Baptism, a cement soccer ball and more

The first picture is of Jason and his family on Saturday
The second picture is of Leilie in her new room that she is living in.

Hey mom and family-

I hope all is well and that the Laurens birthday, Grandpa Lawson's birthday, and the fourth of July was fun. It rained almost all day yesterday so it would have been pretty hard to do the fireworks here.

We had a baptism this past Saturday for a 10 yr old kid (Jason) of a less active that is coming back to church. At the same time a reference that we received from members in our ward was baptized. They were cousins to this family and they got married and baptized back to back.

So all in all it was a pretty good Saturday. I felt bad though. We met this couple at this members house one day. The member introduced us to them and we took down there information and we said we would pass the info to the other elders. Well i forgot to do it that week and then we saw them again that next week and told us that the other elders haven't gotten a hold of him. I said sorry and then immediately called the elders and told them to give this a guy a call. They taught them for 3 weeks and they said the whole time they were a golden family. It was really cool to see that they got baptized and have support with their family in our ward. I learned a lot from that experience. Saying to myself ¨i´ll do this later today when i have time.¨ Well....at times we say that but the ¨later¨comes but we don't remember. ha ha. I'm getting better at doing the things that come unexpectedly but at times i just need a little reminder.

Funny story of the week- We got to the baptism with the bishop and he parked in the parking lot. We hopped out of the truck and we were going to go in. We walked across the grass and my companion saw a little soccer ball that the kids use here to pass time. He said something to me like ¨watch this, it´s going to launch.¨ I don't remember what exactly he said but he wanted to kick it pretty far. So he went for it and kicked it about 6 ft. It then came to me that the ball didn't have air in it by the way it bounced. It was a cement ball that one of the liders filled with cement to bowl with the jovenes. My companion had troubles walking for a good 30 min and he thought his big toe nail was going to fall off. He´s doing a lot better now but i still get a good laugh thinking about it.

We also visited Hna. Leilie again this week. She moved places and is in a better place right now. Hopefully she can find some place where they can watch her kids so she can find work. The ward has really helped her out with this but she just needs to have time to go out and find work. But she is active in everything. Went to the day of service here in Guatemala, the baptism on Saturday and went to church yesterday. Its a tough situation to go through and Elder Alvarez and i learned a lesson that we were very shocked to learn. We were with her and the kids one afternoon and when we got there the kids were very out of hand. We tried helping her out somehow but it seemed that nothing worked to get them to settle down. I then turned to my
companion and i told him ¨I always thought i had patience but i have now come to realize that i do not have patience.¨

So today was supposed to be changes but it will now be tomorrow and we will leave Wednesday in the morning instead of Tuesday in the morning for changes. I think i have changes though. I kind of want to train but we´ll see what happens. I will let you all know what happens this next week.

Love you all and i hope that you all have a great week

Elder Larson

PS -i need contact lenses. I'm almost out. And I'm blindisimo without them

Feels like Christmas

First of all i just want to wish you all a Merry Christmas. This week felt a little like Christmas and i just wanted to share the joy with you all as well.

Boise, Montana, Georgia here they come. That's pretty exciting. They´ll all leave and i´ll come back. haha. But good for them.

Its been fun for these past months. Its weird to say ¨a year ago i was in Coatepeque.¨ Because that means I've been here a long time. But i love it.

But this week we found out the story of Leilie and she has had some problems in the past. Sad story that she told us that her husband got her in trouble. She had some property and he wanted her to sell it. So he sold it to someone and then he told her to try and sell the land and she did....which means that they sold it twice., in other words....shes the one in trouble and on the run. She cant get baptized for a long time now. But she practically is a member and will get baptized and we told her when she does get baptized she needs to call us. In other words, she doesn't know English. Entonces, If anyone calls the house and is speaking Spanish to you, you then have to let me know immediately so i can call them back. haha. She told us that shes going to move as well to in a way start over again. I hope she can get everything fixed so she can live in peace with her kids.

But we continue trying to find the ones that are ready to hear the gospel. The biggest problem we are finding here is that the people are not married. And sometimes it takes a while to marry people because of lost paperwork and of course, their desire. But i love the ward here. We´re trying to focus in the members to guide us to the people that are ready to hear the gospel. Its a fun process but like always we want it to go by faster. The Lord is at the head of this church and he is just waiting for us to turn to him, so he can help us and others receive the blessings that he already has for us.

