December 9, 2013

Things I learned this week:

1. Heavenly Father is a God of miracles

Sonia's daughter Maria (Sonia was baptized with her grandson, Maria's son, in November) has been coming to church, and we teach her every week. We invited her to be baptized last week, really thinking she would say yes, but she said no, not yet. (satan really is an idiot). We were really suprised, and really sad for her. Two days later we went and taught again, and she was really different. Before, ever since we first met her, she was always sad, and complained about her hardships to us all the time. To be honest, i didnt love being around her. When we went and visited last Monday, she was SO different. She was happy, laughing, and so great to be around, and SHE WANTS TO BE BAPTIZED! And to make it better, she wants to be baptized on my birthday!! Ever since she made the decsion, she has been to peaceful and happy about life. She is just another testimony to me that God lives, Christ died for all of our pains, sorrows, afflictions, hardships, happiness, and sins. As soon as we soften our hearts and allow Him to help us, we can see miracles in our lives, like Maria. (photo 1: The night she told us she wanted to be baptized. Wani, Sonia, Maria, and Pablo)

2. Christmas isnt really about Christ anymore to most of the world.

Did everyone watch the first presidency broadcast? Thanks to the Hodgmans, we watched it in English! It made me realize how much people forget to celebrate Christ, the WHOLE reason Christmas is even a holiday. I love what.. i think it was Elder Nelson that said, if we really want to celebrate Christmas, give gifts that Christ would give. SERVE people, HELP people in need, LOVE people. Give them ETERNAL gifts. The Christmas tree here in San Marcos has a rooster on top, because here, the beer is called "Gallo" (rooster), if that tells you anything.

3. Spanish is really hard when you have a North American companion}

4. If you put an herb called "Barro" in your hair, it grows longer and stronger.. i tried it.  You blend the leaves with water, but i realized that you probably can strain the leaves out and just use whats left so you dont get small pieces of leaves all over the shower and bathroom. Things you have to learn the hard way.

So I died last week. On Monday I started getting a cold, and on Tuesday i was a mess. (i know mom, i wish you were here too!) I literally layed in my bed the whole day, and got up only to shower and use the bathroom. It was so boring. I didnt eat anything because all i had was all either dairy, or sugary. I think my cold was just Heavenly Father answering my prayers. Last week i was praying and mentioned that it really sucks that i've been gaining weight, then when i was sick i realized how unhealthy my diet is and that i need to buy better things! Point taken, thanks!

On Friday I got a package from Brittany!! It was so sweet THANK YOU!!! My desk is nicely decorated now :)

I'm finally starting to realize that im a missionary and living in a different country. I love it here, love the people, and love the work. I know this gospel is true, I know from my own experiences, and from literally seeing it change people's lives. Thank you for all of your prayers, emails, and letters! They mean so much to me!

Love, 
Hermana Terry

Passed out Drunk.  He was still in same position 4 hours later!

Sack Lunch anyone?

I'm getting Brave.  Turkey face kisses!

Add caption

Thank you Brittany!!!

Barro makes the hair grow longer.

Photo 1 from above letter.

December 1, 2013

After having the worst nights sleep ever, thinking it would be the last time I'd  get to sleep with blankets piled on me for the rest of my mission, and watching the zone leader put my name on the board for changes, I DIDNT HAVE CHANGES! I get to stay here for another change! I'm soo excited. At our district/zone meeting that day, we had a live turkey. Yes, the turkey we would be eating two days later. I was about to kill the elders because they were being so mean to it! But i'm learning SO MUCH PATIENCE with those kids. Since I didnt have changes, and my comp didnt either, i'm pretty sure I wont have that whole "i knew spanish after about 6 months" status like everyone always tells me. President promised me a latina comp next change so cross your fingers! Oh yeah, my District Leader Elder Salazar finished his mission! He was so funny! It was pretty sad

On wednesday the elders all went to the killing of the poor turkey. They named him "Pilgram Young". On Thursday morning, Hermana Hodgman cooked him right up. Oh, i forgot to mention that it pooped and had a TON of worms on tuesday.. but so far so good! We had our zone meeting Thursday, and the elders thought it would be super funny to put the turkey head in my bag. It was super funny, and SO GROSS! They finally got me to touch it. NASTY.

Guatemala is super wierd. I think they always have random holidays. On Friday, EVERYONE was out and about, in the streets, everywhere except their houses. Saturday, NO ONE was in the streets, in their houses, nada. I have no idea where they went. We literally only had three lessons the whole day. Oh, speaking  of holidays, there is a tradition here, i think i mentioned it before. On Thursday and Saturday nights, people go to the big park dressed up as devils. If they see you, they tell you to run, and if they catch you they hit you with a stick. Beforehand, they dance in the park and people go and watch, then the craziness happens. Its from nov. 7th-dec 7th, and on the 8th they "burn the devil". At first you think, what the heck how is this legal? Then you remember you're in Guatemala.

People here are SUCH HARD WORKERS! They literally carry 60lds on their heads, and another 60 on their backs, UP HILL! Hermana Nielsen and I used to complain about walking up our huge hills, but then we always see this guy with one leg and crutches doing it, or someone carrying a million things on their back and head. we dont complain anymore.

I listen to conference talks almost every mornin g now. There is seriously no better way to start the day. One of my favoites is Elder Holland's "Safety for the Soul". I want to be able to bare testimony as strong as he does.

