Quite the Service Project...

Well there isn´t really anything new to report. I´m still here in Las Ilusiones and I´m still with my same companion. It´s all good though! I´m doing alright. I´m hanging in there. The good thing is that there are lots of missionaries here in the zone that I really enjoy that keep me laughing and having a fun time. 

 

 

We did have quite the service project this last... Tuesday it was I believe. We chopped that huge stump in half and then chopped both halves into smaller pieces to be used as fire wood and we were working on that darn stump for like 4 hours and I couldn´t feel my hands or my arms after we were all through hahaha! They fed us breakfast and lunch though so I mean I guess it´s worth it ;) We´re planning on visiting the jungle again though in these coming weeks and we´ll see how that goes... I´ll have to bring my camera and take some fun pictures so you know what it´s like here in the jungles of Guatemala. ;) 

We just received a letter from the mission secretaries saying the mail service that received packages has been closed for who knows how long. They are trying to receive whatever packages are pending or stuck there. We´ll have to see what happens. I hope we don´t end up losing my birthday package with all of those snacks and goodies and my favorite jeans. I believe in miracles. I´m sure it will get to me. (How does the mail service in an entire country just shut down?  I pray every single day that his birthday package will somehow arrive with all of those darling pictures!)

All is going well though. We have lots to do and we´re staying busy. There is definitely something that needs to be learned or taught in this transfer and I´m anxious to see what that is. Thank you though for always supporting and encouraging me. Sometimes I see these other missionaries that don´t receive any messages from their parents or friends and I´m always so grateful for everyone writing me and supporting me so thank you all!

Love,

Elder Lott

Invitation to read the Book of Mormon

Well, I don´t have transfers and neither does my companion. We´ll be here in Las Ilusiones another transfer together but I´m going to try and do things a little bit differently this transfer... take a new approach on things and see how it works out. I was a little bummed at first but I know that I need to learn something and that we´re here together for a reason so now I´m just motivated to see what will happen and to do my very best. 

This week´s talk was good! I thought it went really well at least. I was pretty nervous like all of Saturday but then Sunday when I woke up and got ready I wasn´t nervous anymore and gave a good talk on why attending sacrament meeting is important and what it means to keep the Sabbath day holy. I actually enjoyed preparing the talk and gained a new appreciation for that commandment. The bishop shared a little story too that I´ll have to try and find in English for you guys hahaha ;)

We have been invited to read the Book of Mormon cover to cover before the year ends.  I’m not sure if that invitation is worldwide or just here in the mission but I extend the same invitation to all of you.  There were several blessings promised if we would read the Book of Mormon including protection from the adversary in these challenging days. 

The truth is, ever since I got here to Zona 18, I’ve heard about killings like literally every single day. At first it really scared me and I was always like super worried all the time but then I just said to myself as long as I´m doing what I need to be doing and taking precautions like having a member with us and staying close to the house at night, the Lord is going to protect me and we haven´t had any problems at all so that´s a blessing :) 

Nothing is really new... I´m a tiny bit worried about this transfer just because this one was a little bit of a struggle but I’m determined to make the best of it and to just keep being the missionary that the Lord needs from me. What makes me happy is to hang out with David and Janet because they literally treat me like their son and they even played a cd the other day of like John McClain (I think he meant Michael McLean) and I was SOOOO homesick. I almost shed a tear or two and they were just like talking and laughing with me and I just really enjoy spending time with them. 

I feel like Guatemala doesn´t really have seasons. It´s always just like the same temperature no matter what month it is. I can´t believe summer is already over though and that school is starting up again. I hope you know that I love and miss you all and can´t wait to hear from you next week. It´ll be here before we know it. 

Love, 

Elder Lott

I have just really grown to love and appreciate these people...

Well it´s only been a few days since I wrote you and there´s not too much new going on.  Actually this Sunday was kind of eventful. First of all, I spent all week preparing my Sacrament talk and I was ready to give my talk and then they never announced me as a speaker. So I asked the bishop what was up after and he was like oh ya there was a change in plans. You´re going to be talking NEXT Sunday on a different topic!! Hahaha oh good! So now I´ll spend this week planning another Sacrament talk but that´s alright because it´s always a good opportunity to learn. Also, this Sunday we talked to the bishop of the other ward and he asked for our help because his ward doesn´t have missionaries. So, we talked to President Crapo and he said it would be great if we could work in both areas so now we´re covering two wards which is two areas and there is SO much work to do and there is not enough time in the day. We are just running from one house to another to another to another and it´s absolutely nuts but it´s so fun and exciting! I am meeting so many different people and everyone is just always so happy to see us and they always give us like a snack and some water or whatever they have around, and I have just really grown to love and appreciate these people.

Wherever I go here everyone always tells me that "los gringos" are winning all of the gold medals and I just have to laugh haha. I heard that Michael Phelps walked away with several medals and that he´s going to retire but he always says that so we´ll have to see what happens.

My area... well it´s like a super big area and well we´ve never had any problems but they say that´s pretty dangerous and especially in the night time. So I feel like it´s basically the same as my previous area. We usually just don´t wander very far from the house in the night time but we´ve never had any problems so that´s a blessing for sure :)

We have been able to find TONS of new investigators. We have received lots of references and everything as well and now we´re even working in San Rafael, our neighboring area, and there is just so much work to do and we´re just busy as ever. 

Service opportunities...we had the greatest service opportunity ever and I forgot my camera but we did it as a district so I´m going to ask the other elders to send me some pictures and I will get back to you on that. It was super awesome though. He took us down into literally a jungle and we searched for wood to bring back up to his house but there are videos and pictures that explain it all better so I´ll get right on that. 

