Well... the other day on the bus I contacted a man with a great story....
He´s Jewish. He is also German.... but from like 6 generations back. He looks like a gringo, but has perfect Guatemalan Spanish, because he has lived here all his life. He also speaks Hebrew and German. His wife speaks all those plus English. I will just say that this never happens in Guate....
Also, we got a phone call the other day from Nacho Cabrera from Barcelona. I was convinced at first that an Elder was pulling a prank... but it turned out to be real. He had a reference for us.
I love the mission.
Tuesday, December 27, 2011
A couple pics...
5156 - Welp.... I said goodbye to Hna Ayala. She had to move yet again, so she was a bit sad, but she´s a great sport. This is her last change.. She´s with another gringa in the capital.
5155 - My new, gorgeous, tiny, incredible hija.
Hermana Garcia is from Ahuachapàn, El Salvador. She is 21. Her brothers, sister, and dad all served in this same mission. She´s been a member her whole life. And... she´s fantastic in every way. She just entered, but most of the time, I feel like I am teaching with someone that has a good amount of time in the mish. She is fearless and hilarious. She told President Brough before we got put together, that she wanted a companion that would kill her (as in... work so hard..). She´ll do lots of incredible and amazing things in her mission.
Monday, December 12, 2011
December 9, 2011 - email
Well... I´ll just confess that I will not be able to give a good amount of info about what has happened in this past week and a half... that´s a long time to cover... sorry.
Super pday: played and ate lots. Last night we saw (for the first time for 99% of us missionaries) the new pioneer movie by the Church, "17 Miracles." Wow... it´s incredible. Everyone must see it... even if you´re not a member of the LDS Church. They had an incredible amount of faith in Jesus Christ. They trusted in Him, His Atonement, and His promises. Wow. I just love pioneer movies and stories, because they´re true and life-changing. You know it´s powerful when you hear a room full of 20-ish year old men sniffling and crying.
We went to the temple this morning and it was so refreshing. I was able to think a lot about families and realize how essential they are to God´s plan. I need to re-focus my goals as a missionary. We need to find and help everyone... but the families are so so important. I was also able to ponder about the covenants that I have made with the Lord. I have a lot to live up to. The Lord expects so much, but really so little from us.
President Brough talked yesterday about the "privilege" to suffer (or at least what we think is suffering) for Christ and his Work. We really don´t deal with very much at all, but when times are hard, we must realize the incredible opportunities that the Lord gives us to grow, trust in Him more, see miracles, and receive blessings.
A few days ago, we were with Anibal and Jenifer. We were talking about faith (he has told us many times that he is a man of faith and that he believes that he has more faith than even us), when Anibal asked me," Hermana Marin, do you believe in God?" It was a little surprising, but I responded in the affirmative, of course, and he said, "Because I know that God exists, but sometimes I feel like you just believe that you believe." I was caught so off-guard and it actually hurt for a milli-second and then I got my head on straight, asked for the Spirit, and responded.... boldly. I told him that I know without a single doubt in my heart or mind that Jesus is my Savior and that God is my loving Father and that nothing could change that. I told him that if he truly had more faith than I do, then he should be able to give up drinking, because he would know that God can do anything and everything and that his faith would be enough. I truly feel like I felt, for a moment, Godly anger. I felt as if he was mocking God.....
Well, I´m out of time :)
Love,
Hermana Marin
Super pday: played and ate lots. Last night we saw (for the first time for 99% of us missionaries) the new pioneer movie by the Church, "17 Miracles." Wow... it´s incredible. Everyone must see it... even if you´re not a member of the LDS Church. They had an incredible amount of faith in Jesus Christ. They trusted in Him, His Atonement, and His promises. Wow. I just love pioneer movies and stories, because they´re true and life-changing. You know it´s powerful when you hear a room full of 20-ish year old men sniffling and crying.
We went to the temple this morning and it was so refreshing. I was able to think a lot about families and realize how essential they are to God´s plan. I need to re-focus my goals as a missionary. We need to find and help everyone... but the families are so so important. I was also able to ponder about the covenants that I have made with the Lord. I have a lot to live up to. The Lord expects so much, but really so little from us.