Today for pday we went to a members house and played volleyball and ate lunch. Oh, and watch a rooster be killed. The elders loved it, i almost cried. THey literally twisted its head all the way around. I am so glad i didnt grow up on a farm!

Im thankful for my area, and am SO excited to be here for Christmas! Thank you for all of your emails and letters! They mean the world to me:)

Oh, and for a good machete, read Alma 5. 

Love, Hermana Terry

Pictures coming in an hour...To be continued!

November 18, 2013

Buenas!

This week went by SO FAST! I swear I was just emailing like yesterday. ANYWAY, SONIA AND PABLO GOT BAPTIZED ON SATURDAY!!! It was sooo cool. It was a crazy morning, I swear Satan works hardest on baptism and confirmation days. Sonia is the best person and was so excited and ready to be baptized. I was worried about Pablo getting baptized, that he wouldnt want to get in the water, but he was SO EXCITED too! When he came up out of the water, he had the most surprised, and excited look on his face! He's so funny. The baptism went really well, hermana nielsen and I sang a baptism primary song with the other hermanas that live with us, but i cant remember the name in english, Its the "i like to look for rainbows" song. The baptism reminded me why I am on a mission, it's amazing the change the gospel has in peoples lives. 

We went to a funeral this week of a member's dad, hermana nielsen had to play the piano. I hate funerals, PLEASE DONT DIE WHILE IM GONE!

Last sunday, a member of our ward told us he wanted to feed us that week, and we were like, yeah ok! ANd he was like, ok i'll invite Oscar. Now, there are two Oscars in our ward, a middle aged Oscar, and a 6 months off his mission Oscar. We had no idea which one he meant. He ended up taking us to Dominos with young Oscar, and it was really weird. I think he was trying to set him up with one of us.. people here.

Today for pday we went to the Quetzal refuge. A quetzal is a famous bird here, and several things are named after it, like the money (quetz) and a big city, Quetzaltenango, and even the boy scouts. They dont become eagle scouts, they become Quetzal Scouts (im not sure if thats true, someone could have been lying to me). Anyway, Quetzals (ket-sals) are a big deal, so we went to the Quetzal Refuge today as a zone. We had to hike for a while in this jungle, which was super fun, and we actually saw a Quetzal! (everytime missionaries have gone they havent seen one) They are SO beautiful and have long feathers, look it up. There were also waterfalls and scary bridges and all sorts of jungle things, I love Guatemala! We lost some of the elders on our hike back, and they literally got lost for a few hours. I've learned to have so much patience with these baby elders. 

I'm becoming used to weird things here. I was going to make a list in my journal of weird things, but now I cant even think of any! Whats wrong with me? I cant wait to train a gringa one day so i remember all of the things so i can write them down.

I found a scripture the other week that i LOVE. Its in the Bible, in John 14:18, Its when Christ is talking to the twelve apostles and is hinting that he's about to die. He says "I will not leave you comfortless; I will come to you." I LOVE IT! Because its true, He won't leave any of us comfortless. ALL we have to do is seek for him. Why do we make it so hard? Heavenly Father and Christ promise us several times in the Bible and Book of Mormon that they will love us, and we just need to come unto them. I am so thankful to be a missionary right now. I am so grateful for the relationship I get to build with God, I am loving Guatemala more and more everyday and the people here. 

love you all! :)


Last weeks email that didn't go thru...
Happy Birthday Helen and Dick! I wish i was home to celebrate!!

Last week we got to do such a fun service project! The zone leaders have an investigator with property farther up the mountains and he needed his corn folded. (It literally means what it sounds like. we went to a corn field and folded the corn stalks in half. it dries it out)We went to an area about 20 minutes away to his other house that he rents out to the cutest famly! They were so fun. Their house is one room i think, and they live in the middle of NOWHERE. It was so much fun, the people here are so amazing and such hard workers. The other day we helped a lady carry her bags up a hill, and we each only carried one, and they were so heavy! She was carrying both by herself and i was struggling with just one. Why is north america so lazy?

Hermana Nielsen and I were contacting the other day, and we knocked on the door or a reference we got. They have this cute dog that hops on his hind legs so he can see us over the little fence, so i was talking to the dog, then looking at the street, then went to look at the dog again but this lady was standing there! It scared me so bad i jumped, and said "oh my gosh you scared me" in english though.. so obviously she didnt understand. She looked SUPER familiar but i couldnt think of why. We asked her to see the lady that lived there but the lady "wasnt home". We walked away and hermana nielsen recognized her too. I thought we had seen her in a different house and hna nielsen thought we had seen her in the street before. We went to contact someone else who also "wasnt home" so we went to pass for an investigator who lived on the same street. We knocked on the door and THE SAME LADY from the other house answered! It was soo funny. we were like "um.. is Gabby home?" She told us no and we walked away and just started laughing. Apparentlty this lady works at both houses and can teleport! We ran to the house of the reference where we had seen her 10 minutes earlier, just to see if she would be there again, but she wasnt.

I always forget to pray when I eat somwhere thats not a memeber7investigators house or not my own. We went to Reu this week for a meeting, and I got to hangout with Hermana Minnick the whole time! THey always feed the people in the meeting and their poor comps (minnick and I) who have to wait. We got our food and brought it to the room we were waiting in, and started eating. Then 2 other hermanas come in with theirs and start praying and hermana minnick and i just look at each other with an "oh crap" expression and close our eyes and counted their prayer for us too. Speaking of, Latinos use words from the US here like "crap" and "super". Its so funny.

