Last email as Hermana Marìn‏

Well.....

Everything is good.

I`m calm. I feel good. Reading some emails right now made me a little emotional, but still no tears.

I know I`ve done well. I know that the Lord loves me. I am grateful for this year and a half that my Father has given me to serve Him.

When looking at what I`ve done, just using reason, it doesn`t seem to look like enough, but I know that our Father`s love, mercy, and forgiveness towards us is incomprehensible. I`ve learned a lot about forgiveness, but still have moments of awe... wondering how in the world our perfect, just, and flawless Father who has given us everything can forgive us... always. The big and the small things. He requires exact obedience, but forgives us when we mess up. I know that this time, these efforts, my heart, and everything that has occurred in this year and a half will be acceptable to Him... and that is incredible.

Thank you, to everyone, for all that you have done for me. Your thoughts, prayers, letters, emails, and support in whichever and whatever way. I know that the Lord has and will bless you for supporting His servants.

I cannot believe it`s over... truly, I can`t wrap my mind around it, but it`s okay.

I know the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is true. I know that it`s the only church in the world that has the priesthood authority of God. I know that Joseph Smith was a prophet called of God to restore His true church. We have a living prophet, Thomas S. Monson, to lead and guide us in these days. The Book of Mormon is the word of God and we must read it and live its teachings in order to be happy here and live with our loving Father in Heaven. Jesus is the Christ. He is our Savior and Redeemer. He did EVERYTHING, so we could have a chance to live again and be saved and exalted. He is the only way. He only asks, but a tiny bit in return, and He accepts it. We must be obedient. To every commandment. We must have faith, repent, be baptized by a worthy Priesthood holder, receive the gift of the Holy Ghost, and endure, endure with all our might, until He says, "The Work is done."

I love my Father in Heaven and only hope that all who read this can make the determination to serve our God every day and be better.

All my love,
Hermana Marìn

Semana Santa‏ (April 10th)

Well... when I had found out that I wouldn`t be in La Antigua for semana santa, I was kind of bummed out, but then I got to Tecpàn and learned that after Antigua, it`s basically the biggest celebrating spot for the Semana Santa in Guate... who knows... but it was pretty crazy!!! I`ll show pictures once I get back that you`ll all just love. The people here are so dedicated and talented.

Currently, I am companions with Hna Searle (who I was with for 9 weeks in the MTC and CCM), because President Brough is rocking awesome and let us do divisions for TWO days!! Hna Pacheco is in the capital with Hna Montgomery (Hna Searle`s comp that will be taking her place as nurse this next week). It`s awesome. It`s so so different to be with someone who has a ton of time in the mish.... way too much fun. She`s just incredible. She has become an absolutely excellent missionary. I`m learning lots... why didn`t we ever have divisions before!?! She`s freezing, but very happy. haha

We had an amazing activity last week with the members, to motivate them to work in the Work here in Tecpàn and they all promised to do so... and we will have a baptism this saturday that is an eternal investigator that finally is taking the lunge!!! The miracles and tender mercies of the Lord are happening here.

Thanks for all the emails!!

Love you all!!

Conferences‏ (April 3rd)

Well... Last tuesday - we had a women´s conference, this past weekend - General Conference, and yesterday we had (my last) zone conference with all the missionaries from the mountains. So, needless to say... it has been a great, uplifting week.

I LOVE GENERAL CONFERENCE. My faves were probably by:
- Donald L. Hallstrom
- Paul E. Koelliker
- Pres. Eyring
- Richard G. Scott
- E. Ballard
- Larry Wilson
- E. Andersen

Elder Hallstrom´s was probs my favorite favorite in that time... because it applies so much to our little branch here in Tecpán... the people have lost their love of the Gospel and are too caught up in "the Church." We are planning an activity (just Hna Pacheco and me) that we are hoping will be very spiritual and a good reminder for the members. We are currently involved in the 40 day fast, so we are hoping to take advantage of that and help everyone remember what is most important and get our spirits up!

I love that all of Anny´s investigators have the same names as our investigators here... haha.

In the zone conference, we were talking about how the Book of Mormon holds the answers to every "pregunta del alma"... Have I mentioned how incredible Pres. Brough is? Near the end, he gave us a few examples of some preguntas del alma that missionaries have. The last one was about enduring to the end on the mission... and he talked about Abinadi. I felt like that was MY answer... just for me. I don´t have issues with working hard until the end, but it helped me remember just HOW bold I need to be and that maybe I won´t see ANY fruits at all before I leave here, but Abinadi didn´t either, but the ONE fruit that he did have ended up saving and converting thousands (and millions if we include all those that have been converted by the words of Abinadi and Alma the father in our day). I love the scriptures.