Best moment of the week... Probably on Sunday when we went and visited this little old man that has been sick for a few days and we just talked about tons of things and he shared with us some fun stories about his conversion and his testimony and asked us questions about the Book of Mormon and told me that I knew a lot and it was obvious that I was born in the church because I knew all the primary songs and everything so that was probably the funnest part of our week :)

We´re in the last week of transfers... I can´t believe how fast time is flying by. All is well though and I´m doing good and staying super busy which is good and helps a ton. 

Love, 

Elder Lott

I LOVE the TEMPLE

I was super excited to be able to go to the temple this week! (which is why P-Day was switched to Wednesday this week.) I have actually started to miss the temple when there are long periods of time when we don´t get to go. I hope I can make that a habit for the rest of my life and take advantage of having temples so close to our house :)  

When we went to the temple today we were entering as all the missionaries from the CCM were leaving and there were a couple of new missionaries from the states that were asking me all sorts of questions like how I learned the language and what the mission field was like and it was super funny and it made me laugh because I was in that same spot a year ago and wow how the time has flown.

 

Here is a picture of me and my companion at the temple.  My companion and I have been doing good. He seems to open up a little bit more now but he doesn´t talk a ton usually short responses but it´s alright. Little by little.

The picture where I´m in the middle of the two missionaries is me with the zone leaders and the other is me with Elder Tejada who is a missionary here in our district.  We have just seemed to click and always enjoy a good laugh. 

We definitely felt the effects of Hurricane Earl.  We were caught like 3 or 4 times in a down pour. I always carry my umbrella in my backpack just in case but it just hits so fast that I didn´t even have time to pull it out before I was drenched. It was like a bus passing by in a puddle and you just happen to be standing there and you´re drenched from head to toe. That fast. It´s funny though we were able to have some good laughs which was good for a change. There was lots of talk about Hurricane Earl and if we were going to catch some of the outer edges of the hurricane and sure enough haha but not too bad just a couple of good rainstorms.

 

We found our little lizard friend after one of the rainstorms. Maybe he lives around here and just comes out when the rain hits or something who knows haha!

 

Yes that is some original Kraft Mac n´ Cheese. I was sooooo stoked when sister Janett made it for us. It tasted super good!  It definitely gave me a little taste of home and I was grateful :) 

This week we had interviews with the President and a Zone Meeting. It was good! There´s always tons to learn and I got to see the missionaries from my zone but I see them like 3 times a week anyway so that wasn´t very new.  But we got to go to Walmart this week.  It isn´t as big as at home and doesn´t have all the same stuff but it does have some things that you don´t find in other stores so it was fun to go.  I bought  5 whole pounds of gummy worms and they have been a real treat!

Best moment of the week was definitely going to the temple.  It was the best. Worst moment.... Ummm.... We don´t have worst moments... Just good moments ;) 

I have actually grown to love giving blessings... at first I was always scared because I didn´t know what to say and everything but now they´re always so grateful and it´s such a neat experience. The priesthood is really something special.

This transfer has flown by. We´re about to finish this transfer and we´ll see what that holds in store for us. Missionary life is good though. I´m always busy and the time just flies by.  I´m so glad that all is well. I miss you guys more and more everyday but am continually grateful for your support and all of the things that I have learned from you guys.

Love, 

Elder Lott

Facebook informed us there were six people killed in Elder Lott's area this week due to gang violence.  We know the Lord protects his missionaries and we know Elder Lott is protecting us.  Thank you for your continuing prayers for his safety and success.

A pretty normal week...

Well, not much is new. We had a pretty normal week. Yesterday in Ward council they assigned me to speak in Sacrament Meeting on the 14th. Speaking in Sacrament again...Ugh. :) What else? Nah, mostly just that. We´ve been making progress in our area and we are finding investigators that seem to have lots of interest in the gospel so that´s always the best. 

Sister Ventura is a super nice little old lady. She has several children. I think they´re all boys and I think I´ve actually met all of them. One of her sons is David Ventura (Janet´s husband). She is married. Her husband is of a different faith.  One of her sons lives there with her and he has actually opened up to us several times (could be because he likes to drink a little bit).  However, her grandchild, Andy is 13 years old and he loves to be sarcastic and joke around and play and everything and I get along SUPER well with him. He said that he has only grown attached to one other missionary in his life and I´m the second and that´s probably my favorite part about going to that house. Well, Sister Ventura always gives us food too which is always a plus. Joking around with Andy makes me miss my little brother though... Homesickness ;) 

Janet makes the banana bread. We actually pay her to cook for us and she cooks lunch and dinner for us every single day and the food is super good and it´s always a variety and I´m loving it. David, her husband, served a mission in Honduras and he loves to tease and joke around too. I have loved spending time with them and getting to know them and they treat me like I´m their son so it´s super nice. We wake up and do exercise every single day with David. They are a younger couple... like 30 both of them? Something like that. They have 2 kids and they´re little hoodlums. They don´t have a computer but they have smartphones and a tablet so that´s good!

Mom, your prayers have been answered. These two families are always talking to me and keeping me sane so that has been a real blessing. We see other missionaries Monday, Wednesday and Friday but that´s it. 

Investigators are slow but steady. We are always finding new investigators and we just have to find the ones that really want to accept and apply the gospel. We do have tons of support from the members though and especially from the bishop so that´s super helpful. 

I absolutely love 2 Nephi 31. It´s so true we use that chapter a lot while we are teaching because it talks a lot about the Doctrine of Christ, Baptism, being obedient, enduring to the end and lots of things and it´s honestly just a great chapter...probably one of the chapters that I have marked up the most haha!

All is well and time is flying by. I´m loving the mission and I’m learning so much. 

Love, 

Elder Lott

His new scripture covers for his Spanish Scriptures -- what a treasure!

Elder Lott before church on Sunday

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