Thursday was Halloween, and we had a zone meeting. so we started the meeting at 8, so we had time to carve pumpkins after! I didnt know they had pumkins here.  It was so fun, the latinos had never carved pumkins before, they loved it. Afterwards we watched Nightmere before Christmas. Im not sure if thats a halloween movie or a christmas movie. It was a really fun day, but the next day is the holiday for catholics called The Day of the Dead. They paint the graves of their family that has passed on the 31st, then visit them on the 1st and bring the dead people food and im not quite sure what else. EVERYONE (well, all the catholics) get super drunk and close all the stores and go to the cemetaries. Its a really interesting holiday. EVeryone who isnt catholic goes on vacation or flies kites. EVERYONE is flying kites right now, its so funny, they are selling them everywhere and you always see kites in the sky. I guess they always do it in novemeber. We went with our ward mission leader, his family, and the other elders to fly kites (NO ONE was home for us to teach). THe kites here are so different! We went to this big field that a bunch of other people also went to to fly the kites. The family was super nice and bought us a pastery someone was selling there. It was SO DISGUSTING! It was fried bread with gooey stuff inside, but i think they used the same pan with the same greece they made breakfast with, because it tasted AWFUL! Afterwards, my stomach hurt really bad, with something we like to call "boo". Its where you wish you just had to throw up cause you can do that anywhere, but no, you need a bathroom. Of course we were in this random field in the middle of nowhere for about TWO more hours, and i just sat there ready to die any minute now. We FINALLY got home and i used our bathroom and it was fine. LAter we were out proselyting (trying, no one was home) and my stomach started to hurt again. I usually dont mind living 20 minutes from our area, but when you have boo, and you have to walk home, its reallly hard. If you walk to slow, you'll never make it home in time, but if you walk too fast, you'll need a bathroom faster. it was the hardest, longest walk of my life! We got home and decided to stay in for the rest of the night. Note to self: dont eat pasteries in the kite field.

I have balance issues. Every monday when we play sports as a zone and i try to turn, i end up falling. Today we played soccer, and i was killing the latinos, it was great. Until no one was near me and i turned around fast and flat out slid accross the field. Later some elders were throwing around the football and one smacked me right in the eye. It was a really embarassing day.

We only have our 5 investigators still. THey are so awesome and are so excited to be baptized. The Lord works in mysterious ways. When you humble yourself and follow his commandments, the blessings just pour in. I didnt bring the scriptures i read this week that i wanted to share because i didnt realize we were coming to write! Next week.

We had a movie night with our ward and watched The Croods. has anyone seen it? ITS SO FUNNY! not in spanish, who knows what it was saying in spanish. Hna neilsen and i made popcorn the whole time so we didnt get to watch it, but we got permission to bring it home and watch it onthe dvd player we use for training dvds. AND IT HAD THE OPTION TO WATCH IT IN ENGLISH! what a blessing. its such a funny movie and we had a really good turn out.

not much is new. i learn like one new word a day. slow but steady! 

Mom, I got my bday package 2 weeks ago!!  I started to open it, then saw a clown bday card and realzied it was for my bday so closed it up, bought wrapping paper, and wrapped it all cute :) I also hid it so I dont have to stare at it for another month and a half.

ALso, I LOVE the padded socks you sent me!! THANK YOU!!!!

November 11, 2013

Friends: I changed my mind. Email me and i will send you hand written letters:)

Hello!! Its been a good,bad,funny,disappointing,miracle kind of week. You know, the usual. SO I have this awesome investigator Sonia (she's the one who had been robbed like 7 years ago then missionaries helped get her a bunch of things for her house, then she went to church and took the lessons but got sick and stopped going) Anyway, she is so awesome, I love her so much. She lives with her daughter and two grandkids in this little apartment. A lot of people here in San Marcos are pretty wealthy, but you still have your poor families. Her family is VERY VERY poor. She was supposed to get baptized on Saturday, but her sister passed away two days before, and she went to Xela (shayla) for the funeral and couldnt make it. Her daughter and grandkids couldnt go because they had probably spent all they had on the bus ticket down for Sonia. We were so sad for her. Sonia is seriously the sweetest person. On Sunday we went to pass for a reference who said she wanted to go to church with us, but her grandma answered and didnt look happy to see us, and told us her granddaughter was "at school" which was a big fat lie. So we went to church with no investigatos. Hermana Nielsen plays the piano and can see the whole congregation, so after the sacramanet was passed she sits down next to me and said "Hermana Sonia is here!" WHATTTT!! She is the best person in the world. She has sooo much faith. Its people like her that remind me why I am here serving a mission, she is such a great example to me. She wasnt supposed to be back from Xela yet, but she didnt want to miss church. She always brings her 9 year old grandson, Pablo. They were both there. We were so excited to see them. SHe was so sad she missed the baptism on Saturday and really wants to get baptized this week, WITH her grandson! Tender mercy. Everything happens for a reason. They are so excited to get baptized together. His mom and sister want to get baptized too, but havent been able to make it to church yet. They are both coming next Sunday though. 

Pablo is so funny. He is kind of a different kid, is 9 but acts 5, but hes so awesome. He LOVES church, but I always have to bribe him with things like punching balloons (thanks mom!)  to go to his own class instead of staying with us. I love their family so much.

