October 21, 2014

I found a computer with an enter button that works! But here is my week in a nutshell.

Wednesday to Friday: I really wish I had a lot to write but mostly everything has been the same this week as it has always been, Alot of work and no sleep. i've been really tired this week but it has all been good.

Saturday: We did something new this day, we went and did real live street contacting! They opened the gates of the CCM and our district took some pamphlets and LDM and went and talked to real people on the street about the gospel. Everyone listens, we only had 1 guy not want to listen. We placed a Libro de Mormon with a lady who didn't want it at first because she thought we were selling it. After we gave it to her she said she didn't want to take lessons so we didn't get an address. We heard later from others in our district that she went and sat down and started reading the pamphlets as soon as we left. I hope she feels the spirit and wants that in her life because I love how much this gospel has blessed my life. All I can do now is pray and hope the best for her.

Sunday: I love Sundays here! They are nice and relaxing and full of devocionals that just get me pumped for the field. I only have a week left here, that is hard to believe but I am pretty excited.

Monday: It was a day back to work and these are always the longest because you just countdown until Martes which is Pday. We had some good conversations with our new roommates they are pretty cool and both of them are going to Central. One of them said we're going to be companions one day and I certainly hope so... after I learn Spanish.

Tuesday: We went to the temple, and this may be my last time going to the temple for 2 years it was pretty great. i'm gonna miss the temple, and now I am here writing. Not much has happened I know. these emails will be more interesting and full of stuff when not every single day is about the same. I may not have much to talk about but I have a testimony of this gospel, I was the happiest person in the world on Saturday when I got the chance to share that LDM and i know it is true. I am glad families are for eternity and I want everyone to know this. I love you all my next email will be when I am in the field.

Hasta Luego,

Elder Daybell

Elder Daybell and his MTC District at the Temple

Guatemala City Temple

October 14, 2014

Hey everyone! I can't believe it has been a month. Lots of good things have been happening here and I'm loving every moment here. It has been a rainy week. 

Wednesday: They brought skittles here for purchase and that was pretty awesome. I miss American candy so much. Wednesdays are always a little tough because it's the day after Pday but I'm usually really pumped to get back to work too! We had a great lesson this day without investigator Gabriel and he almost said yes to baptism again. He said he feels the spirit and knows what we say is true it's just different for him. 

Thursday: More work that is for sure. We had a lesson with Gilda and she accepted baptism! The spirit was there in that lesson and it was pretty cool. I began to realize I love teaching lessons because since I am forced to speak only Spanish I realize how much I have learned in 4 weeks. 

Friday: I feel bad I don't have much to write but the mornings are mostly filled with study and language practice and the afternoons are the interesting parts where the teaching happens and stuff like that. We went to teach Gabriel, but he dropped us at the door. It was sad because we saw things improving in his life and could feel the change in our lessons. It was a sad rest of the night until planning. Our teacher walked in the room while we were planning and we all saw it in his hands. 3 dear elders and a handwritten letter, the first ones anyone had seen in our district! He taunted us with them for a half an hour and just before he left he handed them out and I was so happy when the letter was for me. That made my night so much better and gave me more hope for the rest of the week with Gabriel dropping us. 

Saturday: We taught Gilda again and things went well but she isn't progressing much because she isn't doing anything we ask her too. It's frustrating but I want to help. 

Sunday: We had a great Sacrament meeting and had many great devotionals. My favorite devotionals to watch are of Elder Holland because he always says "No one has been affected more from a mission than me" He is such a powerful speaker. This devotional he said as a missionary you should convert yourself first before you teach that is the most important. The thing he hates most is when a missionary serves for 2 years and then becomes inactive. He said if that's any of you Elders you better hope you don't see me in any dark alleys you're walking in. Our Latino roommates learned a new game that we all played this night and it was fun. We played Ninja strike it was awesome. 

Monday: Mondays are so hard because I just can't wait for Tuesday. We had a surprise though, our new investigator is Gabriel. The first missionaries before helped him and this is us teaching him again 2 years later. It was pretty good but weird at the same time. He committed to baptism the 1st lesson which just had me in awe. 

Tuesday: This morning I woke up at 5 to say goodbye and good luck to our Latino roommates because they are leaving from the airport to their missions which are in Nicaragua. As I said good luck Elder Miranda said In Spanish: I will see you in heaven again. I may never see those guys in this life but I know we will have the chance to discuss our missions in the eternities. I said Hasta Luego to him instead of Adios because Hasta Luego means: Until Later. We went to the temple this morning and after this we are going to the small market just down the street. This is like a small supermarket for us to buy treats and things we feel we need for the mission field which is 2 weeks away! crazy huh.

Well I want you all to know that I know this church is true. Everything just makes sense that this is for eternity it's wonderful! I love you all.

Love Elder Daybell

October 7, 2014

 

Elder Daybell and his District. Max was recently called as the District Leader 

I am here to report on my 3rd week in the CCM. 

Tuesday: My day of culture shock. We actually went outside the CCM to the market which was awesome! And we got Wendy's which was a bendicione (blessing)At the market I bought a guatemala soccer jersey and some small knickknacks. The market was more colorful than anything I have ever imagined. One interesting thing about the guatemalans is they love Minions from despicable me! There are tons of small toys and shirts with the minions on them. I may have to buy one in the field. As we drove back from the market we passed the poorest spot in the city and it was just a hillside of shacks stacked on top of each other, I was filled with a lot of sadness when I saw that but I know that they may not have all the things of the world, but they do have the full love of God as does each and every one of us. 

