Elder Chandler Kahl - Guatemala Retalhuleu Mission: FELIZ NAVIDAD!!!!!

Feliz Navidad a cada uno de ustedes! Estoy muy emocionado por esta semana porque yo puedo llamar con mi familia y verles también! Hay muchas cosas que pasó esta semana. Primer, teníamos una día juntos con casi 70 misionarios en este parte en mi misión y fuimos a Coatepeque por un devocional por Navidad. Nuestra presidente del misión y su esposa hablaron en este devocional y después cada zona necesitó hacer algo por Navidad, un canción, actuar, o cualquier cosa. Casi todas de las zonas hicieron un canción pero nuestra zona actuamos el nacimiento de Jesucristo y yo fui un ángel... Un gran supreso verdad?! No porque estoy blanco! También, yo recibí mi paquete de mi familia!

También por esta semana tenemos un bautismo por uno de nuestras investigadoras. Ella se llama Alexandra y ella tiene 14 años. Pero, su hermana esta lista para bautismo también, y esperamos que ella aceptará esta sábado como su fecha para bautismo! Y en el próxima semana tenemos 2 mas investigadoras quien tienen una fecha por el 30 de este mes! Estoy muy emocionado para ellas y espero podemos tener mas temprano!

Translation:

Merry Christmas to each of you! I am very excited about this week because I can call my family and see them too! There are many things that happened this week. First, we had a day together with nearly 70 missionaries in this part of my mission and went to Coatepeque for a devotional for Christmas. Our mission president and his wife spoke at this devotional and then every area needed to do something for Christmas, a song, act, or whatever. Almost all of the zones did a song but our area acted out the birth of Christ and I was an angel ... A big surprise right?! Not because I'm white! I also received my package from my family!

Also for this week we have a baptism for one of our investigators. Her name is Alexandra and she is 14 years old. But her sister is ready for baptism too, and we hope that she will accept this Saturday a date for baptism! And in the next week we have 2 more investigators who have a date for the 30th of this month! I am excited for them and I hope we can have more soon!

Christmas during this time is pretty amazing because as missionaries here in our missions we get to really focus on the true meaning of Christmas and share it with everyone that we come in contact with. I can’t believe that Christmas is only 3 days away though and I can skype home! So excited! Anyways, this week one morning we got to do a service project at a less active man's house. His house is in pretty bad shape and needed help putting up more panels higher up on this house and needed his barbed wire fence to be fixed. So guess who put up the high panels on the house? Thats right, me! haha. It was me and Elder Bastian who is from Utah who is actually a good head taller than me who sawed plywood and nailed the panels of wood onto his house. The other 2 elders went to work with the fence it was a pretty fun time and we made the most of it. The family was grateful for what we did and then they fed us breakfast and we had hot soup with chicken thighs in it and beans and tortillas. There is nothing worse than getting a hot bowl of soup on a hot day. Haha. But we ate.

We have been working hard on reactivating this one lady who is named Roxana and she is the one who gave us references for people to go teach and they are actually the ones who are getting baptized this Saturday so that’s cool! Also, this lady we totally reactivated into the church and she shows up to church without needing to have us stop by her house in the mornings to get her. So yesterday after we taught the family who has the girls that are being baptized this Saturday, we went to go find a lady that I contacted in the streets about 2 weeks ago. We stopped by her house and her husband comes to the door and once this guy started to talk, oh man you could tell that he was drunk but not totally wasted. He was a nice guy at first, invited us in and gave us a drink of fruit juice. However, we started to talk to him and his wife a little about us and he was asking questions but then we got into a discussion about the Bible and he was trying to prove us wrong but everything we said to him and questioned him about he had no response for or tried to change the subject. It was kinda funny but sketchy too! Then we just ended it and he told us to never go back to there ever again. So we won't.

So here in Catarina one night we were walking back from an area and then all throughout the main street there was a huge parade going on for Christmas. There were dancers, bands playing songs, animals, floats, and SANTA! It was pretty cool though because everyone in Catarina was out along the sides of the street watching and having a good time and this was a really cool event to happen for the people here! Then a few days before for 2 days I was on divisions with Elder Bastian in his area so it was cool being with another American for a little bit. Another elder in our zone has been out 6 months and my companion keeps saying how my Spanish is about the same as his and I kind of agree so this gets me excited to know that my spanish is improving and is almost the same as guys who have twice as long as I do in the mission! Having a Latino comp sure helps my Spanish! Anyways, we were on divisions together for 2 days and his area is tiny but we made the most of it and visited a few people there and all. We just had a good time.

