May 26, 2015

This week has been really interesting and has had its ups and downs but I have learned a ton! The branch had an activity every day this past week for the week of the family. Each night they did something different and every night there was an investigator in attendance or a friend of the members. There was a lot of participation from all the members and I have some pictures from the Talent show that they did the second to last night. There were 4 missionaries that night in San Juan La Noria and they commited a family of 6 to baptism and all of the accepted. It was a pretty fun Talent show and a great week of activities. They ended the week with a devotional from Elder Richard G. Scott and we just watched a video from 2012 on how to strengthen and prepare for eternal marriage and also some advice for Young adults on how to prepare for that. It was a great devotional but don't worry... I'm still focused. ;)

This week the storms are beginning to come and one night the lightning was so close and loud it was frightening. The power goes out a ton here in this area, for any little thing that happens the power goes out. So one night my companion and I were getting ready for bed and in one moment there was lightning that struck nearby and there was a pop and all the lights went out. But I went to check and the fridge was still on, so we found out that the power got so strong due to the lightning strike that is burned all of the lights in our house. So for 3 days we were planning and getting ready for bed with our flashlights but first thing on Pday we took care of our lights! Rainy season has come and I can tell it rains super hard here.

This week church was hard as not 1 investigator attended, but my companion and I took this as an opportunity to focus on what we need to do better in order to help people attend church. We decided we needed to look for ways to invite the spirit even more in our lessons. We have also made plans with our Branch President to get a bus and go by the houses of our investigators that live super far away, in this area we have some towns that are an hour and a half walking distance from the church and the people don't attend for this but they want to attend church and believe this is the true church, but we think that if we can get a bus and go by then this will help these investigators find the need to sacrifice a little and attend church on Sunday. I have learned a ton about sacrifice here in the mission and although I can't make people sacrifice, I can help them see the importance to sacrifice. I also know now that I need to make sacrifices in my life if I am going to ask others to do so. 

I hope you all have an amazing week and know I love you, 

Elder Daybell

May 19, 2015

Hey Everyone,

   This week has been super crazy and it all started the last Tuesday after internet. Due to some emergency changes that took place in the other area of our District, Elder Daybell is a new District Leader! It is a little crazy how things took place but I am happy to have this calling to serve other missionaries and help the work progress here in the District of La Noria Tiquisate!  I had to give a class this morning and I was super nervous because the zone leaders came, but it all went well.

   We have been working super hard and fasting every Sunday to see miracles in this area because we felt a little lost, but after 2 long weeks of finding and praying and working hard with faith, we now have 2 investigators that are going to be baptized and are attending church and progressing. One of them is the brother of the girls that we baptized at the beginning of this month, the other is a lady that just got married to her husband and he is a member and she isn't. These are some huge miracles for us and I have seen the hand of the Lord in this area as we have made some sacrifices.

    Other things that have happened in this week is the last Wednesday I got a sickness that is common to the coast areas due to the mosquitoes. It is called Chinconguya and it makes this red allergies show up on the skin and makes you hurt in about every part of the body where you bend such as the knees or the ankles up to the fingers. The first few days it was horrible! but it is slowly going away now and I have learned from this to put on bug spray...sorry mom. but I'm ok now :)

   Yesterday we had the opportunity to go to The Lake Atitlan or as some Book of Mormon Historians have called this lake, The waters of Mormon.This lake is so beautiful and so clear! It was a cool opportunity to go to this lake that is surrounded by 4 volcanoes but I only took a picture with 1. So here are some pictures from that. And a picture with my district

I love you all, have a great week

Elder Daybell

Max on a bridge in his area. 

Water's of Mormon 

Elder Daybell and his District 

Max and his new "Style"

May 12, 2015

Hey Everyone,

  I hope all you mothers enjoyed your special day, even though we should really give thanks to our mothers everyday. For me this day had it's ups and downs. The best part was that I got to speak with my mom and family! It was good to talk with them and the time went by so fast I couldn't believe it! I just have to wait another 7 months in order to talk with them again for a short 40 minutes! Wahoo! But it is going to go by fast I know because from Christmas to now was so fast I can't believe it! 

   This week was a little hard as there have been changes to the standards of the mission as well as changes in our area. In our mission, in every first visit we need to challenge the investigators to baptism with a date. This is a way to show our faith so that as a mission we can "Walk on water". I have enjoyed this new chance to show my faith and get rid of the fear to invite people to come into the true fold of God. 

