April 14, 2015

Hey Everyone,

    I hope that you all had a great week and are ready for this new week. It's crazy how fast a week flies and then to think back on all the things that I did! Crazy how many things happened and what I learned just in 1 week I wish I could share it all but it's just impossible!

    This week on Saturday was the wedding for the Hermana and Hermano Reinosa. It was a cool branch event as just about all the members of the branch were there and it was funny when they asked if there were any objections and the phone of the Hermano Reinosa went off nice and loud. Everyone was laughing! And then the next day we had the baptism and it was just the same as the whole branch came to attend the baptism but this time they all went in bus to watch as their brothers and sisters entered into this wonderful gospel with them.  

    One thing that I have learned is that this branch is full of miracles. This Sunday an inactive member decided to attend church with his wife who is not a member. Yesterday we went with the Branch President and his family to have a family home evening and we got to talk about the faith and they were really involved! We have been having great success here and have only been inspired to work even more harder with the interviews that we had with President today! I am so happy to be teaching this wonderful message each and everyday and to watch as people feel the spirit from the words that we say. This message is true and is for each and every one of us. I hope you all have an amazing week! I love you all,

Elder Daybell

April 7, 2015

Hey Everyone,

   This Easter Weekend was a great start to this month with the General Conference. I wish I could share everything that I learned but I was only able to watch 1 session in English because the internet was dumb after the 1st session. I watched in Spanish but it just isn't the same I feel. But I loved the powerful way that President Eyring began the conference speaking about the law of the fast that we need to observe and the story he told about the blue shirt with yellow stripes and the blanket. As he talked a lot about the poor I thought a lot about the people in the area that I am at. Never in my life have I seen as many naked children because the parents are washing the little or only clothing that they have for them. I know all I can do right now is help these people with the word of God but I have gained a testimony through this area and the words of President Eyring on the tithing and how these funds truly help feed the hungry and clothe the naked. 

     As for the work here it is going absolutely great! This Saturday we have the wedding of our investigators the Family Reinoso and the next day Sunday the baptism of them! I am so excited for this weekend this family is so awesome. The names of the family is the father Nicho and the mother Maria and the kids, Angel, Oscar, Lesli, Nicho, Angie, and valerie. Of the family that will be baptized this week is Hermana Maria and Lesli and the sons Angel and Oscar. And Already the family is making plans to attend the temple in 1 year from this month. 

     Now as a lot of you know I am in a small area where the work is a little slow and I am definitely learning some patience here that is for sure. But I want to share what I have learned from James 1:22 in this week. You should all read it. But it says that we should be doers and not just hearers. So everything that we have heard from the conference we need to apply to our lives to better ourselves spiritually and otherwise we are just hearers. As well as it says in Juan10:27 the lambs follow Christ so first we need to hear the words of Christ and do what they say. I hope you can all be doers in this week and do what the Lord would have you do and I am going to do the same. As the work is slow here as I have heard I am going to put forth the effort to be a doer to change that slow progress to where the Lord wants it to be. I love you and hope you all have an amazing week! 

Love,

Elder Daybell

March 31, 2015

Hey Everyone,

   This has been a tough adventure getting to know a new area but we have been doing some work here. The president of the branch and the branch have been helping to raise one money for a family of our investigators to get married the 11th of November and this family plans to get baptized the day after. It has been cool to see their change just because 1 member shared a verse from the Book of Mormon and the father felt the spirit and came back to the church after years of inactivity and invited his family and they in turn have felt the spirit. This is the power of the Book of Mormon. I am glad we have the rule here to walk with this Book of Power in our hands. 

    Yesterday for Pday we helped Branch President with a service in order to prepare an activity for the primary that we have some investigators attending. We helped chop palm leaves and put them on top of like an outdoor hut or something like that. I forget the word in english for the things that give shade. Oh and something funny that I wanted to share is the name of the Branch President is Presidente Perdido. His last name is Perdido which means lost in English. To me it's funny with the form of Spanish because sometimes in Spanish they put the describing words after the noun so sometimes the people think we are talking about some Lost President of the branch and then we need to explain his name to everyone. 