Hope you all have a great week. Love ya. Happy Birthday Lauren and a Happy 4th of July

Elder Larson

Birthday Greetings to Lauren

Lauren-

I hope all is well and that you're enjoying school. Your birthday is coming up and i hope you have a great one. Sadly I'm not going to send anything, but what I'm doing right now is the gift i want to give you. Me being here, means that you are doing well in school, work, and in anything you want to do in your life. I would call home and call you for your birthday but i cant, but what i will do is keep you in my heart on the 3rd of July and on everyday. Happy Birthday Lauren!!!! You will always be the younger sister that i can always beat up.

Love,

Elder Larson

Happy Father's Day

Hello dad and family (while mom cant until Thursday, but happy Thursday mom)-


First of all........HAPPY FATHERS, PAPAS, OLD MANS, LARRY'S, HUSBANDS, AND DADS DAY!!! Please take a day off and just watch the World Cup on me. Kidding of course. But i hope you liked the breakfast in bed though. I'm kind of jealous but i have recently find out that any kind of jealously is for the most part bad. But i hope this week turns out to be a busy, enjoyful week.

Like for us here, the weeks go fast. But i love it. Beautiful things happen here and i hope i can just take everything in and remember them but I'm human and i cant. But we had the conference on Tuesday and it was really good. There was something like, 300 missionaries there and it was a powerful conference. We got around 45 missionaries from the central mission and they all said they love it here in Xela. And i used to know everyone in the mission but right now i have no idea who is who. But missionaries that want towork and love the Lord. President was excited to have all of them and talked mainly the whole time and it was really really good. Talked about the importance of listening to the spirit and the natural man. Very well said and i hope i can be guided by the spirit the rest of my life. Its going to be tough of course but i know it will guide us to the blessings that the Lord already has for us. We just have to listen to the council in our day. Leaders that can help us keep our eyes and lives on the Lord.

We´re teaching a hna. named Leilie that is a perfect person to get to know. Her faith that she has can be seen from a distance.

Attached is the photo for William that i took with her kids. A very humble family and told us that his situation is a lot worse than hers. (And they barely had food for barely 3 days and had very little blankets to sleep with and she told us she almost gave up the night before she came to church for the first time). But she is amazing like Ive said. We just have to clear up some things with her and we´ll see how it goes. Helping people that are having a hard time and can see the light of the gospel is just an amazing thing to see.

Its something that I'm glad that the Brandons can be a part of. Please email me as soon as you know. Because i send dats on Fridays and i would love to know as soon as you know.

But i hope the Fathers Day Spirit lasts over there at the house. Happy Day of the Fathers DAD!! I love you and I'm glad that i have an example that you show how to live a blessed life with our family.

Have a great week dad

Elder Larson

Quetzaltenango Temple Pictures

I know that Erik is really looking forward to this temple being done. He says he is trying to prepare the people for the temple!

What the gospel is all about

Hey mom and the millions who will read this-

What a week full of blessings i would say. This past Sunday we had a lot come to church but i didn't have time to talk to all of them and i was upset because i wanted to get to know them. But i remembered who they came with. There was about 4 who came and everyone of them came with a member and that is always a good sign.

So we stopped by this one ladies place (Connie). She rents out small little rooms that is in a complex here in Huehue. We saw the lady who came to church and we just sat outside and talked with her. At the same time he was talking to her i was talking to an old lady right next to him that is a member of the church but cant go because she cant walk there. I talked to her for about 10 minutes and then we went and joined in with them. Her name is Leli and has 3 kids. We talked and she seemed really positive. We went back and we taught in her little room. And now this is when we really found out what was going on in her life. To keep it short, her husband left her, sold all her stuff, kept the money, and is with her kids and in this point of time doesn't have any money, food, blankets and a bed. She told us the first time we visited that she doesn't have work and we told her she could talk to the bishop on Sunday and she would be helped out a lot. But after what she told us we went to where the bishop works, (not that far away) and he came and they talked for a few minutes. That same day she received a little bit of food and we bought her some Chinese rice for them later that night. Oh and she told us that the Saturday before that they didn't eat anything. Wow, with three kids that would be tough. And Hna Connie knocked on her door Sunday morning and told her that she was coming to church with her. She told us that that Saturday night and that day was just one of those days where you just want to forget about all that past by during the day. But then in the words i put in my journal ¨and then came Sunday.¨ Hna Connie invited her and she came and felt an overwhelming peace that made her feel a lot better. Didn't change her situation that she was in but changed the way she was going to act in the future. And she loved it. It was amazing. But anyways that next morning they received a little bit more food and we stopped by with some more things like Morcaff and some more rice. And i thought again, ¨here comes Sunday.¨ For her, it was a day where to find ANSWERS. She enjoyed it and came by herself to church. And has read everything we have given her. She loves it and always has questions for us. And one of the days before we visited the second time they received a chicken soup for her and her kids. And at the same time the old lady that lives in the same complex, Gloria, was very sick and she OFFERED the soup to her so she could feel better but she said she didn't have hunger. If that's not how to show your love for your neighbor i don't know what is. My companion and i talked about it and that sure is a heavenly trait that we both want to obtain. Getting to know her and her situation is sad but at the same time very happy. She told Hna Connie that ¨the Mormons are going to help me change my life.¨ We haven't done anything. We have just been in the right place at the right time, we have a ward that wants to help, and we have the gospel that changes the way people look at life and live it. We have given a lot to her because she deserves it and i can honestly see the light at the end of the tunnel. She will have clothes and food for her and her kids but now its mainly up to her if she can find a job. Because right now its tough for that part in the life down here.

