Barberena -Week 73

Hello!

2 craziest news of the week: the massacre in Connecticut. And Val is not only married, but living in our ward! crazy!

So last Monday, I got probably the best gift that I have gotten in my whole life. Hermana Elizabeth wrote me. In the card, she included a picture of us at the temple, a card made for me, her first two talks that she has given in sacrament meeting, her conversion story, list of special dates including: baptism, confirmation, patriarchal blessing, her callings, and the date she took out her endowments. The letter and conversion story brought tears to my eyes. I was so blessed to be able to even know her, let alone teach her and baptize her. Best Christmas gift ever.

So there is a whole bunch of new rules on skype. But I will either call or skype on Christmas day between 3 and 4 pm my time. I hope we can skype!

This week I woke up in the middle of the night to a cockroach on my face. Ask me about it on Christmas. So I put up a mosquito net on my bed.. hence the photos... I think I washed my face about a million and a half times. jaja.

We were teaching our neighbor this week and we challenged him for baptism. He accepted and is preparing a progressing. We talked to him the next morning and he told us that he had been talking with his wife last night and now she wants to listen to us,to the missionaries! She didn't want anything to do with us before, but we have our first cita with them as a family tonight. I am very excited. He actually reads the assignments we give him and tries to apply it to his life and he is really progressing spiritually. I love his attitude.

This week we went to the presidents house for a Christmas party. That was awesome. I forwarded fotos. There is a lot of Glazier traditions that I want to adopt in my family

 

Its going a lot better with my comp. I am starting to have fun with him:)

There is a family in our ward that are so awesome. We ate dinner with them like 4 times this week. They treat us like their family. They don't have any kids yet. They are a newlywed couple and both are returned missionaries. They told us basically. "look if you are hungry or need to use the bathroom during the day, we hide the key here and you can get in to the house and take whatever you want to eat." It is super fun being with them... if all goes well, I will talk to you from their house:) I will definitely be like that with the missionaries when I am big.

"The best teachers are not made by what they say... but that they live what they teach" quote of the day:)

Mum, thanks for the nice letter and the gifts that I am starting to open. You are pretty awesome. I love you and I will talk to you on Tuesday!

Dad, your missionary opportunity was awesome! Write your testimony in the Book of Mormon and a passalong card for mormon.org. Saw your pineapple! I read this scripture this morning and it would probably help: Romans 5:3 to 5. its a good one! Thanks for being a great dad. I love you.

Austin, I loved you're experience and the willingness that you had to fulfill your promise that you made to the Lord. You are pretty awesome. Everyone said that you did awesome in your talk! And tell Val hi as well:)

Ellie, you have homework this week. read Luke 2 and focus on what is important this time of year. Its easy to get distracted with the things of this world. But do it to it!

Brynn, I was really surprised that you would pick a country like El Salvador for a country report! That's super cool and I will try to answer all the questions I can:)

I love you all and I cant wait to talk to you on Tuesday,. Remember that I wont be writing on Monday but on Wednesday.

SALU!

 

Barberena-Week 72

HELLO!
This week has been interesting. I know that the Lord wants to teach me something and wants me in this place, but for my whole mission I have trained.  I am not ZL anymore but I am DL... which is cool:) I am in a zone called Layco in an area called Barberena. should be good??? Its like smack dab in the middle of Santa Tecla, Zacamil and Ilopanogo.

Elder A is my new comp. He tries so hard. He really does. President talked to me before the changes and warned me for what was going to happen and gave me a few instructions.... He gets nervous when talking with people and doesn't know what to say. But he tries so hard. He knows that he has trouble remembering and he prays for help very fervently. At first, I was a little frustrated, but then as I was praying, I felt the love that God has for me, and also for elder A So, since then, I have felt a lot different and looked at him differently. I need to repent for being so prideful and just accept the Lord´s will. At times it is difficult. I apologize for my pride. I hope that I will be able to help him this change.

My last day in Asturias, we visited the volcano and tried to find some new investigators. Successfully done. From where we were, I could see all the areas of my mission... I tried to take a video, but the day was not clear enough... but you know, whatever..jaja.. That night, we visited the familia interiano.. supposedly, the mom and the daughter got baptized this weekend, we were going to wait for the husband to get his Parkinson's under control.. that family is that of the attached fotos...(totally realized i translated that sentence from Spanish to English...JAJA!) the father wasn't in it.

I finished the Book of Mormon this week again this week. I started it again and plan to finish it in April before general conference to conform with a challenge made by the area president... I will just read 4 pages a night before bed. So I can focus on other studies. I love the Book of Mormon. It is so powerful and it really changes lives. I have had so many cool experiences with investigators and the Book of Mormon. Especially the ones that have gotten baptized.