    This Sunday was a hard day, apart from the skype call. We had the confirmation of the Hermana Norma and that was great! But we didn't have any other investigators attending although we had about 11 that told us they would attend. But we won't let that get us down, we are going to work hard this week and knock a lot of doors, or for my area we are going to yell into a lot of gates so they hear us in the houses! Sunday was also interesting because there was hardly anyone because we had a lot of people that went and did stuff for mothers day so we only had 25 people in the church. And by the last class we had to join everyone because there was only 2 ladies from Relief Society, 2 Priesthood Holders, 2 Young women and 1 primary child. And 2 elders and the President of the Branch. It was a great class that inspired the members to work more with their friends to help grow the branch and the kingdom of God here in San Juan La Noria. 

   Despite all the tough parts of this week we are putting the past behind us and working hard now so that in the future this Branch could grow even bigger! I have faith that we can do it and I have been learning a ton that by faith we really can work miracles but as faith is an action we have to do something in order to receive the miracle. That is why in our mission we are challenging every person in our lessons to baptism in the first visit and I know that in this way we are going to see many miracles. I hope you all have a great week!

Love,

Elder Daybell

May 5, 2015

Hey Everyone,

  Today is the 5 de Mayo but the Guatemalans do not celebrate this holiday. But nonetheless it will be a good day just as this week was. We have been working hard here and this week the baptisms of Hermanas Jenifer and Ericka and Norma came to pass! They are some amazing people and have strong testimonies of this church. And the Hermana Norma doesn't have much and she had a rough past life but she is looking at Baptism as a way to start over again and be a new person.

   We have been working with one man Josue or Joshua in English who is awesome and believes everything of our message and loves the concept of the Book of Mormon because it shows Gods love for all nations but the only problem is he hasn't come to church.We have made plans to visit him with the President of the Branch today and hopefully get him excited for church this week! 

   My new companion is Elder Rojas from Costa Rica, he is a new missionary straight out of the CCM and I will be his trainer for this change and possibly the next. He is awesome and has a huge testimony. I am happy to be working with him and being a teacher outside of the teaching haha. I feel bad that I have to walk super fast but he keeps up and possibly very soon I will be the one running behind him. It's crazy how I am the trainer but I am learning so much from this guy. it's so awesome how we have the opportunity to learn and grow from every person we meet. Every person, contact and member I have met here in the mission has helped me to learn and grow. 

    I hope you all have an amazing week and enjoy mothers day all you mothers out there. But I can't lie.... I have the best mother of them all and I get to talk to her in 5 days! Wooh!

Hasta Luego,

Elder Daybell

April 28, 2015

   Hey Everyone!

This week has been something special and with changes tomorrow it is going to be an interesting week this week. They called me on Wednesday and told me I would be training and that I had to go to a meeting on Friday in the capital at 10 in the morning but our area is 4 hours away and because we have to have 1 hour of study with our companion we woke up at 3 in the morning and left at 5 for the capital, this was a long day, I was so tired but so pumped to train. Tomorrow I will have to do the same but I will come back with my companion who I hope is right out of the CCM. I am so excited to train! And I did not get to go to the temple of Quetzaltenango because the branch couldn't find a bus for that day so they changed it and I am sure I can't go now. But we have 5 investigators that are going to attend with the branch.

     Elder Williams and I have been working hard here and we have had many miracles in this week. This weekend we are going to have 3 baptisms of some young women that have been attending for awhile but didn't get baptized because the Grandmother hasn't let them but finally gave permission and they have been working hard to stop drinking coffee, and also of a lady who was baptized in 1999 but didn't get confirmed for more than a year after so she has to be baptized and receive the Holy Ghost within a year. We also had a less active member Javier and his Wife Melany who is not a member attend church this week and they were super interested in the temple and are going to go with the branch this week. For a branch that has been slow in the past things are really speeding up and the number of people attending is getting higher and higher each week.

     I am so happy for this chance I have to be here in La Noria Tiquisate and help to build the kingdom of God in this part of the world. I have learned to work hard and love the people and that the hearts of people are changing. This branch has been here 20 years, the people in this small area have probably been contacted by the missionaries a thousand times but maybe just the 1 time they say yes and listen they feel the spirit and change. God is changing people to hear this message and with how fast I have seen some people change I know without a doubt that these are the last days and we need to thrust in our sickle as it says in D and C. I hope you all have an amazing week and work hard always!

Love,

Elder Daybell