Wednesday: We hit the books hard and got 2 new roommates. One of our roommates is from Bolivia and the other from Salvador. They both have quite the backstory with one of them being a gangster in the drug cartel and the other inactive for 6 of the 3 years he was a member. They are an example to me of how anyone can change and God will always love you the same. One of them said (in spanish and I understood it by the way, the gift of tongues is real) That because of all Christ has done for him he sees his mission as his debt owed to Christ because of His Atonement. That roommate is 26 by the way. They are both great at helping us with our Language practice and just laugh if we don't understand.

Thursday: We had a great day of learning the language and working hard this day. We had our lesson with our investigador Gilda. She's tough because she never does what we commit her to do but the lesson went great! 

Friday: We had a ton of success with our investigador Gabriel this day. He always said no to taking the book of Mormon or even praying the way we do, but we taught him about the plan of salvation and how he could live with his Mom again and he gratefully accepted and was eager to read this time and he almost said yes to baptism after thinking about it for 2 minutes! 

Saturday and Sunday: Some of my favorite days so far because of the General conference. Conference was amazing and all the talks I felt I could apply to me. Funny how amazing these talks are filled with the spirit and you can apply to your life if you stay awake :) My favorite talk was Elder Hollands talk because I have seen a lot of poor here and am so excited to serve these people and give them all that I have, which the best thing being the complete gospel of Jesus Christ on this earth. Yo tengo un tesimonio que la iglesia de Jesucristo de los Santos De Los Ultimos Dias contanas la cumplir del evangelio de Jesucristo y que todos personas pueden vivir con Dios y Cristo ultro ves. 

Monday: We got right back to work but it was a little longer because we were all a little anxious to write our Families. I had a nice conversation in Spanish with a Latino named Elder Santos and it was crazy to see how much I could communicate with someone only 3 weeks after starting to learn the language. I know where he is from, his mission his plans after his mission and the fact that he has a girlfriend serving in the same country he will be serving in. I thought it was amazing that I could say so much and understand so much only 3 weeks in! Its funny hearing the Latinos try to copy our English but i'm sure that is how we sound speaking Spanish! haha.

I love you all and I miss you all too! But I know I have been called of a prophet of God to serve these people and I already love the Guatemalans so much and I haven't even been out of the CCM. I love you all and I testify that I know that God loves you all more than I possibly could.

Love, Elder Daybell

September 29, 2014

We get to do a session every week for preparation day at the CCM and it's even in English because the CCM president was a temple worker. That has been the only time I have been beyond those gates. It kind of feels like a prison even though I know it isn't. The money used on my card was for a nice set of Spanish Scriptures at the Distribution center, I wanted ones with tabs, not the ugly hardback ones they give us here. There is a member who brings stuff on Pday to sell to us and I was able to get real shower sandals and my nikes are good and soft and dry now. I also bought one of those bags that say guatemala on it and I ordered a leather scripture case for my new scriptures that has a picture of Jesus on the front with the apostles in the water fishing (Fishers of men) and I asked for captain moroni on the back. I'm excited to get that next week, it has my name and my mission on it as well.  

As I said tomorrow we get to go to the big market and have Wendy's!! I am so excited. The teachers here are all returned missionaries. Here is how my week went.

Wednesday: The days kind of all blur together but Wednesday night we were writing out script for our lesson and one of the hermanos asked us what we were doing. He challenged us to go into the lesson without a script and after much persuasion he finally convinced us to try. He said he served in Salt lake West Spanish speaking and I asked him if he had ever been to Tooele and he said that was the place that changed his life. He said he loves everything about Tooele, it was funny to me but it showed me some things are taken for granted. 

Thursday: It was pretty much another day hard at work, our lessons were going great with our investigators mostly because we didn't prepare a script and the spirit was there. I feel like spanish is being pounded in my head. One of the Americans in our room has begun talking in spanish in his sleep, weird huh. 

Friday: Friday was just another day hard at work, I feel bad I can't remember much maybe I'll start writing things down. I just know I couldn't sleep friday night because we have to have the window open at night or we die and there is a club right next to us that is about 3 stories high. We call it the great and spacious building. haha 

Saturday: My cold began. There has been this awful cold going around the CCM and I happened to catch it. It was just sniffles on Saturday but Sunday was awful. We also began our 24 hour fast at 5 on Saturday and that just made me feel even worse on Sunday. We learned more spanish of course haha. 

Sunday: I love Sundays here. We have sacrament meeting in Spanish and if I didn't feel like I was dying from my cold and fasting I would have gotten up compartir (to share) my testimony. We had 4 hours of personal study which was amazing, I read 3 chapters in LDM and actually understood what was happening in each verse, the gift of tongues is real. We got to watch the restoration and a great devotional given by elder holland last night too. Some of the 6 weekers head out into the field tomorrow and I am going to miss them. My companion and I would always sit by them during lunch because the elders that came with us are a little immature still... 

Monday: after fasting and praying for health I no longer have a cold! The lord truly does help us in everything as we serve him and fast and pray.

Yo se que el evangelio de Jesucristo es verdadero. Yo se que Dios bendices familias y que familias es el centro a Dios plan de felicidad. I love you all, I hope this week is more interesting to share, I'll use a small notebook to write things down.

Love, Elder Daybell