I have started to study preach my gospel in depth. I am marking them in cool ways and its all sacred to me now... I will do it in Spanish and English before the next change. (studying the little ones;)) only because they opened by themselves in the package! don't get mad! That's the only thing opened!

President wanted me to ask for the address of the bishop and the stake president to write them a letter... can you do that for me? Please and thank yous.

My new area has the place where lots of missionaries go before they finish to get a bunch of tourist stuff... I let you all in on the scoop of what they all have:)

We have already been offered a place to skype on Christmas.. So that will be awesome.. That week of Christmas, Monday the 24 will not be p day.. I will call on the 25 and the 26 I will be going to the temple and it will be pday.. so I will write the 26 in that week.

So here is some big news: the change in February has been shortened by one week.. so that means that the change I go home on will be one week earlier. So I would be coming on the 16 of may... so there should be no problem anymore with Austin's graduation and what not.. right? cool beans:)

I love this gospel and the joy it brings to families. Hopefully we can give a gift to Christ the Christmas and get someone baptized. I have been doing some nasty jam on lessons and it has turned out to be awesome.

Teancum newsletter:
Welcome Teancumites!
Remember that Teancum and his army were an elite group. That is what we want to be for this mission. This email is set up to share successful ideas on how to find, teach, and baptize. Let me brief you on existing projects:
bungee: shorter lessons
Rip tear: have them imagine they only have a week to live and tell the to write something to their loved ones... then rip them up... get them to feel it.
Bomb: an attempt to explode the excitement of the ward en cuanto a missionary work.. it has many sub projects as well.
jump-roids: presidents idea to leave blessings on peoples houses. The bungee on steroids
Jam on (dazzle fest) Just Answer My Only Need. Teaching people not lessons on a whole new level. And, a la vez, dazzling them with the spirit. Send ideas and all you have on Jam on dazzle fest.
simp swip whip grip: showing a movie about small and simple things to members. Giving them a BoM and telling them to write their testimonies in them to give to others.
Jump on it??: a mix between jump roids and jam on?
sky fall: this one is in the works. Preach my gospel has 5 lessons to help investigators become converts. We want to have 3-4 lessons to transform a member into a missionary... lesson ideas?
Anyway, hopefully we can become more effective missionaries with this email! Enjoy and go baptize!

Dad, I got a talk for you by Elder Holland: "within the clasp of your arms" thanks for being a great dad!  I love you!
Mum, Thanks for everything you are a pretty cool mum.
Austin,sounds like you are still a huge stud! keep shufflin!
Ellie, sounds like everything is good with you as well! learn to shuffle
Brynn, sounds like you are starting to get the hang of the crutches and stuff:) and it looks like you ate really expensive pupusas!!!! jaja... I hope everything is going great and I hope that the Aphrodite things works out.

Santa Tecla- Weel 71

Hellos! So big news..... again... I have changes.... again. Can you believe it? Two times in a row.... but, I am a lot less bummed about being changed this time than last time... but still... it kinda sucks.. We had the familia Interiano ready for baptism this week. So that has happened two times in my mission... getting changed the week of the baptism..but whateves...

So early this week, a member from the volcano took us around the volcano in his car for 3 hours. He was showing us where everyone lives and how many people actually live up there. There are 10,000 people that live up there. And they are so much more humble and loving than the people in Santa Tecla. I was really excited to be able to work up there.. but.. now I have changes... jajaja..

got my Christmas packages!!!

I went to the foot doctor again to see how my toenail has been doing... She said it is looking good minus the fungus.. jaja... But she said it would probably be a good idea to go to her to check it out about once a month. And she said she would give me some stuff to get the fungus away when the nail starts getting better:)

This week I saw a little bit of The Who playing... and also, Paul from the Beatles.. it was super sick and it makes me want to play in a band..jaja.

If the whole paramedic thing doesn't work out, maybe I could just be an EMT and work in an ambulance.???

this week I had divisions with Elder De leon.. from Guatemala. That was super fun. We played this game called pictureka that night..jajaj! 

Today we had the spectacular Moroni´s de Oro meeting... I took about a twenty minute video of it all.. I will have to explain to you what it is sometime:) I won the best guara espalda.

There have been some weird days up on the volcano..jaja... people are sometimes super funny..jaja!

We were thinking about starting a Teancumite newsletter.. but we will see where that idea goes..jaja!