   This week we are going to be working hard as usual and I am so excited for general conference this week in order to be able to learn to the prophets. We learn great things from the prophets and need to follow what they say. One thing we are doing here from the devotional we had from Elder Neil L. Andersen is he told us that we should memorize 10 scriptures from the Book of Mormon as well as 10 from the Bible. It's a little difficult but slowly I am adding to my list and I know these scriptures in Spanish so after the mission I'll have to memorize them again in English! I hope you all enjoy conference and listen and feel of the Spirit. I am so excited I can't even explain it. I hope you all have an amazing week! 

Love,

Elder Daybell

March 24, 2015

   Well I got to know my area after 2 days of knowing where I was going but not going and it is absolutely beautiful to say the least. We left the city of Tiquisate and headed out by orchards of Palm trees where they harvest oil. And in the middle of 2 orchards and a river is the town of La Noria. It is a super small town and we have already contacted every house but we will continue working hard here. We have a small little building in this area and it is pretty awesome. I also love that there are a million Mango trees and coconut trees, I just pick the mangoes and eat them there are we are working! I also got to drink some coconut milk and eat coconut here, it was awesome. Some other cool things about this area is everyone knows everyone but not by their real name, everyone has a nickname so if we ask them where a person lives using their real name they don't know who it is, but if we use their nickname...Everyone knows who we are talking about. 

     The branch is awesome here and the members have quite the testimony. We also have some great investigators here that we are working with. We had a family attend church where the father is a member less active and his family aren't members but they are planning on continuing to attend church. The father wants us to work with his family to so that they can all be members too. It's pretty crazy how even with how small this area is there are still miracles happening and we will continue to see miracles happening here until Christ comes. I have loved getting to know the people and members here, it has been a new experience that is certain but I love this area already, it is so beautiful. And a little hot, at the end of the day everyone is outside on their porches sitting in hammocks and just hanging out. 

     The biggest goal we have here is to reactivate a lot of members because we have a solid 30 to 40 attending every week but there are about 100 more that are less active members. I am super excited to work here and help the kindgom of God grow in this area, even if it just means helping people find their testimonies again! I love this area it really is a little piece of heave, it is so beautiful here. A little far away but that doesn't matter. I hope you all have an amazing week!

Love,

Elder Daybell

Elder Daybell in front of the Church building. 

Zone leaders and Elder Daybell and his companion. 

March 19, 2015

   This has been a crazy week. But as a lot of you know, I left my area and am now in a new area. It's a lot different but I will adjust. It was hard saying goodbye to my investigators and converts and friends, but we will always be friends and thanks to modern technology After the mission I can find them on the internet! We finished the change with the Baptism of Hermano Gustavo and I was honored to be the one to baptize him. (Photos will come next week) 

    But we had cambios on Tuesday because on Wednesday we had a pretty sweet reunion. And the news from the change is that I am in the zone of Tiquisate (Tiki-saw-tay)out on the coast. And I was only over here overnight but it was so hot, even at the night time. My area is La Noria and it is basically one of the 2 farthest areas from the city in the mission. My companion is Elder Williams and he is from Panama. He has 4 months in the mission so as well I am now Senor Companion. I am nervous but know I can do what I need to do with the Lords help.

    I have not been to my area yet, but I will get there in about an hour after this. Tuesday night we stayed in the house of the office missionary's because our area is so far away. Yesterday we had a big meeting with 2 other missions to listen to Neil L. Andersen speak to our missions. We began with everyone greeting him with a handshake. That was a sweet experience for me. And after he talked about how we can receive guidance from the spirit better if we get to know the scriptures better. He also talked about applying the atonement of Jesus Christ more to our lives and our teachings. It was a great devotional and after we headed for Tiki. we got to the house of the zone liders at like 10 at night and stayed there because our area is still a ways away. But I am so excited for this opportunity I have to serve here and although it is hot I am going to be doing some hard walking and teaching here. I am so ready to help this branch of La Noria grow and become stronger. I hope you all have a great week and know I love you all so much.