I love you all so much and am so greatful for this Gospel and the joy that can be found in it´s truths.

Love,
Hermana Marin

Life`s good‏

Well, we`re writing early, because tomorrow we are having a sisters conference :) We can`t call it an hermana`s activity anymore, because we have to go and actually make sure it`s uplifting and edyfing and not just a bunch of young women hanging out and having fun... haha. It will be great. I`ll be able to see Hermana Garcia and know how she and everyone in San Pedro is doing.

Hermana Pacheco contacted her first bus (with LOTS of encouragement on my part) on Friday!!! She did great. We had a training meeting, so she contacted the bus on the way there and I did it on the way back. It was perfect on the way back, because it was PACKED... there were at least 65 people on there. I love this work.

We still have not seen very many fruits at all. Not one investigator or less active showed up yesterday. It was a little disappointing, but I just kept thinking about what Pres Brough is always telling us about hope... I thought,"Algo bueno va a pasar... algo bueno va a pasar...." And it did. Earlier that morning, while we were passing by everyone`s houses to get them to go to church, we passed by the house of a recent convert (a VERY active member... he`s the young men`s president), because he had told us that he wouldn`t be going because of relationship issues (he just started dating the young women`s president... haha... gotta love it), so we stopped by and I talked to him real bluntly, but he said that he still wouldn`t be going... but he showed up at 9:30 :D

Something that Hermana Pacheco has helped me realize is how bold I have become... but it`s easy to see, because she is very timid. She calls me a "preguntona" all the time (meaning that I ask a lot of questions), especially with the investigators. We have been challenged to invite people to baptism (including an actual date) in the contacts that we do with random people. I love it. I feel like I am just now getting the hang of and understanding this whole missionary purpose thing. With God, there is no fear or shame. I feel like I can relate a little bit to the apostles of the primitive church and the missionaries of the Book of Mormon. I think a lot of it is thanks to President Brough... he has changed so much... the way we think, the way we act, how we do things, our faith, etc. He challenges us SO much. He puts goals so very high, and helps us realize that we can actually reach and exceed them.

When we heard about the new expectation of contacting at least 25 people a day, we all thought that it was impossible... now... it`s normal. The other day, we contacted 76 people. Two weeks ago our zone leaders contacted 631 people in one week. It is helping us build our faith and lose fear, by opening our mouths like the scriptures say. I don`t want to lose all these things that the Lord has blessed us with.. I want to have the faith necessary to share the gospel with the same vigor when I return... Of course, as members, we aren`t expected to stop people in the street and start preaching to them, but if we truly love our Father in Heaven, love his children, and are grateful for the sacrifice of His Son, we will share our testimonies and help others be brought into the true fold of God.

Hermana Pacheco is doing great. She is lots more quiet and timid with the people than I am, even though she talks pretty openly with me, but she is slowly but surely losing her fear and is doing great at talking with the people. She reminds me a lot of how I was when I entered, she gets down on herself for little things. The other day the people didn`t react so great when she challenged them to be baptized, so she thought it was her fault. I feel like I can really relate to her, because I know exactly how she must be feeling, so we`re helping each other out.

We`ll be going to Santiago, Atitlàn the last pday of the change (the 16th of April)... so the real last requests for cosas tìpicas will be needed by the tuesday before (the 10th of April).

I love you all very much and hope all is well!!

Love,
Hermana Marìn

As I type... my fingers are real cold...‏

In La Gomera, my hands would be sweating as I typed... haha. Did I mention, that according to the majority of missionaries, I have officially been in the coldest area and the hottest area in the mission :) But don`t worry, I wasn`t even in La Gomera for the hottest time of the year, and I`m not here for the coldest part of the year, so we`re good :)

Well... life is great. Hermana Pacheco is wonderful, I have probably never had so much peace between a companionship as I do with her. I`m not saying that I fought all the time with my other comps, it`s just that that`s how calm, accepting, humble, and laid-back this girl is. It is very different working with her than Hermana Garcia. With Hna G, I hardly ever felt like I was training her... she was confident, strong, fearless, and outgoing from the first day. Hna P doesn`t have quite as much confidence, she can do it all, too, she just doesn`t know it. I`ll probs be spending lots more time motivating, encouraging, and forcing her to do things :) than I ever had to do with Hna G.

