have in my whole life (and it´s not like I was super sheltered before), but we try to live our lives so that we can always be in tune and listen to the Spirit, which is essential.

Good news: we´re going to Antigua tomorrow as a zone, so I´m going to see Hna Wetzel!!!

Happy early birthday Dad and Nicole!!!!

Love,
Hermana Marin

Won´t cry...‏

Okay...

I´m going to try not to cry while I write this...

My Hermama left me.

I´m still in La Mariposa :) Hna Rizo (latina) is here with me. Hermana Wetzel is in ANTIGUA!!! Life is different. There have been a few harder times, but life is fantastic. It was tough saying goodbye to Hermana Wetzel. I truly had the BEST companion/trainer/mom. I realize more and more every day how blessed I really was. This is the most I have cried in the mission (which still isn´t that much... I promise!). That´s another thing I´ve learned about myself. I´m only a crier when it comes to goodbyes. I´m TERRIBLE at goodbyes and not seeing people.

Before we had changes, I asked one of the elders what it was like after his dad left him and he said that he didn´t sleep well for a week afterwards and he had a weird feeling in his stomach for a while. Well, I´ve been sleeping just fine (like always), but my stomach gets that terrible feeling every now and then and I hate it!

Hermana Wetzel was so jazzed. If any of you don´t know what the big deal is with Antigua, check it out ;) It´s the most popular and touristy pueblo in Guatemala. She LOVES cosas tipicas... so she is bien feliz. And... no tenga pena... as a zone (with 20 elders) we are going to Antigua on the 19th (pday), so I´ll see Hna Wetzel!!!

Other than that... Hermana Rizo is fantastic, I´m still in my beloved Mariposa, we had a last minute baptism yesterday, and I´m still in love with the amazing Familia Obregon. Really... I´ve already learned a lot. I have been so blessed with the gift of tongues, because I have to lead the area right now and it has been a blast. I´ve realized how much Spanish I really do know (don´t worry... me falta MUCHO todavìa), how well I know the area, the people, and how things work around here. It´s interesting seeing how other missionaries do things. On the mission, we just learn TOO MUCH. Seriously, there is not a moment where you don´t learn. We learn how to adapt, adopt, speak other languages, serve, be conscience of others and your surroundings, live off of the basics, live without your loved ones, have self-control, be obedient, love others in an instant within knowing them, and so much more!

Sonia got baptized! We have been working with her since the beginning of January and she had a lot of doubts. She has three teenaged kids and a seven year old, and her hubby lives in the States. We have been working with her kids just as long, too. I saw a lot of miracles yesterday and my testimony of prayer and fasting is stronger.

I really love this area and the people. I can´t even imagine how hard it is going to be to leave someday. I am the happiest (bursting with happiness, actually) when we are in the houses of the people - members, investigators, random people, etc. The people here are truly amazing. They have so much love, good senses of humor, respect for others and God, and want to serve. It´s almost hard for us as missionaries, because we always say to people that we WANT and will serve them and that´s why we´re here, but that´s what THEY say... "para servirles." Always. It´s hard to go above and beyond when everyone else is doing it, too ;)

Life is fantastic. Thanks for the emails, everyone! Keep the pictures through email (and regular mail, if you´d like) coming! Email is definitely the easiest and quickest way to get pictures to me, but I would love to have some hard copies. People are always wanting asking to see our families and friends.

Love,
Hermana Marin

No hay palabras... but in a good way :)‏

Hola famillia y amigos...

This was such a fantastic week and it ended on the most incredible, joyful note...

Update: Gilda is doing FANTASTIC. She had the baby Monday afternoon and they are both doing so well.... Get this... She wants to name the nena after me and Hermana Wetzel. Latinos have two names and two last names (the huge majority at least), so we both (with confidence, because we don´t let anyone know) told her both of our first and middle names... She´s going to pick one name from each of us. Poor baby girl. She has Erin Jane and Jenna Marie and none of them are too great in Spanish, except that Marie would be Marìa, which isn´t weird... just way too common. I´ll let you know how it turns out ;)