We got to watch the Christmas devotional last night from the first presidency. That was super spiritual and super awesome:) I was only able to see it in Spanish, but you know, whatever... I love hearing the voice of the prophets:)

This week we were looking for this guy that we have been teaching that lives near the cemetery..some guys told us that he was in the cemetery so we went for a look.. as we were searching, a guy comes up and starts talking to us in English. And he starts telling us about a bunch of stories of the people buried there.. Latin cemeteries are a lot different than American ones by the way..jaja!

Last story of the week: we had a lesson in the house of a member with the familia Interiano. We asked them first, what they would say to Christ if he were in the room with us. Then they started with the answers, then I asked them how they might feel. and more answers... then we asked them to close their eyes as we read 3 nephi 11 8-14 very slowly with a lot of feeling... Then I told them how I might feel in his presence. Knowing how unworthy I am of his presence and the many sins that I have, I would probably ask for forgiveness.. then we went to chapter 27:20-21 And talked about what he wants us to do.. He wants us to repent and use his marvelous gift of the atonement... when I looked into their eyes, I saw tears in 3 sets of them.. it was super powerful and I am super grateful for the gift of the atonement.

I love you all! thank you so much for everything!

TTT

austin, happy birthday! i cant beleive your 18! that is so awesome. thinking of myself at that age makes me realize how really awesome you are. When nephi and lehi (brothers) are preaching in the book of helaman, it says that lehi was not behind lehi one bit concerning righteousness... i try to be like lehi trying to be like nephi, in other words, you. thank you for being such a great example to me. love ya bro and happy birthday:)

Santa Tecla-Week 70

HELLO!

Thanks for all your letters and stuff... you guys are pretty cool:)

So this week I had divisions with Elder Scurr, so that was pretty cool and pretty interesting. He came to do some interviews for some people that we were supposed to baptize this month.. The mother and the daughter passed. But the father has Parkinson's and is not really ready... so we are going to try to wait for him to be ready.... we will see what happens there.. super cool family.. There is a new rule that if we don't baptize once a month, we have to write Elder Martino and tell him why... so I will probably have to write him for November. But its cool, cuz we are buds. jaja...

We had a few opportunities for service. My grandma salvadoreña wanted us to sand and paint this Disney ponochio thing.... I basically did it because I had a little bit of knowledge in painting from art class in high school... there was a lot of detail and I would not have known how to do it... I just think that it is really cool that sometimes stuff from high school or college helps me out in the mission.  

I get stressed when we don't really have investigators.... gotta do something about that!

Presidency of the area wants all the members to read the Book of Mormon before April... I guess their personal conversion is something that is pretty important right now.. We are having a special broadcast next Sunday from the presidency of the area to all the stakes in Central America... should be interesting.

 

So I got to 18 months yesterday, I got a new and last toothbrush of the mish.. I am starting to get a little scared about the real world.. and me looking back on these past 18 months thinking, (have I done everything I thought I would do? Have I become the person I wanted to become?.... deep questions like that.. That scare you! yikes!

We started a secret combination of righteousness in the mission.. Members: me, Elder Graves, Elder Mehr, and Elder King. We are called: the band of Teancum.. its like an underground missionary group and we like brainstorm ideas and stuff... we have been talking a lot about jam on. We also talked with a psychologist from my ward about it... The trick is to try and teach something that is going to help people receive the gospel in a way that is meaningful to them. So we have been talking about the culture of the country and its actually pretty sad.. something that you guys probably don't know is that this country is filled with sin and wickedness. Everyone says they believe in God, but don't pray, read, and at times, don't go to church. This country is filled with deceit. Satan has such a huge hold on the hearts of the people here, to the point that they think that they have enough and don't need anymore.. The people that do go to church think that they just have to accept Christ and that's all they have to do.. so they sin and do whatever they want. Satan uses peculiar ways to keep people away from the truth. 2 Nephi 28:8-9 is so true in this country. Like you wouldn't believe. Sometimes I feel like Alma and the sons of Mosiah when they said they wished that they were angels so that they could speak with the voice of a trump declaring this gospel.. wickedness is so strong here... this country doesn't prosper because it doesn't follow any commandments. No one wants to invest in this country in any business because of the distrust. No one trusts in anyone. Its super sad. People say that their families are important but they have no family bonds or ties. Family dinner is nonexistent. I have only met one or two families that are even close to the way that we are as a family. Where my best friends are Dad and Austin, how I consider them my best friends and we do everything together. So we are trying to figure some stuff out there... we`ll see.

