May 31, 2016

Hey Everyone, 

The weeks pass by so quickly and then I sit down to internet and I don't know what to write. Sometimes it feels like the same old but I am loving every minute of it all. 

We had a pretty sweet miracle when we had splits with the elders in Santiago. I went with Elder Serrano and we visited with an investigator that they had been teaching but who was a little nervous about baptism. Her name was Sandra. We sat down and they first played a joke on me saying that Sandra was Sara and Sara was Sandra, I was super confused for like 5 minutes. Then we started into the lesson. She knew exactly why she needed to be baptized, she just didn't want to. I just tried to be super excited the whole time about baptism, she also got pretty excited and then I challenged her to baptism on Friday, she started talking to her family in her native langauge and then turned to us and said yes. We spent almost all of Friday traveling back to Santiago, a 3 hour drive to get there and another 3 to get back, in order to do the interview and help out with the baptism. That was a big miracle for this past week! The spirit guided us in that lesson and another daughter of God was added to his kingdom. 

I hope you all have a good wee and can find someone to reach out too in this week! I love you all

Elder Daybell

Pictures. 

Taking pictures on the roof of the Santiago house with the Volcanoe in the background. 

May 24, 2016

Hey everyone!

This was a pretty great week as well. We had a lot of struggles but we had a lot of miracles as well. I think that's just how the work in Solola is. I'm just glad I have a good companion or I would probably just go crazy!

Really all we have been trying to do right now is find people that are prepared. We are working with members, knocking doors and just doing it all. We can find lots of people to teach, the key is finding people that are willing to go to church. Last week we went to one area where we thought not many missionaries had knocked before. We found out that the reason why is because in that area they don't really speak spanish.... so that made finding people really difficult haha. 

We had some investigators in church, just not really anyone progressing. But we are going to find someone this week, I just know it. Yesterday for Pday we played soccer with some of the missionaries in our zone. It was a lot of fun, I scored a few goals for my team, a few for the other as well, in the end I learned one thing. Soccer isn't for me, haha. Well I hope that everyone has a great week. I love you all! 

Elder Daybell

May 17, 2016

Hey Everyone!

Well at least the walking part of it is all uphill, we're giving it our all though so that we can have all of it going uphill. We worked super hard this week and were able to find a lot of new people to teach. This week was also the week of the family so there were activities all week long in the church, and on Friday there was the biggest activity of them all where all the branches got together! There were a total of 12 investigators at that activity. We were able to talk to a bunch of them and set up times to go visit them. 

As for Sunday that was pretty interesting. There was a big conference and all the 3 branches were together again. We had 8 investigators attending... but only 1 of them is progressing and ready for baptism. We are happy to have 1 investigator, but I have never had that many investigators attend and only 1 of them be progressing, but it's ok we are working for miracles in this work right. So this week we are going to work so hard and find more people that will progress and we may have a baptism with Hermana Lucy de Antonio this week. 

For Pday we kind of just took it easy! It was a clear day too! So I finally got to take some pictures by the lake. Now you can all see why this is the prettiest area that I have been in. Then we just chilled in the house and got it cleaned up. It was a super relaxing Pday before another long week of running up hills! It's all uphill from here! Love you all and hope you have a great week. 

Elder Daybell

The beauty of Lake Atitlan (The waters of Mormon) porque asi se llamaban. Mosiah 18:8-10

Sometimes the best way to travel around the lake is in the back of a truck... this is the only zone in the mission that has permission to do this so we are living it up! 

May 11, 2016

Well changes came around yet again! Elder Vega left to his last area and I received Elder Kendall from Highland Utah here in Solola.I think that makes 4 companions in a row from Utah! Utatecos baby! This will be his last area because he leaves 1 change before me. I am pretty excited to work with him and it should be a fun change! 

As for the progress of the area we are getting better. Yesterday was mothers day here in Guatemala so it was pretty closed off in our area. It was a great welcoming day for my companion as we only had 2 lessons all day long! We were rejected all day but it should be a better day today. The funny thing about this area is we can talk to people and get to know them very well and be best friends... but then we change the subject and say Jesus Christ or we want to talk to you about God and we become their worst enemies and they send us away in a blink of an eye. hahaha oh missionary life! 