General Conference was INCREDIBLE... like always. It´s just always so sad when it is over, but we all have a lot of studying, applying, changing, and improving to do. A few faves: Kent F. Richards (Sat morn - Pain), Elder Dallin H. Oaks (Sat aft - Desires), Pres Dieter F. Uchtdorf (Sun Morn - Don´t wait/hesitate - especially for investigators), Elder David A. Bednar (Sun Morn - Revelation - especially for investigators), Elder Richard G. Scott (Sun Aft - marriage), Elder D. Todd Christofferson (Sun Aft - Correction and repentance - especially for me), and Lynn G. Robbins (Sun Aft - hacer vs. ser). Really, they were all incredible... but those caught my attention the most. It was amazing hearing our investigators´reactions to General Conference. We just heard so much about them not doubting one word that was said by these men and women. One of our investigators said (about the Priesthood session) "Some of the talks just really hit me, like straight to my heart" Ahhh.... can you talk about amazing...The Spirit of Conference, the apostles and prophets, and everyone watching is just too incredible. My testimony becomes so much more solid whenever I watch and hear conference. It´s just the aftermath of remembering and applying these things that really counts!

I don´t think we even really know how blessed we are as Americans and people who speak English. It hit me that these people here don´t even know the voices of the prophets and apostles. We have the amazing priviledge to hear the prophets in our own language. We get to hear their voice, tone of voice, emotion, everything... I know that they probably have amazing translators, but it´s not the same.

Amazing night: We had the most fantastic cita with the familia Obregon. They are so fantastic. He said that they have decided that they have decided to get baptized. He said that his deadline (not necessarily the actual fecha del bautismo) is his birthday. We asked when his birthday is and he said the 23rd of AUGUST!! Aahhh... it was hilarious and a tad disappointing at the same time, but we were BEYOND joyful. The whole time we were there I was just filled (I can´t even describe it) with the most incredible happiness. We asked them to pray and think about the date of Alejandra´s (their daughter`s) birthday. They are ready, incredible, and doing and making amazing choices.

We still don´t know about changes, but we will find out tonight. Hermana Wetzel has been saying goodbye to some people and you can tell it´s tough for her. She is in love with this area and these people, so it will be tough... if she really does go. We´re ready for anything and are excited for whatever is up ahead.

Heavenly Father has really given me a lot of opportunities to be humbled, learn, change, and grow. It´s been a little tougher this past month. At times, I feel like I am being humbled to the dust, and it´s not easy, but I´m so happy and am learning so, so much. I am learning WAY too much about myself (which is scary at times). I see so many things that I need to change and improve. I have never felt so unworthy in my life, during the time in my life when I need to be my best (I think it comes a bit with the territory), but I have faith and hope in our Savior and His Atonement. I know that everyone can change for the better and best with His help and I am beyond thankful for that. Like Elder Robbins said... to be and to do are completely inseperable.

I love you all and hope everything is incredible!
Hermana Marin

P.S. We were in America for an hour on Saturday. Our zone went to a burger place for lunch in between sessions that was way too American. Scary.

Hola a todos...March 28th posting

This week was a bit of a tougher one... It seemed like disappointment after disappointment... but the beautiful thing was that all along the way, there were a ton of small, almost unrecognizable tender mercies and blessings. We aren´t any less energized or excited... it was just an interesting weekend. I´m sure we´ll be learning from it more and more as time goes on. There are so many people going through unbelievably hard times in La Mariposa and things are so different here, but if anything, we are just that much more bound and determined to make a difference and bring these people the light, faith, hope, love, and knowledge that they need. And all this right before Hermana Wetzel leaves me. Cambios are next Wednesday, and we´re not positive positive, but we´re pretty sure that Hermana Wetzel is leaving. She has been here for 7 months now. The Bishop called her up in Sacrament meeting yesterday to share a message and her testimony. Everyone in La Mariposa is pretty sad and I´m sure this next week will be full of lots of tears... but it´ll be good.

Hey! There´s a Young Women movie thing on LDS.org that they played during the broadcast and 4 girls from La Mariposa are in it!!! You wouldn´t be able to pick them out as being from Guatemala... they´re all blanquitas/canchitas/whiteys and look like they could be from Europe or something... but it´s still cool.

Life is good and I love chapter 26 of Alma!!

Con muchisimo amor,
Hermana Marin