President Brough talked yesterday about the "privilege" to suffer (or at least what we think is suffering) for Christ and his Work. We really don´t deal with very much at all, but when times are hard, we must realize the incredible opportunities that the Lord gives us to grow, trust in Him more, see miracles, and receive blessings.
A few days ago, we were with Anibal and Jenifer. We were talking about faith (he has told us many times that he is a man of faith and that he believes that he has more faith than even us), when Anibal asked me," Hermana Marin, do you believe in God?" It was a little surprising, but I responded in the affirmative, of course, and he said, "Because I know that God exists, but sometimes I feel like you just believe that you believe." I was caught so off-guard and it actually hurt for a milli-second and then I got my head on straight, asked for the Spirit, and responded.... boldly. I told him that I know without a single doubt in my heart or mind that Jesus is my Savior and that God is my loving Father and that nothing could change that. I told him that if he truly had more faith than I do, then he should be able to give up drinking, because he would know that God can do anything and everything and that his faith would be enough. I truly feel like I felt, for a moment, Godly anger. I felt as if he was mocking God.....
Well, I´m out of time :)
Love,
Hermana Marin
Sunday, December 4, 2011
14 Months Tomorrow (November 28th, 2011)
I don´t understand how time is flying so fast! This change with Hermana Ayala has seriously felt like a dream. I´m scared that time will just keep going faster and faster.
Well, the next time I will write will be Friday, the 9th. President Brough is planning a Super Bday... two days long! He has assured us that it will be incredible and I know it will be... especially because the second day we are going to the temple in Guate! There are nine zones in the mission, so we will be doing it in pairs. Our zone, Chimaltenango, will going with one other zone.
Dad... I forgot to tell you last week that I received your package! Thank you thank you thank you. We are especially in love with our arbolito. Members and investigators always visit us while we are in the house... they come to the window and talk to us. Right now, we have the tree on the tree in front of the window, so they are always commenting on how much they love our decorations. We hope to put even more up!
Also, Grandma... I got your card, thank you so much! That was a nice, sweet surprise.
I just need to mention how much I love the honesty of all the Guatemaltecos... I can ask any person I know here, "Estoy engordando, ¿verdad?" and they tell me honestly and without vergüenza or hesitation, "Sí" jaja. What will I do when I get back to the states and no one tells me the truth, but they all think it!
The members here are incredible. So many of them have been sharing the Gospel so much. One hermana, Maria Elena, is constantly introducing us to her friends and sharing her testimony with them. Another, Rafa (Rafael), has brought his friend to Church twice and is really helping him learn and understand. He says that he wants be baptized. I´m telling you... the members are the key! We cannot see nearly as many people brought to the truth of the Gospel without the members.
The lucha is still going with Jenifer and Anibal. He didn´t drink for a few days, but then fell otra vez. She is so frustrated. She wants to be baptized, but she isn´t 100% convinced about marrying her husband. She is willing to do it, but the situation is hard and wants the best life for her and her children.
We are working with a widower, Juan. He is incredible. He´s around 65 or 70 years old or something and is so joyful!! He went to church for the first time yesterday and was so incredibly happy afterwards, when we went to visit him. He assured us that he would be going the next week.
We are hoping to have a white Christmas :)
Johana received the gift of the Holy Ghost and became a member yesterday! I love that girl. We are working with her mom, too, mostly by trying to get her to support her daughter more, but when it comes to coming to church there is always an excuse.
Have I mentioned how much I love my area... even if all the rocks kind of kill your feet and everyone claims to be hard-core Catholic... I imagine that my area is as close as you can get to a Rome, Italy, mission... ;) But, honestly, there are a good amount of Evangelicals, too.
Well, hasta el nueve de Diciembre!
Love,
Hermana Marin
Well, the next time I will write will be Friday, the 9th. President Brough is planning a Super Bday... two days long! He has assured us that it will be incredible and I know it will be... especially because the second day we are going to the temple in Guate! There are nine zones in the mission, so we will be doing it in pairs. Our zone, Chimaltenango, will going with one other zone.
Dad... I forgot to tell you last week that I received your package! Thank you thank you thank you. We are especially in love with our arbolito. Members and investigators always visit us while we are in the house... they come to the window and talk to us. Right now, we have the tree on the tree in front of the window, so they are always commenting on how much they love our decorations. We hope to put even more up!
Also, Grandma... I got your card, thank you so much! That was a nice, sweet surprise.
