The members love us!

Another week has come and gone and I think the highlight of this week was yesterday when we went to eat dinner at a member’s house that we always visit. They have a missionary on the mission and they always invite us over and we always hang out and visit with them for a while but anyways we swung by yesterday to eat dinner and their son showed up with a friend to visit but he showed up welllllll... drunk..... He´s a super nice guy though and he started to ask me all sorts of questions and how it was possible that I speak Spanish so well in so short a time and everything and then after he told me that he had been a missionary at one point in his life but that he was a little lost right now. But then he and his friend just started to complement me like it was their job or something. Both of them just telling me what a great person I am, for being willing to dedicate 2 years to the Lord, for being willing to serve the people in Guatemala, for being willing to help and serve others and just everything and it was like a little heart-to-heart even though they were a little bit tipsy hahaha and then after I helped him get down the stairs and he gave me a big hug and said I was his hero and stuff and it was really cool.

I’m reading the Book of Mormon from the beginning but in Spanish and I´m in Jacob chapter 3. I read about baptism and enduring to the end recently and how the promise is very clear that if we endure to the end.... Not that it´s going to be easy.... But if we do it... The promise is eternal life and that´s a promise from the Lord. My testimony is strengthened every day when I see members and others enduring to the end amidst the trials and challenges that they have. They continue to be firm in the gospel and that strengthens my testimony that even when it´s hard, because there will always ALWAYS be challenges and trials, but the Lord will bless us and help us as we strive to do what´s right. 

 The picture of the bread is Guatemala´s version of homemade banana bread! It was actually pretty darn good and made me a little or a lotta homesick for Mom’s banana bread. The apartment is actually super nice and tidy and the member that we live with is always offering his help in whatever way we need it.

My companion is still pretty shy. He´ll talk to me but I usually have to do all the talking and asking of all the questions. It´s like talking to a brick wall almost but hey what can you do. At least he´s not annoyingly talkative, right? When I ask him what he thinks we should do or what he wants to do, he doesn´t really have an opinion. He just tells me to choose. It´s super different and it´s been kind of a rough start but now things have smoothed out a little or I´ve just gotten used to it one of the two hahaha!

Opening an area is definitely a challenge as well... I´ve never had to do this before and I didn´t really know what to do but the members have been a big help and we´ve been working hard and we´re getting all settled in and all is well here on our end. I´ve also found a married couple that has really attached to me. Janet and David--Janet cooks us lunch and dinner and then David served a mission before and he loves to talk to us and then I told him that I was looking to do some exercise and stuff and we wake up every morning to exercise with him in his house just doing like push-ups and sit-ups and jump rope and everything but we exercise hard for a good like 45 minutes and I´m beat after but I´m really enjoying it! The members here love the missionaries after missing them for who knows how long ;) 

13 months in the mission....can you believe it? Yikes! Where has the time gone? I´m definitely loving the hot shower... Actually if you stay in the shower long enough the water gets so hot that it literally starts to burn you. I´m loving every minute of hot water cause I´m sure this could be one of the only areas I´m in that has hot water hahaha!

My health is good... I actually went to the dentist today because I´ve had a tooth that has been a little sensitive for like 3 or 4 weeks now so I went to the dentist today and they told me that I didn´t have any problems with my tooth and was very impressed with the health of my teeth after 1 year without any check-ups or anything and asked me if I had ever even had a filling hahaha but turns out there was like a very small part of my enamel that like decayed away leaving the nerves slightly exposed which caused the sensitivity and he threw on some coating or something like that and told me that I was good to go and we were in and out of there in like 15 minutes. The fun part was... They were all from the states. So this time, my companion was the one out of place and we were all laughing and joking and having a great time and he was just kind of sitting there and I felt kind of bad.... but only a little because I had to go through the same thing like the first 3 months of my mission so nah but other than that... All is well :) 

Love, 

Elder Lott

They wouldn't paint something over decay, right?  I'm sure he probably brushed that enamel away :)

Las Ilusiones

Alright so here´s the deets.... I´m in an area called "Las Ilusiones" or The Illusions in English. It is just down the street from my old area but then it´s straight up the mountain. My whole area is pure mountain. I am either walking uphill or downhill...nothing in between and it is somewhat terrible but on the bright side I will have giant leg muscles when I´m done ;) 

The members are super great. We´re opening an area which means there haven´t been missionaries in this area for several months and we´re coming back in here and starting from scratch. It´s super hard and I have no idea what I´m doing but I just put myself to work and talk to everybody and so far so good! The members are super great because they all missed the missionaries so much that when we came back they were all so happy to see us. Everyone gives us food and snacks and everything and they´re always willing to help and work with us so that´s super nice. OHHHH also, the best thing about transfers is that our new house has HOT WATER!!!!! BEST DAY EVER!!!! I finally remember what hot water feels like and it is so terrific.