So here in Guatemala everyone greets everyone with a kiss on the cheek. Except the missionaries. We kiss the girls and shake the hands of the men.  Anytime we go anywhere, especially a church or mission activity or meeting, we have to kiss and shake EVERYONE'S hand when we get there and when we leave. If we see someone we know in the store or the street, we go over and kiss them and say hi. Ok, you get the picture. So the other day, Hermana Nielsen and I are walking home for lunch, and we say hi to these girls we were about to pass (we say hi to EVERYONE). One girl looked excited like we knew her, I assummed she was in our stake, so i kissed her cheeck and hugged her, then Hermana Nielsen, looking super confused, kissed her too. THen as we were walking away we realized.. we dont think we actually knew her at all, and she was probably thinking, i just kissed the two white girls.. oops

People die their chickens here. Its really weird. I dont completely understand why, i just know the green one is a boy and the pink one is a girl! We went to a members house in our ward for a Family Home Evening, and since i usually don t have a lot to contribute to the lesson, i pull out my balloons so the family knows i exist.

People LOVE looking at our pictures here. I carry around pictures of my family, and they LOVE looking at them. The other night we were at Noche de Hermanamiento (tuesday nights the ward gets together at the chirch and a different family teaches the lesson each week) I pulled my pitures out to show this lady in my ward moms hair (cause her dad was an albino, so she is  white and has the same hair as you Mom! grey infront and everything!) then EVERYONE came over and looked through all of my pictures. Its so funny, they especially love the pictures of Gavy and Porter because they are blondies with blue eyes.

The Hodgemans are the best. As always, I dont know what i would do without them. They are my parents away from home. They feed Hermana Nielsen and I on sundays. Last night it was cheese burgers and icecream cones and cookies. I love them!

I love  Guatemala, spanish is coming along. Somedays I realize I know how to speak spanish, then i plateu and dont learn anything new, then the next week i realized i can speak even more. Im not great, but its getting better and I can understand soo much more!

I hear the Jazz are doing awful... i guess its a good year to not watch basketball.

I hear the Seahawks are amazing. Im not suprised at all. They're from Seattle!! 

October 21,2013

God knows us so well, I have seen his hand in my life so much, especially since i have been on the mission. On thursday we had this things called "attack of the area" when all the missionaries in our zone, and ward memebers, all contact in our area for 2 hours. I went with hermana beckstrand and a girl from my ward. We knocked on this door whos house id knocked on dseveral times, but no one ever answers. THey answered and we asked if we could share a message, and i didnt understand what he was saying. then he asked in ENGLISH "so where are you from?" i was like.. what! Um, seattle, can you please say that all again in english, i didnt quite get it. when can we come back? hge said he used to be a member, and wants God in his life again. But he asked if we could come back in the morning so his non member friend could listen to! I was like.. um YES!! We recieved so many good references from everyone that night. The next morning we went out and committed three of the refrences to baptism. We are so blessed. Prayer works, God hears every word of them.

So a lot of spanish words sound alike, like hambre (hungry) and hombre (man)

re. I always get them mixed up. The other day we were home for lunch and we get a knock on the door, a kid was selling a amall piece of pineapple. we arent allowed to buy things off the street so i said, "lo siento, no tengo hombre" which means, im sorry, i dont have a man. oops.

then we were walking with the elder to get chocolate covered bananas, and i said, "yo quiero enanos de chocolate" which means dwarfs of chocolate. . its just chocobananaos. spanish is so hard sometimes!

I love the Hodgemans. THey are the best!! We had lunch and dinner at their house this week. Hermana Hodgeman is such a good cook! We had blts for lunch and spagetti for dinner. they love the hermanas, and we love them. We would die without them!

guatemalan things:

people dont have car seats, they just hold their kids int eh car. the kids like it though, we hsould try it in the states

people always seat 4 people to a motorcyce, including 10 day old babies.they have no fear

they eat bread and tortillas with eeverything and think its crazy when i tell them we dont in the states

the garbage people come at 6:30am and you have to take your trash out and wait for them so the dogs dont eat it.

Thank you for all the letters!
Love, Hermana Terry

October 7, 2013

This week was interesting. Tuesday I went to Reu with my comp and the Zone leaders for their leadership meeting. ( i got to hangout with hermana phillips again during their meeting!) we Have to take public transportaion down there. This is a good time to tell you about the busses. THey are literally insane. I wonder if you can look up pictures of them. They are school busses from the US but they paint them crazy., The drive to REU is long and windy down the mountain. The busses go SOOO fast down the mountain, around the corners, its so scary. Oh, and they pass people around blind corners all the time..i dont understand why we dont die (sorry mom, breathe). So, we were on this crazy bus at 5am, and luckily it wasnt too full. around 6:30 hermana neilsen and i were feeling sick from the driving. i started thinking about what if i actually had to throw up. I couldnt go out the window because it would go all over the bus, i didnt know how to say "stop the bus!" and if i did we'd probably get stranded, and i had no bad to throw up in. I started praying for my stomach to feel better, when all the sudden it was worse. I look at hna. nielsen and tell her "i think i need to throw up". She threw down the window so fast and switched me seats so i was by the window. I threw up in my mouth (sorry) and look at her and shes like "out the window" then i threw up out the window, sat down, and repeated two more times. It was super gross, but it didnt get on the bus! and, i felt great after. my zone leader was sitting behind me and laughed everytime i threw up.

So now im at the window seat, just watching out the window, when all the sudden i see a naked man (i dont know if this is appropriate for a missionary blog). It was really funny because he was showering outside, but it was like in a movie when there is an object perfectly covering what you dont need to see. His pila was a gift to me, and covered what would have made me throw up a fourth time. 