I forgot to mention that a couple weeks back, I had a dream that I was being released from my calling as a missionary (in the house in OH by Brother Rick Reed). In the dream, during the blessing, I started BAWLING... I woke up at one point (it was in the middle of the night sometime) and I was actually crying. It was terrible and actually hurts a little bit to share...

I love this area. It`s tough. I know that it will be my toughest area, but I am happy with the challenges that we have and we will have to face. We received some good chicote this morning from our zone leaders telling us that our faith has faltered, so we are very much more motivated. I only have 4 more weeks to give everything that I am capable of... to be able to show a fraction of the gratitude for all the ways that the Lord has blessed me. I have felt the Spirit so much in these past couple weeks... and know that this will be the greatest finishing touches to the changes that have been made on myself, on others, etc. on my mission because of my Savior.

This has been an amazing new, fresh start. I have been able to be who I want, how I want, and work in the work the way that I want... better said... the way that the Lord wants... diligent and obedient and faithful. We always hear about things that the elders before us did... we get called flechonas de vez en cuando, because we actually follow a lot of rules that the elders didn`t. The members see how full our daily planners are and they get excited and say "¡Me llega!"

We are going to do the forty day fast that the OH 2nd ward did. Each member/family/couple will be assigned one day to fast, for forty consecutive days. This place needs it. The difference between this branch and others, is that the majority actually have a LONG time of being members, but it hasn`t turned into a ward, because the growth and retention of the church here is so slow and minimal. Missionaries have been here for more than 40 years I think. They say that they haven`t had sister missionaries here for more than 33 years. There`s lots to do. The problem, we think, is that the members are just not very motivated because they have lost a lot of faith that the Gospel can spread here in Tecpàn. There`s lots to do.

I love you all so much and hope everyone is doing great,
Hermana Marin

Too much to tell...‏

9779 - Hermana Garcia
9836 - My new comp, Hermana Pacheco and this is Hermana Pacheco`s first area... lucky, awesome girl.

Well.... are you ready?

I am in Tecpàn, Guatemala.

I`m in the legit mountains. It`s freezing. Tecpàn is pretty famous for the mayan ruins that are found there... We haven`t gone yet, but you`d better believe that they`re in our plans.

I`m in my fourth branch. The only ward that I have been in was my first area in La Mariposa. As far as I know, of the 15 areas that have sisters, only 3 are branches. I have been in every single one. The Lord must know that I don`t work well in wards or something... haha.

I am with Hermana Pacheco. She is from Honduras and is WONDERFUL. She is the complete, complete opposite of Hermana Garcia, but I love them both and we get along great.

Tecpàn has been a famously tough area. The elders that were here before did not help us out AT ALL. They only left us with one investigator and they were great about breaking rules, so we`re here making LOTS of changes.

I have seen the Lord`s hand SOOOO incredibly much in this past week. Not for one moment, have I felt nervous or discouraged. I feel so comfortable here. I know it`s where I`m supposed to be. President Brough was talking to us yesterday about how he makes the changes by what the Spirit tells him, then he talked specifically about me, using me as an example... he said that HE didn`t want to put me in a different area for my last change, but that the Lord wanted otherwise.

Our faith and hope are very high right now and I trust in the Lord. I have felt so incredibly good in these days and I know that he loves us and knows what He`s doing.

I love you all!
Hermana Marìn

A few changes...‏

First of all... please forgive me for not writing very much in these past couple of weeks. I´ll try to do better now....

Well.... I´m out of San Pedro. Changes are tomorrow. I´ll be in a different area for my very last change (6 weeks). Oh... and I might also be opening an area and training again.... President Brough REALLY does not want me getting baggy. This will probably be my hardest working change yet...

Normally, we would have found out about changes yesterday in the morning, but because of the way they are doing things now, all missionaries that will be training find out the Tuesday before (more than a week before the actual changes). I´ve known, but couldn´t get the nerve up to tell anyone in our branch. I´m actually incredibly calm about everything. I adore my area and my comp, but I know that they both need someone else, someone better.

Hermana Garcia will do an amazing job leading the area. I have had an absolute blast with her. We do so great together, but she´ll just see how much better she can and will be without me. I don´t know how much better I will do without her... but here goes. She is happy to be staying in San Pedro though (more than anything, because of her giant bed, haha).

I have no idea where I´ll be off to... could be the coast, mountains, or capital... I´ll let you know in about 7 days ;)

Love you all!

