Elder Taylor

Tuesday, July 21, 2015

Guatemala Week 2

Hola Everyone!

Luckily, my Enter Key works on this computer! This week went by so fast. We are all learning Spanish at a remarkable pace and the teachers are helping us prepare to be awesome missionaries. I don't really know what to talk about. We have been practicing teaching people by having mock investigators. On Saturday we even got to talk with a real less-active member. His name was Oscar and he was really cool. He was baptized 4 years ago if I remember correctly. He doesn't doubt anything about the church but his job is the reason why he misses church a lot. 

This week the weather has pretty nice. It has been raining a lot! The humidity is so bad that when we were working out in the gym yesterday, the moisture in the air was condensing on our skin and we all came out soaking wet. On Monday, I saw a cockroach and it was huge! I'm not even exaggerating. All the bugs here are bigger. They tell us not to eat food in our rooms because then the bugs will come upstairs and try to look for stuff to eat. 

I don't want to alarm anyone, but we have heard probably three gunshots while we've been here. Luckily there are always security guards/police officers outside that are carrying rifles. Speaking of security, the MTC [CCM] has its own staff of security guards. They are awesome.The MTC is actually located in one of the nicer areas of Guatemala City. It's beautiful here. The people drive dangerously. They don't wait for us to cross the streets when we walk to the temple, they drive with their doors open and they definitely don't drive defensively. 

Now that we have been here two weeks, we have old missionaries leaving, and new missionaries coming. Tomorrow, we will officially not be the newest missionaries at the CCM! It is so crazy how fast these past two weeks have flown by. We've decided as a district that we are going to fast from speaking English three times a week, all day till dinner time [Monday, Wednesday, Friday. Excluding any Preparation Days].

Sundays and P Days are everyone's favorite days here. On Sunday, we had devotionals all day and we got to watch the restoration. They even had a devotional for us to keep our health up while we are out in the mission field. All the water here at the CCM is filtered clean. So basically, we are in a sterile building and don't have to worry about any of the outside germs. However, they do tell us to wash and sanitize our hands all the time because once your companion gets sick, odds are you will get sick as well. They also told us about what to do with food and water. They gave each of us a water bottle with a filter and an extra filter that will last for the whole mission in case we need water from a tap, stream, or other impure water source. They say it will even turn Coca Cola into water!

We went to the temple again today and it was amazing. I love the inside of the Guatemala City temple.  The maids have been cleaning our quarters all day so we've had to kinda stay out of the way. P Days definitely go by the quickest out of any day. I really wish they would let us have our cameras because there are so many pictures I want to send everyone! All the Elders and Hermanas here are just the coolest people you'll ever meet. They are so full of spirt and The Spirit. It's refreshing to see the enthusiasm everyone has all the time. 

So far I haven't been missing my old life too much. Everyone once in a while I'll reach for my phone and it won't be there, or i'll feel like wanting to take a nap, but I can't. I'm doing fine though. My body is slowly adjusting to going to bed at 10 and waking up at 6:30 which I can honestly say I didn't really prepare for that well [I'm pointing at you Matt and Lauren ;)]. Regardless, the Spirit is so strong and the drive to be a missionary is growing. I know that a lot of you back at home are missing me but I just want you all to know that I'm fine down here and that you all will see me in approximately 100 weeks. Give or take.

Anyways, i'm about out of computer time so i'll leave it at that. If there is anyone else you know that wants to receive my emails feel free to send me their email address. 

I love you back, and have a great semana [week]!


Elder Taylor

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