We have to switch busses in Xela (shayla), and its a huge bus area, and there is always a market ouside, then people come on the bus trying to sell you food, gum, etc. One guy comes on selling toothbrishes and toothpaste randomly, and my comp bought me some haha.

The other day we went to a members house for lunch and we helped her prepare things. She hands hermanan neilsen a bloody bag, and she looks inside and was like "ah, i knew it." i asked what it was and she wouldnt tell me. it was liver. yes, we had friend liver for lunch. How did it taste? i have no idea. I cut it into pieces small enough to swollow. Then the other pieces i masked with tamale. I usually hate tamale, but i'd never been so grateful for it.

Later we went to invite a menos activo to confrence, and we walk up her stairs and see these two birds with red paint on them. only, it wasnt paint, they were SUPER bloody! She told us they had a small dog who started ripping at them. I pictured this evil small dog, and they bring out the CUTEST puppy ever!!!

We have a new investigator!! Her name is Marjory, she is SO awesome! We taught her on Saturday after conference, and she brought a notebook and took notes, then she came to conference on Sunday! She came with her friend, who actually brought us our other investigator (who i think doesnt want to get baptized : ( ) But she is so great. i love her!

I thought i was understandingh spanish more, but then i just found out that this lady who we visit a lot, (her husband is an inactive member and shes not a member, and they have two cute little daughters) is actually the inactive member. her husband is the one who isnt a member. i just found this out and we have been visiting her since i got here. she brought up temples and the word of wisdom and i though "oh my gosh... wait, i think she might want to hear the lessons!" then hermana nielsen told me shes a member. so yeah.. spanish is getting better, but im still clueless unless its gospel related.

the other day we were passing the futbol field and we see this blonde girl getting icecream. there is no reason for a blonde white girl to be in san marcos.. I decided she was from utah and was with her husband or boyfriend visiting his mission. it turns out she is from utah, and shes with her boyfriend visiting his grandparents. the guys brother came to a baptism (he is also visiting). i knew it. there are no blonde people here!

so the other night after my shower, i turned the water off and then the shower heard sparked.. the water heater is BUSTED! :( luckily i washed my hair, because there was NO WAY I was going to wash it in ice water! but then i had to today cause it was still broken :( ITS SOO COLD! but its been warm outside lately. The top of my feet are tan. thats about it though.

Thank you for all the letters and emails!

September 30, 2013

September 30, 2013

I need NBA updates when the season starts!
FRIENDS:  Email me your addresses  because I have no tome to email you.  I'll mail letters!

Sorry my e-mails are never funny!  i just dont have enough time! But i do have a few good stories-   

1, we were walking back from lunch with the elders, then all the sudden the street was covered in people wearing black, and they were carrying a casket, yes, someone died. its a funeral march. followin them was a car with huge speakers on top playing funeral music. they reminded me of the end of Hot Rod, when everyone is marching to the Big Jump, and that song is playing.. but it was super awkward because we were going the opposite direction, and there was no room on the street, so we hopped onto a sidewalk that was super tall. So here are 3 norte´s and one hispano about 2 feet higher than everyone on the sidewalk, trying to go past the traffic, and EVERYONE was staring at us... super awkward.

Story 2: Every dog is SUPER cute here. then we go to this memebers house and they had the 1 ugly dog in all of san marcos.. and its name was Terry..

story 3: we sing to people a lot here. especially if they dont want to hear our message. we ask if we can sing them a song and they walways say yes. so we were at the last house of the day, singing ï am a child of god¨and i started laughing really hard because i messed up, and i couldnt stop laughing. luckily i was holding in the sound, but hermana neilsen just sat there and sang the rest by herself.. it was really funny.

story 4: today for pday the elders FINALLY invited us to play. we played dodgeball. on the very first game, an elder through a ball at me and i turned around to dodge it, and i fell on the cement. i played it off like a dive though, so hopfully everyone just thinks im super athletic

story 5:i have a really big umbrella here. the hodgmans gave it to me and i LOVE it because it covers me and my bags.. but it always gets in the way and hits people when i pass them. The other day we were walking on the sidewaslk. there was a fence with barbed wire on one side and the street on the other. we were passing an old lady, so we raised up our umbrellas to pass her. We kept walking, only my umbrells was  caught on something.. the barbed wire! it was super embarassing. the old lady stopped and watched me struggle, as well as everyone else accross the street. now, i always avoid walking by barbed wire.

story 6:there is this SUPER cute little 6 year old at church.. except he passes the sacrament! the first two weeks i would just stare at him during sacrament meeting and think, HOW are they letting a 6 year old pass? we need some general authorities to come and make sure they are doing things right here.. but then he was actually 12.

story 7: we were walking home one night, and taxis always honk to see if people need rides. this one pulls over with his window down, and i say ¨no gracias¨and my comp was like.. ¨he´s just dropping someone off¨¨, then i guy got out. i felt so stupid. now i never talk to taxis

Story 8: i am super paranoid. the other morning i was sitting in my bed, writing in my journal, and i feel somthing on my leg through my sweats.. i start scratching thinking it was a bug, but i didnt feel anything.. then i feel it bite again and i scratch and didnt feel antything.. then it went up higher and bit again. this time i didnt bother to scratch because i was imaginig it. i felt it one more time and pulled off my sweats and had 3 red marks where i felt it biting. i freaked out and took off all my sheets and blankets and sprayed my mattress, then switchd it with one that the nurses used when they stayed. they are new and have plastic on them. i slept with just one blanket the next night and froze. and the matress made a bunch of noise from the plastic on it. i felt like i was preventing myself from peeing the bed. moral of the story, there probably wasnt a bed and im gonna die whenever they move me from the mountains.