First time for everything‏!! February 28, 2012

These alfonbras aren´t anything compared to what they do in downtown Antigua.. but these are what our little aldeas can do!! I think that they´re beautiful. The official start to all this Catholic seasonal celebration of the 40 days before the Semana Santa. It´s going to get pretty crazy here in Antigua.... and who even knows if I´ll be here!! "A donde me mandes iré..."

On Sunday... we taught a preacher... in his own church. It was AWESOME! We taught him and his wife. They are so incredibly humble and we actually have hope for them!!! I´m real sorry. I´ll try writing more next week... I promise!!! Love you all!!!

Don´t hate me.‏

We had divisions this week. I was with, for the first time, a gringa with less time than me! It was weird and very awesome. Her name is Hermana Knudsen. She´s from Utah. And is fantastic. It was a blast being with a gringa again and being able to help her with the language a bit and give her some support, etc. We got to teach one of our investigators in English actually. It was incredible.

We´re doing great here in San Pedro.

I´m really sorry for this short one... no time.

Love you all!

Feliz Dia de Cariño/Feliz Dia San Valentín!!!‏

I was in the States yesterday... les explico... We got a call Sunday night saying that we had to be in the cap at 7:30 am the next day, because Hermana Garcia had to sign some documents for residency (or something like that). We left the house at 5:15and didn´t get there until 8:30 (I hate traffic... I haven´t had to deal with it AT ALL in any of my areas...). Those are just little sidenotes.. the real deal is that there were a group of 10 ish newbies that had to sign, but that had to go to a government place to do it, and we (their companions) had to stay behind in the office... or so we thought at first. We were going to have to wait for more than 5 hours... so they secretaries told us that we could go to the mall instead!!!! It was awesome. Hermana Winder´s (one of my comps from the CCM) comp had to be there, too, so while our comps went to sign... we went to the mall ;) Bad news... I hadn´t brought any money, because they hadn´t told us beforehand, and we don´t like walking around in the big city with a lot of cash or credit cards... But it was weird... Don´t worry... I knew Hermana Garcia was going to be way jealous, so I bought her a few nicnacs with the little money I had for Vday :)

We were visiting an investigator family for the second time on Sunday. We asked them if they had prayed to know if what we shared was true, if José Smith truly was a prophet... Nereda (the mom/wife) surprised us with a very upbeat
"Well... hermanas... I did! I asked and I got an answer..." You better believe that at this point we were almost jumping out of our seats.
"Really? And how did you feel youP answer was." "Well, he told me that it was good and that I should keep listening." We congratulated her and started talking about how asking God and not cualquier persona is the key to finding something out for yourself and then she said..."Well, I didn´t ask cualquier persona, sino someone really close to the things of God..." What!?!?! Yep.. my hopes fell down real quick... but we were grateful that she didn´t ask someone that would have told her to stop listening to us... hahaha.

Love you all! Don´t be baggy!

I love the mission...‏ (February 7, 2012)

Well, we had a great week. Sorry about the delay in emails, but we had interviews yesterday, so our internet time was changed to today :)

Don´t worry... Dad´s given me chicote for not being a good communicator... here goes ;)

I adore La Antigua. Hermana Garcia and I have been trying to take as much advantage as possible of all of the great places to see, eat, etc.... and at the same time, trying not to look like tourists :) When we come back to visit... I´ll know all the great places to eat. There´s even a chocolate musuem!

I´ve also answered a question of my own that I have had for a very long time. I never understood how it was that all the gringos could adapt so much more easily to the food here (maybe not health-wise, but actually liking the food) than the latinos. It´s because in the States we eat so much of everything... we eat chinese, mexican, italian... everything food! I don´t know.. it´s just a small thought, and not always true, but it´s a little of what I´ve found with some latin missionaries here.. some can be so incredibly picky and not like the food of a country that is 2 hours away from their house.

Things are going great with Hermana Garcia. I love having little flashbacks and realizations and enlightenments that have to do with the time that I was being trained with Hermana Wetzel. I am still so incredibly grateful that she was my mom. She´s a legend. President Brough even mentioned her randomly in a zone meeting yesterday.

We are working with a few young men that are our age (with much cuidado! don´t worry). It´s actually a great story.... remember the men that I mentioned a couple of months ago that always said stupid, offensive things to us when we walked by? Well, we´re teaching two of them... haha. And we actually got a reference from a different one that is actually turning out to be pretty positive, too. The two that we are teaching are brothers, Byron and Walter. Byron takes things lots more seriously and actually has a good amount of interest in the Church and message. Walter is a bit more of a pest, but yesterday we had a great lesson with them. We were just teaching Byron at first, getting ready to challenge him to baptism, when Walter walked in, so we thought that we had lost our chance... but Walter actually expressed his thoughts and feelings about how he wants to change and stop sinning as much, but that it´s hard. We ended up challenging them both... we are hoping to see true and real changes in them.