The thing that bugs me here with a lot of people is that no matter what time we go to visit someone a lot of times they are not in their houses no matter what time of day we go, however on the plus side that if we just go randomly visit someone and they are there and we ask if we can share a message with them almost everyone single one of them says yes and invites us in.

More recently there has been a lot of people commenting about my eyes and how blue they are and how blonde my hair is and they ask if everyone in my family is the same way and I laugh and say no but almost all of them are! Just how Tanner and Dad are the odd ones in the family who have dark hair! They find it funny and people always call me ''Mesho'' which pretty much means blonde. Haha.

Yes mom, I am the tallest person here except for one American in our District haha. I usually have to duck when walking because of things that I will hit my head on but when walking to the computer place to write for this week I looked away and was talking to my companion and I didn't see a nice solid metal pole hanging down that I usually duck every time for but this time I didn't see it and smacked my head right on it and it hurt so bad! Also usually when walking behind my companion, if we can't walk side my side, I get hit with all the spider webs in my face because he is too short to reach them and same with everyone here so I take the hits with the spider webs as well. I guess that’s what I get for being tall down here.

Probably one of the most spiritual experiences this week was reading 3 Nephi, chapter 11 with a family who are our investigators and there are 5 of them. When we were reading this with them about when Christ appeared to people in the Americas and taught them the Gospel, it was awesome to see how interested they all were in it, especially the daughter who is getting baptized this Saturday. I noticed how powerful this chapter is as it applies to the people in this area because this happened in this part of the world. It was a cool experience and to talk about it with them.

We have been really starting to work with the members and inviting them to come and join us into lessons and a lot of times it is hard because transportation here is not an easy thing to have sometimes. So this can make it a little more difficult. However the members are willing to help us in every way possible and we are starting to feel the support of them and to have more and more trust from our investigators as well.

The other day we got to go play soccer with the kids at mutual at the church and this was pretty sweet but holy crap. These kids who are like 14, 15, or 16 years old, man can they play soccer! They were incredibly good but my companion, I have never seen anyone so good in person, it was amazing haha. I fell a few times from trying to get the ball. Just can’t wait to play basketball with them and school them at that!

However, I am still really enjoying my times here in Guatemala even though sometimes it can be hard because of the language, and just the demands we have from being missionaries but that’s what I signed up to do and this is not my time but it’s the Lord's time. Just trying to give it my all and I have noticed more and more every day here that this is where I need to be and I have a purpose to teach these people and bring them the truth about the Restored Gospel of Jesus Christ. I know that The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints is the only true church on the earth and that it was restored from Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ through the Prophet Joseph Smith. He was a true prophet who saw God the Father and His son Jesus Christ. I know that the Book of Mormon is the most correct of all the books on the face of the earth and through this book anyone can be closer to God than through any other book. I know that it was translated by Joseph Smith with the help and power given to him from God. I know that we have a living prophet today, Thomas S. Monson, who is a prophet, seer, and revelator, and receives revelation for everyone on the face of the earth and if we follow and take heed to his council we will know the things we need to do to have eternal life. I know how powerful prayer can be because I have felt it in my life a lot. If there is anything we need or need to know about, our Heavenly Father is there waiting to talk to us. All we have to do is humble ourselves before Him and pray to Him in the name of Jesus Christ. I also know that Christ died for me and I can be made clean through his Atoning sacrifice and so can everyone else. He died for me and everyone to make it possible for us to live with our Heavenly Father and Him again. I know that this is the only Church with the correct priesthood authority and power of God to perform the correct ordinances that can be performed by man to do baptisms and everything else we need to return to His presence. I know I have a lot of friends who read my emails and I would like to tell any of you that if you want to see if what I know is true and that this is the Church of Jesus Christ to go and find out. Pray, talk with the missionaries, and use LDS.org. I know these things to be true and you all can as well.

Thank you all for your love and support back home and I can't wait to skype this week! Just remember why we celebrate Christmas and we need to share it with everyone as well. Love and miss you all! Stay Sweet!

Love,

Elder Kahl ''Mesho"