April 23, 2012

Elder Asdel in San Jose Guatemala

Wasssssup? This week was good I got a new fecha with H-g-, and his family said they will get baptized after him if he sets a good example.... that could be the hard part. 

But what I’m more excited for is we have a fecha with Osc-r, he is awesome. We have been teaching him for about 6 weeks-ish now. And he told his dad he wants to get baptized the other day and came to church with us for the first time this Sunday and he liked it alot. So to get baptized he needs to come two more times. If he comes the next two Sundays his baptism would be the Saturday after that. 

 PS-  I saw like a 6ft snake this week it was giant haha I ran from it. It was the most dangerous type in Guatemala called the Barba Maria. Ok I’m attaching some random photos to make this letter less boring. Love you all, have a good week.

April 16, 2012

 Hello - how are all of you?  Today was zone activity and it was lame. Another wasted zone activity...when will the zone leaders learn? ...who knows... oh-weelllllllll 

Elder Payne and I are trying to plan a trip to Yacxa or how ever its spelled... The zls said we can go if we meet our goals. So I will meet my goals so I can go. I’m really sick of my zls. But they will probably get changed this change...whatever...this week was good. We have been working with a member’s son Oscar.  His schedule makes it hard to meet with him but we have made alot of progress.  His dad told us yesterday that his son asked what he needs to do if he gets baptized so it looks like we will be putting a fecha with him this week. 

Other than that we are stillllll looking for new fams and its stillllll hottttttttt. Maybe a freeeezing cold ice storm will come in tomorrow.... if only... 

The best way to send music would be to send it on one of the usbs I will be sending with pics when you send it back. The house demolition pictures are weird hopefully the new house isn’t tooooooo big...

It's hot and I’m tired. I want a powerade and a water.... Here where we use internet is the only place I know of to get powerade in Guate so I will get one. My comp and I are doing good and having fun. I don’t really have much to write about... As you know sometimes a week can go by quick with nothing really happening.... Oh a member from my branch is leaving on his mission tomorrow to a nice north mission. He’s 24 and excited to go. He went inactive for a while and now is active and that’s why he’s not leaving till now. For Latinos, most of them leave around 20 to 22. Most of them are older. 

I saw an opossum playing dead in the street I kinda wanted to scare it just for faking it haha. Those things are nassssty. Well that’s all I got. Love you all and have a good weeeek oh and I still haven’t tried the new handles. hehe this week I will.

*note from Dana - 

Yaxha is a National park located in the Peten basin with over 500 structures from the ancient Mayan civilization.

April 9, 2012

Hey! This week was no good for work. Nobody was home and everybody was out at the beach for holy week. But my comp and I tried anyway. We taught Jose a few times.  We are mainly looking for news (investigators). We have a few news that we are excited to work with and hopefully they will progress well. 

My one year was fun... we ate at a restaurant on the beach and I made a glass bottle filled with gas to burn my shirt haha. I burned a long sleeve since I have 2 and I don’t use either one of them haha. 

Elder Asdel in San Jose Guatemala celebrating 1 year as a missionary

The night I fell in the hole was pretty funny. I was walking in the dark and all the sudden I started falling, and I had no clue what was happening and then I stopped haha. I got out and I could tell I smacked my shin. I looked at it and the blood was almost to my sock already. The picture you saw was when it was fresh...it got worse. But now it’s not bad. I’m sure you want to know what I fell in. It was a storm drain without a cap. They are everywhere and I’ve always been scared to fall in one...lol well now it has happened. Good thing I fell in because if I didn’t my comp would have fell in from a worse position and probably bust some teeth out. 

Lets see what else is going on...  ummmm it’s hot. The actual temp is about 100ish everyday but with the humidity it says the feel is like 120ish ha. If you’re lying in bed and your legs touch together you sweat. My comp and I have our own fan and its pointed on us all night... if not you don’t sleep ha. Sometimes the power goes out and you wake up sweaty... sweating while sleeping.... imagine what walking out in the sun is like haha. 

I’m not exactly ready to leave San Jose but if I do in three weeks I won't be mad... I want to leave Peten so if I have a change hopefully I’m out of Peten... as of right now I don’t care where I go. But I would like to be around some people from my group because I’m the only one in my group in Peten. On my one year I took some funny pictures for you guys... the pictures are titled 创one year until创 I’m pretty sure those quote marks are the wrong type but it was all I could find on this Spanish keyboard haha. And another one of me with mangoes... yes its mango season. They are yummy and also cheap. It’s like 75 cents for a big bag of them. 

Elder Asdel loves mangoes

All is good right now. I got you packages mom and the handles but I haven’t tried them yet... I’ll try soon. Thanks for all the Easter snacks... I forgot it was Easter until like the day before haha. 

Easter Sunday nobody went to church...nobody goes on Easter or Christmas...lol...obviously they don’t understand the meaning of either holiday. Today we didn’t do anything really. We played some pool and ran some errands. This week I’m going to try to send this package out... I will load it up good and put the usbs in it.

Elder Asdel at Lago Peten Itza in San Jose Guatemala

That’s all for this week. Love you all and have a great week! Exactly one year from tomorrow I'll be home hehe.

April 2, 2012

Haha I’m gunna hit a year on Friday, time has flown.  This week was slow for working. We didn’t get home till Tuesday cause my comp went to the Cap until Monday and also conference. So we didn’t really do much. We tried to go teach J-s- about priesthood so he can get it soon but he went out of town for Samana Santa. 

Right now my area is filled with fair type stuff at the beach and like 23487263784623784623784623874 people swimming and drinking for Semana Santa. 

H-g- we haven’t really seen much, my comp and I kinda just wanted a break from him, so we only went to his house about three times this week. 