The other one (the reference I just mentioned) is named Hector. He is from Guate, but actually lived in the States for more than 20 years, so he´s kind of an Anny case... he knows the two languages perfectly, but his strong point is actually English. I love having quick conversations in english (usually just over the phone... we teach in Spanish, because my comp´s English is a work in progress :))... and I love it!! I love missionary work in English! I love Spanish and can communicate just fine, but I just feel so much more free in English. But this time has also helped me realize the purpose I have in being on a Spanish-speaking mission and the Lord knows what He´s doing and does everything in a way to benefit us... but it ends up being our choice to let our situations effect us possitively or negatively.

We are also working with a great family. Familia Franco. They´re positive, but it´s just the same old story with our area... it´s real tough to help them understand. It´s just incredible how truly blessed we are to live in a country where education is so important and necessary.... Es una lucha... but we´re pressing forward and trying to be more patient and improve our teaching abilities.

Love you all!!!

FOTOS!!

9489 - We just have the dad left....
9518 - 13 year old, very spunky and feisty and amazing Ingrid.
9437 - Washing in a public pila... I refuse to go home in 3 months.
9527 - Hermana Wetzel... do you like my shirt? To all, enjoy this, because I would never put this outfit on at home.
9536 - Everyone.


Jorge, the teenager that got baptized two weeks ago, baptized his mom and sister with the proper authority of God. He was so nervous and had to do everything a couple times over, but he did it and it was incredible!! They are an amazing family... we just have to really work with their dad... he doens´t listen to us at all.

What will be my fate?‏

Well, we weren´t affected by changes. It was the most calm experience when we got the phone call informing us if we would have them or not, because we knew that with this new training program that we would stay together, but you can never know for sure! Now, however, I´m just a little bit conscious of how I will end my mission. This will be my fourth change in the area, and that training program will be ending, and Hermana Garcia is my third companion in this area. Ugh... we´ll see. It would be a little bit sad having to end in a different area where I would only be for 6 weeks.

We´ve been meeting some really interesting people who have shown good interest, but church attendance is always the true test, but we´re hopeful for this coming Sunday.

Have I mentioned how amazing people can be sometimes? We truly know amazing people in our branch. They are just so humble and always willing to do anything that is asked of them. For example, we are working with the mom of Jorge and Mario, Mercedes... she wants to get baptized, but is having a hard time giving up coffee. This morning we called her to talk to her about possibly getting a blessing of strength and assurance and she said that it sounded good, we called our branch president at 7 a.m. and said that he could be at her house within 20 minutes. That is just one example of many. It´s just such a relief to see those tender mercies of the Lord shown through humble people to make up for all of the disappointment and ridiculous things that one can deal with in a day.

Oh yeah... the other week, I got real, real sick with vomits and diarhea, but all is well now!! The Priesthood is truly the power of God held by worthy men of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Heavenly Father requires that we have faith... at times, that´s all He asks. As humans, we are so weak and can be very hard-headed, but He loves us and treats us with MUCH patience.

Don´t worry, I still haven´t gotten this whole emailing once a week thing down... I still sit down and draw a blank about what I should write about. Sorry. Oh and... I haven´t written in my journal since September... there is no time anymore! I feel terrible about it and know I will regret it (and already do), but I just don´t know how the time passed so quickly or how I got so far behind!!!

Hermana Garcia is doing great. She is honestly a hilarious fireball and I love her to death. She is so good at being straight up with people and getting to the point. At times, I can see that I am actually helping her with some things, but so often I find that I am the one that needs and is learning from her.

Hope all is well. As the mission goes on, my prayers get longer and longer, because I always try to pray for you all at home, for the mission leaders, for the people in my area, the people in my old areas, forgiveness, thanks for all the miracles and blessings that God gives, etc... And I just keep on getting to know more and more people and making more and more mistakes! So... I can´t imagine how long my prayers will be in about 50 years... and to think that Grandpa George always prayed for each and every one of his kids and grandkids, etc. I love that man.