This is my new my new apartment. It´s pretty nice. We live with a member. He lives downstairs and we live upstairs but the apartment is really nice and the member is always watching out for us and helping us in any way he can which is super nice.  It´s a little chilly here but I found an old blanket in the house and there was a sister here that washed it for me and now I’m using that and all is well :)

My companion is from Honduras. His name is Elder Flores and he´s the first Latino companion that I´ve had that is shy. I do ALL the talking and I´m not used to that…super weird but hey... my Spanish is improving even MORE.  He is from the same groups as Elder Barrera.  He’s been out almost 18 months.  He definitely has the desire to go out and work but he´s just shy and has a hard time talking and expressing his feelings. It´s super different and a little hard for me but I´m adjusting and receiving lots of blessings :)

This was personal study and he definitely was out... I didn´t get to set off the smoke detector though hahaha!! 

President Crapo gave me permission to go back to little Marchei’s baptism on Thursday and it was wonderful!  I got to see all the members again and say congrats to Marchei and it was awesome. Then on Saturday my comp had a baptism in his old area and we went back for that too and it was super fun.

Hahaha sure enough... carried my Tecomate with me to my new area.... I have to bring it home it´s just such a fun little memory from Guatemala hahaha! Ya it was pretty crazy to be saying goodbye to that house after 6 months of being there... changes are so great and so different all at the same time. We did have lots of success there though so it´s alright I guess :) 

Uplifting moment of the week... When I went on divisions with one of the Zone Leaders, Elder Borjas (from Honduras as well).  We talked about the mission and opening an area and he told me that I was a great missionary and just lots of stuff but he just is a great leader and it was a good boost after all these changes and everything. 

Hope all is well and LOVE you all,

Elder Lott

Pictures Needed

We will be sending a birthday package to Elder Lott mid August and would love to include lots of updated pictures.  Please email me a picture wishing Elder Lott a happy birthday or simply send your favorite family (or individual) summer photo to be included.  All pictures are needed by Monday, August 8th.  Email to:  lottkim@comcast.net

Thanks!
Kim

Unknown Adventure Ahead

Well it looks like my time here is up. My 6 month stay here in Alameda has come to an end.  I have transfers and will be in a new zone and new area tomorrow. In the morning the taxi will come and pick me up so I have to pack all my bags and everything and be ready for the morning. I´m super nervous and super excited at the same time. I have no idea where I´m going or who my companion is so it looks like you´re going to have to wait one more week for that.  It´s hard to have changes and go to a new area with a new companion and everything but at the same time it´s exciting because it´s a new adventure. Today I´ll be running around saying my goodbyes to all the members and converts that I have gotten to know in this area.  

All is well though. I don´t have much to report until next week and then I´ll have a TON!!

My testimony is stronger than ever. It has grown so much on the mission and I know without a doubt that this gospel is true. 

Love,

Elder Lott

Here are some pictures to make up for the lack of information ;)

Crazy Week!

It has been a crazy week! Lots of running around and changing of plans but it has also been a good week. We have had several lessons that have really actually been super good. I´m starting to really enjoy spending time in this area and the people and members here so that must mean I’m going to have changes ;)

Well turns out we didn´t have a baptism...not because she didn´t want to or because she wasn´t ready but because our leaders said that we needed to wait. We´re not sure why and it was pretty frustrating because we had everything planned out but apparently they talked with President and decided we needed to wait. We can´t argue with them so we´re going to wait until the 13th of July.  Transfers are on July 12th so we’ll see what happens.   

It was a good week though. It was hard to tell the family that we were going to have to wait because they were so excited about it and they were pretty discouraged when we told them they were going to have to wait but it has given us an opportunity to grow closer with the family and to help them strengthen their testimony of the gospel so it´s alright :) We had another conference on Wednesday with President and those are always really great!

It is still raining a ton and it´s pretty crazy. It´s made me miss Zacapa a little bit and the heat. The cold has started to set in and I don´t know how I feel about it haha! As for health, I´m doing good and staying healthy. I´m eating more fruits so that´s good. Hopefully I don´t get any crazy parasites ;)

Can you believe that at this time last year I was in the CCM eating a giant cake shaped like the American flag? This is my second 4th of July here and I’ll be home for the next home.  Crazy!

I truly miss you guys and love you guys SO much.  Happy 4^th of July!

Love,
Elder Lott