We took pictures with them and with the poster with my companions camera but he forgot it today so i will send it next week. But that is what is going on down here in Zaculeu. We also have been visiting the family of a girl missionary that seem to be really positive that are not members as well. I feel very blessed to be here and to know that the gospel and the church blesses lives for people who need it. And now ever sense we have gotten to know her and her kids i have felt bad when i have wanted to buy a small little snack to eat because i know of the circumstances that Hna Leli is in with her kids. But the change will come because of the gospel of JESUS CHRIST and the blessings that he has waiting for us every week when we know and prepare ourselves for that day, when Sunday comes.

Hope you all have a greatisimo week.

The conference is tomorrow and will give the info about it in mas o menos 8640 minutes.

Elder Larson

Nancy & Ramon's visit to Quetzaltenango

My sister Nancy is married to a wonderful Guatemalan man, Ramon. Ramon is temporarily living in Guatemala and Nancy went down to visit him recently. They know they can't see Erik (per Erik's wishes) but they wanted to "be in the same area" he is, just to feel his presence so they made the long trek, overnight, by bus to Quetzaltenango from Guatemala City to spend a day there. Here's the email my sweet sister sent me. I love you Nancy. Erik will love knowing you were there too. Love, Diane

So......Ramon and I made a roadtrip to Erik's town on Friday, It took some time, we left Guatemala City around 1am and got to Quetzaltenango around 6am. Not the smartest thing, but neither of us could sleep, and we wanted to get there in time to spend the day and get back to the City for Dinner with Carlos (my Brother in Law) on Friday night.

It was a humbling road trip, we went through an area that had been very hard by Agatha, we came upon mudslides just as they had happened. We said a prayer and put our faith in God that we would be safe. Erik's town is on the other side of a beautiful mountain pass and his town sits in a valley. To me, it is one of the cleaner cities in Guatemala, I took pictures, I'll send them soon. We tried to find his address, we did ok, we were in the general area, I took lots of pictures. At one point, we spotted 2 Missionaries walking down the street and our hearts started pounding! We turned around to pull over and talk to them. One was Elder Lopez and the other I believe was Elder Burton. They knew of Erik but not too well, as they were just in the office for a meeting but this was not their area. I asked to them to tell Erik that his Aunt and Uncle were in the neighborhood and said hello. I hope this was ok. They gave me directions to the office, we drove by but didn't go in out of respect for his purpose of being there. I cried a lot and got emotional just knowing that we were in his town and experiencing the culture and people. It was very much worth the trip. On the way back it was daylight and we were able to really see the destruction from the mudslides, I cried so hard, as I watched people trying to clean mud and trees from their destroyed homes to salvage what little they have anyway.

We also went to Ramon's Aunt's house to visit in Ville Calle's outside of Guatemala City. This town was hit hard by the Volcano. Her roof (which is tin) was hit by the rocks from the eruption, it brought tears as well. Ramon is with her today, working on her house and trying to repair what they can.

Anyway, I just wanted to let you know that I made it to Erik's town, it felt good to just be there. I know that you know how special your Son is, but I wanted you to know how lucky I feel to be his Aunt!!!

I read his blog, I just read from yesterday and cracked up about the "Spanglish". I teased Ramon that he and Erik will be quite a pair when they both get back, hopefully we can understand their stories!!!

Love ya,
Nancy