Know that you are all in my prayers. Con mucho amor,
Hermana Marin

George got baptized!!‏

Well... Jorge and Mario got baptized. They´re brothers and we are currently working with their mom and sister, too. In the picture: Jorge is the one to the left of his mom, Mercedes (the woman in the bright pink shirt), and Mario to the right. The girl between me and Hermana Garcia is their sister, Ingrid. They are an amazing family. We are just praying lots for the dad/husband, because he isn´t so keen on changing his habits or life.

I have learned so much from Jorge in these past 2-ish months of knowing him. He´s 17 and has made so many changes. He was going to get baptized 2 weeks ago with Domingo, but had to wait because of some worthiness issues, but he made lots of sacrifices and has been so strong. A few days before the baptism, we were checking up on how he was doing with his goals and he was just beaming with joy the whole time. He has been working since he was 14 years old, repairing cars, so wasn´t going to school. Today he starts he studies. He talks about wanting to go on a mission. And lots of good stuff... I love seeing people change their lives and being HAPPY about it.

Have you noticed the same guy in all of the baptism pictures from San Pedro, and always in white... yeah, that´s Rafael. He´s our branch mission leader and is a rockstar. He basically does a ton. He is the one that introduced us to Jorge, who then introduced us to Mario, and the rest of the family a little bit afterward. Have I mentioned how essential the members are in the work of the Lord?

Can I also just mention how incredibly appreciative I am to know that the priesthood, the power of God, is here on the earth, held by worthy, faithful men? Miracles exist, but we must have the faith necessary. We are so incredibly fortunate to have an incredibly loving and merciful Heavenly Father whose goal is to bless us, comfort us, and help us return to Him.

All my love,
Hermana Marin

Mas....‏ (January 10, 2012) 2 of 2

211 - Guatemalans go ALL OUT when it comes to Nativities. Seriously. It´s huge here. Almost every house has something more-or-less extravagant like this. Awesome, huh?
246 - Domingo´s baptism!! Not as many people could attend, because it was New Years and there were NO buses (have I mentioned that no one has a car in our area?). It was very peaceful and fun.
202 - Yep... that´s our branch president trying to give me bunny ears. And yes... I adore my area.

FOTOS!!!‏ (January 10, 2012) 1 of 2

165 - Just notice on which steps each of us are standing.. have I mentioned how much of a tiny, fireball she is?
173 - From the big, Christmas activity that we had on the 22 of December. There were acts and dances and all sorts of good stuff! I love how much everyone participates in my area.
189 - Relief Society dance!
197 - This picture doesn´t show at all how many people actually showed up. After I took this picture, TONS kept on rollin in. It was fantastic and packed.
203 - Relief Society again, but in the typical Corte skirts from here.
210 - December 24th! I hate looking even more like a giant next to my comp sometimes... but all´s well :)

Happy New Year!!‏ (January 3, 2012)

Well... we celebrated and started off the new year with a baptism... Jose Domingo... and for those who don´t know, Domingo means Sunday in Spanish :) Domingo got baptized on Domingo to start his year off as clean and new as you can get! He is incredible. The day of his baptism he got up at 5 in the morning, along with 6 other Priesthood holders from the branch, to dig the hole in the cemetary for a son of a member who dies on Saturday. I´ll send pictures in the future. The baptism was great. Because of lack of transportation and other conflicts, not many were able to attend, but it was peaceful and beautiful. Domingo started going to church because of his friend of Jeronimo (that got baptized in October)... and just strengthens my testimony even more of how essential the members are in this work.

Have I mentioned how different life is here in Guate? There are so many Catholic practices and customs that are mixed into the culture that sometimes it is hard to decide if it is something Catholic or something Central American... and if it is or isn´t against Church doctrine... especially when it comes to deaths and funerals. We had to deal with a few doubts and attacks by members and non-members this past weekend that didn´t make it the funnest. We did the best we could to explain and calm everyone down that we ran in with. Life is interesting in a tiny, Catholic pueblito in Guatemala :)

We met a great family the other day. The dad is around 27 years old, the "mom" (who isn´t the real mom, but the woman of the dad) is 16, and the three children are 11, 11 (twin girls), and 12. It was interesting. The parents could not keep their hands to themselves while we were teaching... it was funny, awkward, and ridiculous all at the same time. We´ll see how it goes in future lessons.

We were going to watch the fireworks on the roof again, but the family in whose house we live got home late, so we couldn´t... we had to climb onto the pila to try to get a better view... but it didn´t work out too well :) But hey... it was my last firework show here in Guate... I couldn´t just sleep through it :(

Hope everyone is doing great and that you enjoyed your celebrations of a brand new year!

Love,
Hermana Marin