things here:

people dont use addresses, they use üp 2  street and in the middle¨.. stuff lkike that

my area is a 20 minute walk up and down hills through the city

they have a pro soccer team, i live by the field

cars drive around with huge loud speakers advertising things

little girls LOVE the hermanas

men are creeps

kids point at  you and say ¨gringo¨ (white person) all the time. especially when we are with the elders cause elder dalby us  white and blonde. people STARE at us all the time, cause we,re white. i think its super annying, then sometimes i see a white person and just stare at them and think, what the heck are they doing HERE? then i realize what im doing

everyone has their own hymn book and brings that to church, the church doesnt have them

we kiss girls on the cheek

its valentines day EVERYDAY. people are always kissing on the street

THEY HAVE A&W HERE!! one of the elders found a place!!

i love the Hodgemans.. they made me gain a testimony of senior couple missionaries. i dont know what i would do without them! they fix everything!

: We sing to people

Mom, I got your first aide note!!!   I loVED It!!  but dont worry, i was just getting a bandaid from someone else.

Loved my sees candy vanila pops, all gone now!

Blend in of the Week!

Sunshine!

Street below our building

Squished in a Taxi.

  What ever happened to ALWAYS wearing a seatbelt?

Yep, theirs more!

Go Seahawks!

We live near soccer field, bottom right.

Another blend in.

My first real balloon Gig!

Not quite like Mom's.

Chocolate pancakes EVERY morning!

My Companion

A dog at church!

More Dogs, actually they're Everywhere!

Church

I really held it!

September 23, 2013

Weird things here in Guatemala...

You dont flush toilet paper down the toilet!  You put it in the garbage next to the toilet.. 

 I know, its disgusting, and I always forget or sometimes i'll remember with the first toilet paper and forget on my second one!  Oops. 

EVERYONE cat calls here, just because im white. I walk down the street and whistles are literally coming from every direction, its so annoying!  Sometimes I say hi to men when I pass by beacause they usually wont cat call if i say hi first.

There are tons of cars, even in Reu. Tons of busses, they are yellow school busses from the states that they send here. They paint them, its so funny.  

Every missionary house has a huge purified water jug and we just call for new ones when we need it.  It's so easy.  Most members have them also.    

The teenage boys are so clean cut here and have really good style.  I love their hair so much.  

Tell moms who are sending their kids here, to have their girls bring a black jacket, like suit jacketish. We wear them in meetings with presidente.  They can find them here too. Everything here is like a huge DI or Goodwill.  

The kids arent really starving here in San Marcos.  They all dress in uniforms to school, they are so nice!   Some kids wear suits, they all dress nice.

September 9, 2013

HOLA!  So much to catch you up on!   First, the rest of the CCM.

The last week was so hard!  I love the CCM and my districts and teachers!  They are sooo fun!  Our two disrticts sang the EFY medley at our last sacrament meeting.  I cried like a baby and it was really embarrassing because I tried to hold it in so my face kept twitching.  We also had the awesome idea to do a flash mob at lunch.  We were gonna sing the efy medley, so we kind of spread ourselves out.  Hermana Barba and I were at the soup, next to where the elders sit, and I told the elders to stand up before we sang but they didnt want to, so 2 girls stand up and start singing, but they were super quiet. Then Hermana Barba and I started singing, but we were laughing, so it wasn't loud.  When the elders got up to sing, elder bankhead goes to stand up, and his belt catches the table and moves it, and his red juice spilled all over this hispano, and it was super loud.  I lost it, I was laughing so hard, and everyone was looking at the poor elder, and people were still kind of singing but no one was watching because all the attention was on this poor elder.  WORST. FLASHMOB. EVER: hahah it was so funny.  I was so embarassed.  It was hard to say bye to all my friends!