We looked for news (investigators) but its hard because all the people here right now are not from here.  This week is Semana Santa, its like Guatemala spring break, so its crazy. I’m enjoying watching the craziness. It’s also good because my area has hardly any food, but there is all kinds of street food right now for cheap. My comp and I are enjoying the tacos and pizza haha. 

Conference was good, we went to San Benito to watch it and I stayed the night at Elder Paynes house cause I didn’t want to go all the way back to my area and come back for Sunday. We had a lil room for English so we didn’t have to watch it in Spanish. Our lil room had a/c so it was nice to be out of the sun for two days haha. 

Today for p-day we went in some caves they were nuts. It took about 2 hours to hike and there were parts where you had to army crawl tiny spaces. We all came out supper muddy but it was cool. My headlamp light worked very well. 

Today I ate Burger King it tasted like America as always haha. 

This week I’m not sure how its going to be because Semana Santa craziness haha. Also I have a decent amount of stuff I want to send home. Its papers and some other stuff I don’t want to carry around but I don’t want to lose. Also there is a post card for two members from Ventura who sent me letters, and pictures for them tooooo. Haha. 

So yesterday was April Fools so I decided to call Elder Gunnell and I made up some story about how I kissed a girl at conference and got caught... and I’m going to the Cap to have a interview with Pres Watts! And he fell for it and was freaking out hahaha. Then I told him oh the zone leaders are calling I have to give them stats for the week... "what’s the day today to put on my stats sheet?"  and he says April first... and I say fooooooool and he laughed haha. That’s all for this week love you all and have a good week!

March 26, 2012

Hey! This week was great. H-g- got married... I’ve never worked this hard in

my life but the pay off was worth it! The wedding was a little bumpy but it

happened. I don’t feel like complaining right now ha. 

H-g-’s baptism fell cause he was drinking. But he’s now married so when he stops drinking he can

get baptized, and hopefully by then his family too! 

The wedding turned out great. There was alot of people there and the food was good. 

J-s-’s baptism fell because there was no water in the city so we couldn’t do

Baptism at the Lake

it... oh wait I thought I said this week was great. Well it was even tho

J-s-’s baptism fell on Saturday because then we had it on Sunday in the

morning at the lake, yessssss in the lake! The pictures are amazing! 

yeee yeee yeeeee So I’m getting you the pictures and some from the wedding. That is

all my week consisted of. 

And now I’m in Flores with Ch-v-z cause my comp

went to the cap to do something and wont be back till late tonight. 

So yesterday and today I've been with Ch-v-z. He is super fun...  hahaha!  

Well it was a good week even though H-g- was lame. 

A few of the members helped us out a ton and we were very glad for that help (we normally don’t get haha). So the rest of today I’m just with Ch-v-z and we have to go pick up our comps tonight super

late that’s all I have. 

H-g-'s family

J-s- and Elder S-m-r

J-s-

Love you all have a great week! Also happy birthday Dad (again)! haha yeeeee

March 19, 2012

 Ok first thing, I have been running around all week getting this wedding and baptism in order but it didn’t happen. So next week it will happen for sure. I’m so sick of getting this wedding going I don’t even feel like explaining why it didn’t happen. 

Basssssically it didn’t happen because the guy who was marrying them had to go to the fair that’s going on, so next week it will all be good. I’m nottttt letting it fall again. 

Other than that we also have J-s-’s baptism Saturday and he’s excited. So next Saturday will be a good and busy day. 

Today we really didn’t do anything at all.  We all just hung out. Changes are coming up soon so who knows who is leaving and coming in the next few weeks. 

Its really hot... I’m melting. 

Um well all this week was all wedding stuff so I really don’t have much to say. ummmmmmmm this is probably the most boring email I’ve ever written and I seriously have nothing to say. 

Things are going good with my comp we are almost half way done with the training program. We are working hard and having fun. 

The other day there was a rodeo and let me tell you, a Guatemala rodeo is nuts!! hahahah One bull was squirting blood out its horn, like a stream of blood lolz. Who knows if that is normal. 

Welllll I see that my letter is short but Elder H-pk-ns sitting next to me was just like screw it I have nothing to say so I’m not writing. So my letter is better than at least one person. 

Letssss seee um the fair has good pizza. ummmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm did that make my letter longer...ok I give up I got notthinnnnnnng. Have a good week love you all!!!!!!!!

March 12, 2012

Wassssup wassssup. Well lets start of with how we actually did something for zone activity today!!! And guess what... the zone leaders had the district leaders vote on what we are doing and left it up to me to plan it, with the bus and everything...

The Castillo San Felipe de Lara

Well I got it all planned good and everything went great. We went to Rio Dulce, it was super cool it's in an area where the river leads into the ocean.  We went to a castle called Castillo San Felipe or something like that. It was nice seeing big ocean boats drive by haha. We all had fun.  The bus drive was super long but we made it and I know I had fun hehe. 

Well the wedding didn’t happen this week but the wedding and baptism is going down this Saturday! yeee. 

Also we have another fecha with this kid J-s-. He is super cool and his fecha is on dad's birthday and it also happens to be his birthday too! I thought it was really cool because we asked him to get baptized and to pick a date and he chose his birthday! 

This week I got a really cool picture of me walking on water... I was being me and wanting to see more of the castle and everybody else was in the castle so I decided to take my shoes off and explore some more.  When I was walking back they took a picture of me walking on water. Sadly, you don’t get to see it until next week. It's super late and I need to get back to my area so I’m going to end this email but you guys basically got everything that is going on! Love you all and have a great week!!

El Castillo is located in a very picturesque setting at the narrowest point along the Rio Dulce.

 

 *pictures came from internet search