Love,

Elder Daybell

March 10, 2015

  Hey everyone! 

    This week was a little tough but you always have those weeks in the mission I guess. There were still a lot of good things don't get me wrong, it was jus a bit stressful but all is well. And I have some news. My companion got a call and he will be training someone right out of the CCM which means he stays and... I go. So in one week I will find out my new area and be serving there. And then on Wednesday of the next week our mission has a meeting with Elder Neil L. Andersen in the afternoon. So I will not be writing until Thursday of the next week (Mom that's for you... Don't call President) ;)

     The sad part of this week was that on Sunday we were going to have a baptism but then our investigator Gustavo went to spend the weekend with his Grandpa in the hospital. But this is definitely going to happen this week! He still wants to get baptized and believes the church is true, so my last Sunday here will be awesome because I will get to see him be baptized. But we had some great miracles this Sunday when we had our investigator Hno Kevin attend and he feels that God doesn't answer him and the topic of the class this week was prayer. So we hope that he took what we learned about prayer and applied it to better his prayers with God. I know I did. The prayer is very important and I honestly don't know what I would do without it, I have learned to seriously pray in every moment. 

     This week as well my friend and convert Hno Royer received the Aaronic Priesthood for the office of a teacher. He was really nervous but after his interview with the Bishop he seemed so excited and when we visited that night he was telling us how ready he was to help with the duties of the Sacrament. He is going to be a great missionary someday and he has a great older brother to be the example of that! 

   For Pday I played basketball finally! Wahoo, after 5 months I got to play some hoops and I really need to practice. I may spend days after my mission at the courts working on my shot again. But it was still fun and the P day before we went to the zoo here and it was really cool.

   I hope you all have an amazing week and know I love you. This week may have been rough but that happens in this life. But as Presidente taught us today in our zone training days will be tough, we will suffer. In the Book of Mormon we read many times that the Lord will not take away the battle, but if we endure it he will ease our load and helps us fight the battle with ease!

Love, 

Elder Daybell 

I didn't waste time at the zoo either, I contacted this Gorilla but he wasn't quite ready. Didn't pay attention or answer my questions... He just looked mad. 

March 3, 2015

    March has begun here in Guatemala and it is HOT! The weather heats up here for April and March according to the people and them in May begins the time of neverending rain for like 4 or 5 months! It's hot but we are still working hard and walking fast. My companion has destroyed his 4th pair of shoes on the mission and needs to buy some more tomorrow during Pday. 

    I hope that all has been going well for everyone and I want you to know I love the mission! We have been working with the Grandson of my convert Hermana Estela and on Sunday before church, we saw they hadn't come when they were always there early. So we gave them a call about 10 minutes before church started and Hna Estela said she was sick and couldn't make it. So we tried to find help in the ward from someone to go pick up Gustavo but we couldn't find anyone. We called Hna Estela again and she told us she got up and was getting ready and wouldn't let the Satan the Enemy stop her from going to church with Gustavo so he could be baptized. Her Faith was incredible and because she was able to overcome this trial her grandson will be baptized this Sunday! Hna Estela also attended the next classes after sacrament meeting and was basically free of her sickness as soon as she got to the church. It was amazing to see this miracle and she asked me after church "Hermano (They hardly ever call us Elders here just because it's weird to them) this was of the enemy right?" And I told her yes but her faith was stronger than him.

   And it's true our faith is stronger than Satan the enemy and we must always remember that! There are evil forces in this world but the forces of Good are better. I am not very good at remembering scriptures but there is a scripture in Corinthians or Romans that says we should overcome evil with good. Let your good acts this week overcome the evil that we see in the world!

I hope you have a wonderful week and can feel the spirit all around you all. 

Love,

Elder Daybell