Mum, thanks for everything... green eyes is a super awesome song... picture of my agenda was for today. Because I am vivienda la vida today:) thanks for everything! I love you! (I think I am going to start figuring out some school stuff today, FYI)

Dad, thanks for your letter, I hope everything goes well with the business. Get back on the bike! or your December race will be hard! love ya pops! Nice girl dog you guys are getting!

Austin, I hope everything is going great! Sounds like life is awesome! have fun in Mexico buey! (don't say that or you will be in trouble down there in Mexico)Jajaja... WHOOP!

Ellie, just keep shuffling! don't worry about getting hit in the face a lot jaja.!

Brynn, stay happy! love ya!

gracias por todo!!!!

SALU

TTT

Santa Tecla- Week 69

HELLO!

This week was absolutely incredible. Thanksgiving feast was pretty non existent, but you know, still thankful for tons of stuff.

So last Monday, we went to a members house that lives in an American community. (BTW, my area is the second richest of the mission.) Anyway, it was a mom and a daughter, both salvadoreñas... and the mom looks absolutely gringa... like super gringa... like, I thought she was a gringa because her hair is so blond and her skin is so white... but that's not even the crazy part, she talks like our cousin. jajajaja... so you can only imagine that we were there for a while just listening to her... jajaja!.

On Tuesday, we had divisions with the assistants. I went with Elder Naylor, a fellow cyclist, and it was awesome... I actually hosted him in the MTC when he came. Their area is the area of the temple, so we got to teach at the temple which was awesome. We also walked inside the temple to drop some stuff off at the front desk and guess who I find........ Frank Wall. It was so awesome to see him.. and he was super excited about it all. and me too. Basically on Tuesday, I learned that I have so much to learn. Elder Naylor is an awesome missionary. Also on Tuesday, a powerful convert from my ward left for his mission to Argentina. He is a super cool guy and is the only person who I have met that knows who the bands are that I like:) he also gave me a few to look up:The cribs, the libertines, the national, and Interpol. never heard of them...jaja.

We also had multizonas this week. A huge part was on faith. I really learned a lot. Its kinda funny how the Lord prepares you for things like multizonas. For the past week or two, I have been thinking about my faith, and what I can do to increase my faith and baptize. I have always believed that the culture of the mission should not determine success, but there is absolutely no excuse to not baptize every month. I could say that I have done all I can do, but if that were true, I would be baptizing a lot more.

The last couple weeks, I have really been realizing the responsibility that I have as a leader in the mission. Before, I didn't really think much of it. But about a month ago, it all hit me like a rock. It is a huge part of my responsibility to help the zone baptize. And that may sound obvious, but when it actually enters your heart, its a lot different. At times I feel really incapable at times, not only to be a representative of the Lord, but to be a leader in the mission. At times I don't know what to do, but that's where the power of prayer comes in. We have been trying to help them with their accountability to the Lord. So we have thought up a number of questions to ask themselves at the end of each day.. and to put them on their pillow before their prayers every night.

Also, I am super grateful for having Elder Graves as a companion. I have really learned urgency from him. The urgency of the work. And I feel that through him, I have become a little more converted to being a witness of Jesus Christ, of being a missionary. I know that it is the work of the Lord. And it has become my life and my conviction.

Marion G Romney said, "I always know when I am talking by the holy ghost, because I always learn something from what I say." I have definitely and a few of those moments this week and its awesome.

There is a guy in my ward that has the same posture as Austin when he was like ten and put his shoulder up`and put his ear next to it..jajajaja.

band of teancum is growing stronger. members count: 5

We have had a lot of opportunities for service this week. We helped build a house on the volcano and painted a house in the valley... cool beans!

there was a relief society activity on Saturday where I saw a lot of people from my ward in Nuevo Lourdes.:) Then yesterday there was a special conference from the area president, Elder Martino. Last night, I saw people from every one of my areas. One person from Zacamil, one from Valle Nuevo, a bunch from Nuevo Lourdes. And one from San Vicente. They were from that one family that I told you about that is just awesome. Alejandra and her mom. They gave us lunch on Sundays and were basically my family in San Vicente. I was super super excited to see her and it made my week. awesome stuff:)

We had an interesting experience with someone that we are teaching. Its that guy that has Parkinson's, He really wanted to go to church and he told his wife that if he doesn't feel good, he might take something to kill himself.. so we talked with my tia of this area who happens to be a psychologist, and she gave us some advice, We had a good lesson with him last night. I think that he gets how important he is to his family and to the Lord now:)

So today you guys get a long letter because I copied and pasted a few things that I wrote to president:) hope you enjoy!

SALU PUE

Elder Thornton.