La Vida de Guatemala :)

Hola a cada uno de ustedes!

First off, today I met a missionary who came into the mission about 2 months ago and his name is Elder Goldsberry and he is from Loveland, CO. When I saw him he looked really familiar and I knew I saw him before. We talked and said that he lives in Loveland and I thought that was pretty funny and cool that we are in the same mission and live so close to each other!

This week we were going to have a baptism of a girl who is 10 years old and her name is Beverly. We have been teaching her, we got the permission from the mom and she talked to her dad and he said yes as well. So, we had the zone leaders give her the interview on Thursday and she was going to be baptized on Saturday. We went back the next day on Friday to teach her some more and prep her for the baptism. When we arrived at the house we saw the dad and were talking with him and he was saying that he didn't want his daughter to be baptized and some other things, but the mom was still ok with it. So we were in a bit of confusion with the whole thing. We called our zone leaders and they said that we should baptize her because she wants to and it is her salvation too. However we didn't feel too right about it and so we went to a members house close by and we told him the situation and was willing to help. When none of us knew what to do about the situation, we decided to do the only thing we could. That was to find a quiet room and we three knelt down and we prayed to God. We prayed and after the prayer we still weren't too sure so we took some more time for the spirit to testify to us. Later that night we returned to our house and we prayed individually on whether or not we should baptize Beverly or not. After some praying, pondering, and listening. We both came to the same conclusion that we should not baptize her the following day because it would probably cause tension in the household and we needed to show respect for the father because he is a big influence in her life. We didn't want to go behind his back or do anything to create contentions with them. The decision was hard and telling her that we weren't going to baptize her was hard too but I felt that we had made the right choice and I gained a stronger testimony with the Spirit how we always need to work with it and follow its promptings and that prayer is so powerful and so important in our lives. Even though we did not baptize her we are still going to keep teaching her about the gospel and work with the parents as well so they can help their daughter in the process.

One bad experience was one night we were walking back to our house after teaching an investigator and down the street was a pick-up driving incredibly fast down a sketchy road and I looked over and saw something rolling towards us in the corner of my eye and before I could see what it was I feel something hard and heaving bash into my ankle bone! I was in so much pain! Turns out that when the truck raced by it must have hit or moved a cobble stone from the street (don’t know how) which made it roll really fast and hit my ankle. The cobble stones are like a good 10-15 pounds too. I sat down and couldn't walk so we took a tuc-tuc home. I was in a lot of pain but I rested that night and iced it and by the next day and after a week it actually looks pretty bad and all bruised but when I walk and run it actually doesn't hurt at all. Which is quite surprisingly but a good thing too. I just thought it was so weird and the biggest down moment of the week.

I got the opportunity this week to eat some liver of a cow and I have to say that it is actually pretty bad! My comp said that he has had it before and the member said she had some, so she said that she would bring a small piece out for me to try. Next thing I know is that she plops down a huge plate of liver and that was actually really hard to get down. I am just glad I had some tortillas to help me out. Also I got to try some duck and it tastes really good. It tastes pretty much just like chicken. It is just a little tougher meat than chicken but still good. Our goal is to go buy an iguana and take it to a members house and kill it, cook it, then eat it. I keep hearing that it is really good and neither my comp or I have tried it but we want to. Some P-Day that is what we are going to do!

We had found this really cool guy this week named José and he instantly accepted us into his house and we started to talk about the gospel and he was pretty interested as we taught the Restoration of the Gospel to him. The next time we went he said that he remembered our visit and was expecting us (That was the first time anyone has ever remembered we were coming to visit them again). He had a friend come by and we taught them both about the Book of Mormon and they were really interested and the guy said he was definitely going to read it and pray about it as well. The lessons we had with this guy were super cool and spiritual and I feel like he is really positive to baptize in the next few weeks. We have another guy named Juanito and he has been progressing and he came to church once and is reading the Book of Mormon but is still a little unsure about baptism though. He used to be a Jehovah Witness but now he is really considering being baptized. He just needs to come to church one more time and pray to see if this is true. We are going back this week to see how his prayers went and to see what he thinks and feels about it. They are the 2 most likely to be baptized in the next few weeks. Some of the other investigators that we have are a little hard to tell right now if they will progress or not. However, we are still continuing to work hard with them and at the same time to find new people to teach as well.

With the guy named Elder who knows english, lived in Cali, and all that jazz, it has been hard to contact him but we went to his house and talked to him and we are meeting with him again this week but it is tough with him because right now he can’t go to church and also his work is helping a congregation build another church which will literally be like 15 feet from his house. So that will be tough to see what he can do about it but I am looking forward to teaching him again as well.

President Ruiz is coming to our zone tomorrow and we are having interviews with him which happen every 3 months to all the missionaries. We will see how that will go but here it is still super hot everyday but still working hard to find people to teach, challenge people to baptism, and help them progress in the gospel. Funny thing is, is that I actually sleep with a blanket on and I am snuggled up in it during the night because the nights are actually pretty cool here!

Anyways, two scriptures I really like to use with people who say that they can’t do things or they have other things they have to do, I like to share 2 scriptures with them. They are Matthew 6:33 and 1 Nephi 3:7. If you do not know what these scriptures are I would urge you to look them up and to ponder and apply them in your lives. They are some of my favorites right now! I know that this Church is the true church on the face of the earth and I am glad I am here doing the Lord's work! Love and miss you all so much! Stay Sweet!

Love,

Elder Kahl

Here are the two scriptures Chandler mentioned above (in case you wanted to know what they were):

Matthew 6:33: But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you.

1 Nephi 3:7: And it came to pass that I, Nephi, said unto my father: I will go and do the things which the Lord hath commanded, for I know that the Lord giveth no commandments unto the children of men, save he shall prepare a way for them that they may accomplish the thing which he commandeth them.

This is how my shoes look every day from all the walking!

This picture is of the city of Tecun, which is in my Zone.

These are pictures of kids in my area and none of them are members but all know my name and when they see me they all yell, “Elder Kahl”! They like their picture taken with the missionaries, maybe because we’re American.

The guys in this picture were dragging this pig down the street and it was squealing so loud and they wanted me to take a picture with it so I did and they were dragging it to a place to go kill it. Haha!

The picture at the table is a game we made for the kids to learn about the Plan of Salvation. We named it "Vida Preterrenal'' where it is like life and they rolled a dice and got a blessing or a sin card and by the end they all died and the goal is to get to the Celestial Kingdom but they can't because they have sins so then a Jesus bridge comes and saves them all and removes their sins and they all win! We made it and they all absolutely love the thing and it is kinda funny because it is a game to where no one wins haha.

I still can’t believe how huge the mountains are here!

In the trailer thing is a whole bunch of members and us leaving a house where we had a lesson on the commandments. It is after Wednesday night when some members meet in a house for a night of commandments like a class. Then the trailer takes them all back to the church.