I just need to mention how much I love the honesty of all the Guatemaltecos... I can ask any person I know here, "Estoy engordando, ¿verdad?" and they tell me honestly and without vergüenza or hesitation, "Sí" jaja. What will I do when I get back to the states and no one tells me the truth, but they all think it!
The members here are incredible. So many of them have been sharing the Gospel so much. One hermana, Maria Elena, is constantly introducing us to her friends and sharing her testimony with them. Another, Rafa (Rafael), has brought his friend to Church twice and is really helping him learn and understand. He says that he wants be baptized. I´m telling you... the members are the key! We cannot see nearly as many people brought to the truth of the Gospel without the members.
The lucha is still going with Jenifer and Anibal. He didn´t drink for a few days, but then fell otra vez. She is so frustrated. She wants to be baptized, but she isn´t 100% convinced about marrying her husband. She is willing to do it, but the situation is hard and wants the best life for her and her children.
We are working with a widower, Juan. He is incredible. He´s around 65 or 70 years old or something and is so joyful!! He went to church for the first time yesterday and was so incredibly happy afterwards, when we went to visit him. He assured us that he would be going the next week.
We are hoping to have a white Christmas :)
Johana received the gift of the Holy Ghost and became a member yesterday! I love that girl. We are working with her mom, too, mostly by trying to get her to support her daughter more, but when it comes to coming to church there is always an excuse.
Have I mentioned how much I love my area... even if all the rocks kind of kill your feet and everyone claims to be hard-core Catholic... I imagine that my area is as close as you can get to a Rome, Italy, mission... ;) But, honestly, there are a good amount of Evangelicals, too.
Well, hasta el nueve de Diciembre!
Love,
Hermana Marin
Monday, November 21, 2011
¡Johana se bautizó!
3017 - Us with Johana and another little girl that got baptized that day from the ward, Jaquelin.
3002 - Johana loved posing.
2758 - Lunch in Antigua with one of my most favorite women ever, from La Mariposa, Blanqui, and la Hermana Wetzel!! Bliss. two weeks ago.
2801 - Then, this past week for pday, Blanqui and her girls came to Antigua and we had an incredible day.
2847 - Oh, and Mom, to finally answer your question.. Yes, we can see the volcanoe from our house :) Volcan de Agua.
3014 - Almost the whole branch was there because the bus dropped us all off in Antigua from Stake Conference (which was a broadcast from SLC... Pres Uchtdorf and Elder Holland spoke... just for Guatemala... incredible).
After many scares... a teenage girl that the missionaries (before I got here) have known for a long time, got baptized yesterday. She was so cute and happy. She has gone to girls camp, attended church a bunch of times, has actually come out to do visits with us, etc., so she was very ready. She just has a step-dad that is constantly changing his mind about letting her be with us, but it´s okay, because the mom loves us.
This was not a good week for me and men. I may actually resent them a little bit right now, but it´s a good thing that there are a lot of incredible ones around here, too, that sort of makes up for it. 1 - Johana´s step dad. 2 - A husband of a woman that has come to Church a million times with her daughters, but won´t let them get baptized for ridiculous and controlling reasons. 3 - A drunk less active that we visit and claims to have more faith and know the Book of Mormon better than we do. 4 - and of course there are always those men that cat-call, whistle, follow, and say horrible, sick things to us. It´s kind of a bummer that I understand Spanish lots better than I did when I first entered, because there are some sick men here. But there is a group in our area that is always in the same house that is worse than any other cat-callers I´ve dealt with so far.
Anyhow... oops... out of time!!!
Love you!!
life is fantastic and happy!
Friday, November 18, 2011
Fast week
Well... this past week didn´t turn out like we were expecting, but it was still good.
Anibal and Jenifer are having a tougher time getting married than we had anticipated. We aren´t sure if he is actually divorced or not. Please keep praying for them. We´ll see how many baptisms we´ll have this weekend.
I forgot to tell you more about Hermana Ayala last week. She is taller than I am! My first comp that is. Crazy. And she´s gorgeous, so instead of the people on the street constantly and only looking at me, the looks are just about even between her and I. Too great. Time is flying with her, because we´re both happy and doing great. She´s a wonderful person. She hasn´t had the best rep in the mish, but I just don´t understand, because I haven´t seen any of the things that people have said before. That is why gossip is terrible.