I drove to reu with all of the other district.  I love them all, but it was sad.  They said it was supposed to be a 5 hour ride but it as only 3.  We got to the mission office around 11 and went straight to a meeting with the office elders and our Pres and his wife.  They are so cute. Then they fed us Burger King, which I usually hate, but for some reason it was amazing! Whitney Minnik´s comp. is the nurse lady and she had to talk to all of us newbie´s, so Hermana Minnik was there!  She gave me the stuff you sent mom!  That was really funny that you sent me a white shirt haha, I like it, and LOVE the crocks!  They are perfect!   And the suckers keep me awake when im studying and am ready to pass out.  Her comp told us how to stay healthy and talked to us about food.   She mentioned milk and we asked about it, and if we had to drink it, if its good, etc.  Then Elder Garcia was like ¨"or you can just have a flashmob and spill it".  It was really funny.  She talked about the earth quake last novemember, and said that it was really bad in the mountains, and all the bugs left the trees and there is really bad bed bugs and fleas.  Gross.  They said the hermanas are never sent there, so im good!  Afterwards, we all met with the presidente individually.  When you walk in his office, there is all the areas in the mission, and each companionship in the area.  I saw my picture right away because it was right by the door.  I have a norte companion from Utah! The presidente told me not to tell anyone, but my area, San Marcos, is IN THE MOUNTAINS!  Yes, the cold, wet, bug infested, no showers, jungle mountains. Yes, that is what i´ve been afraid of since the time I heard of my mission, but for some reason I felt really good about it when he told me!  After our meeting, we went out with some hermanas in the area and taught lessons!  It was so crazy, there were dogs (chuchos) EVERYWHERE! People always talk about how gross they are, but they are SO CUTE!  And they are literally everywhere.  We visited a lady who's house was made out of cinder blocks, (most of the houses here are).  She was holding 3 babies at once.  I didn’t really understand what was going on, but I bore my testimony at some point about eternal families. The next house had dirt floors. The girl we were teaching, and everyone here, talkes really quietly and mumbles all their words together.  I had NO idea what they were saying.  I bore my testimony about the plan of salvation though.  I dont think she understood my spanish.  We stopped and got pan (bread), then went back to the church so we could go to dinner at the presidentes house. The mission home is SO nice!  So weird after teaching in poverty. The food was amazing, it was a lot like the CCM food. They also gave all the Hermanas a rose, it was so sweet.  Then they took us to a hotel.  ( I know, I have it so rough.. not)!   For some reason the hermanas had to stick 4 to a room, but Hermana Barba and I got our own with 2 beds!  It was so nice.. not the hotel, it was a little sketchy, but it was nice not having a ton of people.  Im pretty sure my pillow was made out of rocks, but I slept like a baby.  The next morning we ate breakfast there.  They had black beans and something else, I cant remember. Refired black beans are my new favorite food.  They're so good!  Right after breakfast, we walked next door to the church where we meet our comps!  A bunch of people were there because they had companion changes.  It's so fun how they do it.  We all watch a power point.  It has the area and the companionship, then one picture diappears and the new companions picture shows up.  They weren't showing mine, then the slide show ended and I still didnt have my comp and area, then they were like.. oh yeah, there are two more.  Then San Marcos popped up with 2 elder´s pictures, and BOTH of the pictures went away, and mine and Hermana Neilsons popped up, and people freaked out!  I guess it's a big deal because they haven't had sisters in the mountains for 2 years.  I felt really cool because everyone kept coming up to me after telling me how cool it was and that I would be really cold.  We hopped on a bus, it's a 5 hour ride!  Everyone else is pretty close to Reu.  We watched Tangled in spanish on the way up and stopped at Wendys.  Oh yeah, Elder Jorgensen and Hansen were on our bus because their areas are far too!  (They were in my other district), and Hermana Beckstran from the other district lives in my house!  So we all rode up together, and everyone else had to be separated right away.  Wendy's was so yummy.. and just when I thought everything was too good, I heard something beautiful. Yes, "When you Look Me in The Eyes" by the Jonas Brothers was playing at Wendy's, ahh.  We got to our area and it didnt look like a jungle, its actually a city!  Our house is so cute, and  huge!  The president of our area and his wife are so cute.  They got us flowers.  I love having another companionship in the house!  That night we met with the bishop.  He's so nice.  The people here are very rich.   Like lower class North American, but very rich here.  The elders brought us back home and ordered us Tortas for dinner, they were so good.  Oh, did I mention we have HOT showers?! Like so hot its almost scalding my skin.  And I literally haven't seen ONE bug.  I have the easiest transition.  Oh, and did I mention the food is amazing?  We went to a store of a members, and their worker called them to come out (everyone on the street has a house of the owner behind it), they came out and the wife saw we were Hermans, (btw Hermanas mean sister), and got so excited!  She pushed her husband out of the way and was like "Missionaras missionaras!!" she made us crepes with nutella and bananas.  I was so excited and told her my mom makes them all the time!  Then the other day we went to have a lunch and it was actually a birthday party. The food was so good and the baby is so cute!  His name is Daniel and he was turning one.  The members here are amazing.  We brought someone to church on sunday and they all came up and welcomed him.  Oh, I love my comp! I am so happy!  She's 22 so its nice.  Every time I talk about an old movie, I love that she actually knows what im talking about.  Everything is colorful here.  The members always see us on the street and come up to talk to us. I never know what's going on.. spanish is so hard, I'm beginning to understand a little more.  I began reading the BOM in spanish.  I have no time to write!  sorry!  more details next week!

Oops, I forgot to write about the earth quake!   We visited this cute member we randomly knocked on her door.  She gave us pineapple upside down cake and tea, (they always give you pan and a hot drink whatever house you go to, its so nice).  Just as we finished eating the house started shaking!  It was so scary!  We ran outside and there were a ton of people in the street.  Birds were flying everywhere and cats were coming out of nowhere.  Poor dogs were barking.  It was really hard!  The old lady we were visiting was holding on to a pole outside here house under a cement ceiling. I tried to get her to come out to the street but she didnt want to.  It finally stopped, then we went in her house and helped her clean broken  glasses that fell.  Everyone was really scared because of the HUGE one last year.  Look it up from last november. It ruined so many houses and buildings.  Cars started driving like manics everywhere.  Everyone was outside.  There were aftershocks for a while.  It was really scary!  I just wanted to call you guys and let you know I was fine!  The city looks really old and beat up.  I thought it was because it was poor, then I realized the people are rich.. its all from the earth quake last year.

HOLA!                                                                                                   August 27, 2013

 Thanks for all the emails and letters this week.  I loved hearing from everyone.

First, the food is still SO amazing! Everytime I eat, I   think I need to write home about this one.  I dont know how they do it, but the food is SO GOOD! Yesterday was the main chef´s birthday so I made him an Octopus balloon, and my district gave it to him, he loved it! 

(Mom i need more octopus heads!)