Today we had a great zone training and are excited to keep working hard! Lots of missionaries will be leaving the mission in these next 3 changes so it is our job as leaders to train all the young ones to be good leaders as well and be super dedicated to this work! I love you all and hope that you have a great week! 

Elder Daybell

May 3, 2016

Hey Everyone, 

Well rainy season has started here in Guatemala, it took us by surprise one day and well it hit us when we realized we were soaked from head to toe. Here in Solola last week it rained almost nonstop from Monday to Thursday. Thursday night President called us to see how we were because it rained so hard the streets in Solola turned into rivers up to our mid calf... and that's not exaggerating. He called us because he saw it on the news. But we keep on pushing forward! 

We are still working with Byron and Lucy, Byron talked to the Branch President this week!!! He is so up for a change. He is seriously making a huge change, it truly is a miracle and we have been able to get many members to help support him. Now we just need to focus on getting his wife baptized so that they can go to the temple here soon. 

We had the chance during the week to go visit a hospital where some doctors came from the states to help the people here in Solola that needed Surgeries and other operations. The organization is called Love in Action. They give these surgeries and other operations free in order to help those in need. It was a humbling experience to watch these Doctors give their talents and abilities to help God's children be a little more happy on this earth. What an example of Charity they were for me. I hope to be able to have that same attitude of Charity even after the mission. I love you all and hope you can all find time to give of your talents and abilities to help God's children have more happiness as well. 

Love, 

Elder Daybell 

April 26, 2016

Hey Everyone, 

This last week was an adventure that is for sure. On Wednesday we had interviews with President Markham and right after that is when our interesting week began. 

We had splits every single day last week for 3 days straight so I worked with my companion on Tuesday and then not again until Saturday. On Wednesday I went to an area and "group" that we are opening in the zone called San Pedro. It doesn't have enough members to be a branch and the missionaries are in charge of it so that was a pretty cool experience. Then we went to our area on Thursday to have splits with the assistants. And well to my surprise my companion Elder Gallacher stepped out of the car and well he is a new assistant. I got to work with him on Thursday again and that was a blast. We found a lot of positive people. And Friday we had splits with Panajachel. 

We continue to work with Byron and Lucy. Her baptism is planned for this Sunday. we have a lesson with her on Wednesday that will decide what goes on. 

As for today we have splits again. We are in an area called Santiago Atitlan and we had to wake up at 3:30 to get here at 8 in the morning. Have I mentioned this zone is huge? And also no one here speaks spanish, they all speak something called sutujil. So it is going to be an interesting day, it will feel like my first day in the mission again! 

Love you all, 

Elder Daybell 

fotos are of the Santiago District! 

April 19th, 2016

Hey Everyone! 

This week was a tiring week but that is missionary work sometimes. We spent most of the week looking for people to teach and well we found 2 families. The men in these families are both members that are working hard to become active members. The women are really positive seekers of the truth. 

The first family we found is Lucy and Byron Antonio. We know them because Byron is the son of a member family that we visit often. He has had his struggles but since the moment we have visited him and his wife he has made some big changes. Byron last night in the family home evening thanked us that we have visited him, he is willing to make the changes so that him and his wife can enter the temple and be sealed a year after she is baptized. 

The second family that we found is about the same, the man Herbert has been a member his whole life. His wife, Maria Fernanda has had lots of experiences in the church and goes every week. She has not been baptized for some bad experiences that she has had with the members in the church. She has gone to the temple open house that was here in 2011 and has a strong testimony of the priesthood power. We hope that we can help them so that she can accept the fulness of the gospel through baptism. We know that if these 2 ladies get baptized they will go to the temple and be sealed for time and eternity. 

This week we are going to focus on these families and on finding even more people. For Pday we went down to Pana to walk down to the lake and take some pictures... but it was foggy and you couldn't see everything good. But meanwhile we found a member selling Solola traditional dress. So for a good price I got these pants. The pants that I have on in the picture is what guys in my area wear all the time to work in the onion fields! Pretty colorful! 

Love you all,

Elder Daybell