I love teaching Anibal and Jenifer. They are so much more open-minded and deep-thinkers than the whole rest of the people that we normally teach. They challenge us and make us think more. I love it. It´s tougher for the members, because they are much more simple people, but I know that it is good for them. It just makes me realize how much different the mission must be for those who are serving in more educated areas, like the U.S. and such.
Well... I´m out of ideas ;)
Keep the faith.
Love,
Hermana Marin
Anibal and Jenifer are having a tougher time getting married than we had anticipated. We aren´t sure if he is actually divorced or not. Please keep praying for them. We´ll see how many baptisms we´ll have this weekend.
I forgot to tell you more about Hermana Ayala last week. She is taller than I am! My first comp that is. Crazy. And she´s gorgeous, so instead of the people on the street constantly and only looking at me, the looks are just about even between her and I. Too great. Time is flying with her, because we´re both happy and doing great. She´s a wonderful person. She hasn´t had the best rep in the mish, but I just don´t understand, because I haven´t seen any of the things that people have said before. That is why gossip is terrible.
I love teaching Anibal and Jenifer. They are so much more open-minded and deep-thinkers than the whole rest of the people that we normally teach. They challenge us and make us think more. I love it. It´s tougher for the members, because they are much more simple people, but I know that it is good for them. It just makes me realize how much different the mission must be for those who are serving in more educated areas, like the U.S. and such.
Well... I´m out of ideas ;)
Keep the faith.
Love,
Hermana Marin
Friday, November 11, 2011
Changes
Well... you might not believe it... because I did not believe it, but Hermana Guaranda and I had changes this past week. I´m still in Antigua, but she went to La Gomera!!! This is her last change, so she will be dying there.
I´m here with Hermana Ayala from San Salvador, El Salvador. She has 16 months in the mish and ends in January (this change and one more after). She is the absolute only member in her entire family. She´s 22. She was studying accounting also, but wants to change to be a chef or nurse. And.... she´s incredible. Life with her has truly been fantastic from the start. I feel so comfortable with her. She is very humble, happy, and gorgeous. This is going to be a fantastic change.
I don´t think that I have mentioned anything about the family Lopez... here goes (as always, I´m not going to do any justice). The Friday before changes, Hermana Guaranda and I went to the house of an inactive member of the church. His name is Aníbal. His wife is Jenifer and they have three children - 1, 2, and 6 years old. He has been a member all his life, but has not really attended since he was about 12 or 13. He is 47 years old and Jenifer is 28. He´s a big artsy guy... hippy-ish. Well, they both are. They are fantastic! They´re from the capital (which makes sense, because these kind of people are not found in our area :)). I cannot even begin to describe how much I love this family. From the first visit they have done everything that we have asked. The went to church that sunday, and this past sunday. She´s accepted the challenge to baptism (this Sunday), they are getting married Friday or Saturday (we just have to make sure that he was legally divorced from his old wife), he´s trying to give up alcohol, they´re reading the Book of Mormon, we´re having the Noche de Hermanamiento in their house tomorrow, and so much more. We visit them at least every other day (if not every day) and they always thank us for everything and say that everything has changed since we first visited them. They´re incredible. They are incredibly intelligent, but they don´t let it get in the way of their faith. Please please please pray for them, especially that Anibal can get everything taken care of with his old divorce so they can get married and she can get baptized this weekend!!! I am dying to send pictures of them!!
I finally saw Hermana Wetzel!!! She came to San Pedro on Sunday and went to a few visits with us (including one with the family Lopez)! It was absolutely incredible, but at the same time, very weird. I was with her when I knew absolutely nothing... Now, I know a little bit more, but she is even more amazing than she was before. It was great, because I got my okay-I´ve-got-to-kick-it-in-gear-to-try-to-be-as-incredible-as-Hermana-Wetzel boost.
Heavenly Father has really been blessing us. He loves us. We must be patient, faithful, and look for His hand in all things. Everything will come as it should and on His time if we are faithful. And even when we don´t do as good as we should or can, he will accept our repentance and the little that we actually do and bless us a hundred fold.
Thank you all for your support, love, prayers, and faithfulness to the Lord.
All my love,
Hermana Marin
P.S. I just got a letter from Anny! Woohooooo
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