So we are still having class at the capilla (church building), and last week there were a ton of families for some reason!  They come from all over, so when they come here it usually takes a few days. There is a temple house for them to stay at, and people to watch their children. The capilla is practically on temple grounds, so during class there were a TON of niños (children) outside!  We all went out and and starrted playing with them, they were so cute! One little girl gave me a sticker, there were a bunch of kids playing ball with the elders, then there was this super cute one in the chapel who was talking to Elder Jorgensen (abby, if youre reading this, jorgensen always makes me think of you cause he looks like Matt Saracen!)  I went over to them and asked the boy is he plays futbol, he said he did (cause all central and south americans do) then I realized before I had asked him that, elder J was like "lo siento.." (im sorry), but I was too focused on my spanish that I wasnt listening to their conversation. Then Jorgensen told me the little boy had just told him that his older brother was in prison, then I came in and asked him about soccer!  haha.. oops. It was really funny afterwards.  I love the kids!  They are all so sweet, and they LOVE the missionaries.  Its almost celeb status, do you think that's good enough for Nick Jonas? sorry, I had to. 

Today was my last time going to this temple! :( it was so sad, I walked around and tried to memorize everything about it, I love it so much.

The Mericado was so crazy!  We took a bus ride through the city to get to a Relief Map, which was HUGE!  A man went through and surveyed all of guatemala with just a donkey and his tools.  I can't remember how long ago, but a really long time ago, and it was 99.9% accurate!  The presidente took us and told us all about it, then gave theory of where the BOM took place.  Its cool hearing about it and seeing where it could have been. Then we went to the mericado (the market), there were so many small shops!  I bought shoes, a Guatemalan dress, and two headbands.  All of the hermanas bought a dress, hopefully I can send a pic in 2 weeks!  Everything was super cheap there, but you feel like you're spending a ton of money cause everything is 8x as much in ketzalas! 

So when I was looking for a dress, they were all just whatever, then I found this SUPER cute one! It was mint green and striped and the style was super cute!  I tried it on and the slit was too high, so I told the lady I was going to keep shopping and probably come back for that dress, (I would just sew up the slits).   I go around and there is nothing that comes close, by this time we have 10 minutes to be back at the bus, so we (my comp and 2 elders) were running through the mericado trying to find that lady with my dress, and just as we get to it, Isee Hermana Outsen, walking around the corner leaving with my dress!!  I was so sad!  The lady didn't care because she got it sold..   I was so bummed, then as we were walking out, I see down one way a dress, so I ran down to buy it.  It was half as much money, (still only $10 US dollars) and I loved the color!  It was funny afterward talking to Outsen about it..  Not funny seeing her wear it the next day.

Our 2 districts are leaving in a week, and its a tradition for us all to sing at church our last sunday, so we´re singing the EFY medley, it sounds so pretty. We were practicing yestrday and someone had the idea to do a flash mob of it in the cafteteria (oh the things you do on a mission.. flash mob to church songs) we think its super funny though, if it happens, it will be next monday! 

So we still play bumb at deportes, but us girls only stay in because the elders are being nice, so all deportes last night, one elder helped me and some other hermanas with our shots and layups for about 45 minutes, then we played bumb like a boss!  We made a bunch of shots and thought we were so cool, but the elders are still way better.  But now we dont look like girls who cant shoot a ball!

I crave milkyways daily.  It's an issue.  On sunday nights though we get chocolate, and last sunday I got a twix!  Sundays are seriously the best.  I just cry all day, especially during devotionals and movies.  All I know is Christ is our Savior, and all he wants is our happiness, which is why he atoned for our sins, so we can repent and be happy.  Not so we repent because we´re bad people. We´re not bad people, but sometimes we do things we can improve on, and thats' when we can repent.

Running out of time!  I dont know if I get to write next week, because this time next week i'll be in RETALHULEU!   Am I excited, YES!  But then I take a warm shower here, and eat a steak sandwich then think.. I could stay here a while longer.

Love you all!

Hermana Terry

PS, Send all letters to the mission home now!

Week 4 CCM Guatemala

Hola!! What a week. I cant believe I only have 2 more weeks at the CCM, and I've already been out a MONTH!  (only 17 more to go mom and dad, you can do it).  So my stomach has been very bipolar since I arrived at the CCM. One minute it's best friends with the cooks, the next, it's best friends with el baño.  Hopefully it will make up its mind soon and only be friends with the cooks. Speaking of which, THE FOOD IS SO GOOD!  

Aubrey, Tayten, Emelia, Bradie, Abby, and Cyndi Crawford, WRITE ME! 

I need updates pronto.

(I asked Jaclyn a question about the CCM and the guards).  She said...

  "I am locked up. There are literally people with guns lining our way to the capilla".

This week was really fun.  In class we were learning something about spanish, and everyone had to draw a picture from a Bible or Book of Mormon story, then we split into 2 groups and each acted out a few of the pictures in spanish. It was so funny.  I love my district. The other district who came here with us, is also in the capilla for class, so we opened the wall and acted out Noah´s ark for them.  It was so funny.. oh the things you find joy in on the mission.  Like on Sunday, we watched Legacy and The Testaments, and all were excited about the small love story.  We were like.. are we allowed to be watching this? haha. btw I LOVE THE TESTAMENT VIDEO!! so amazing. Family, watch it for FHE por favor, especially since it was filmed in Guate and im sure thats where it takes place.  

So fun watching it here.

At lunch one day, it got out that I do hair.  Ive done 6 haircuts this week and 1 blowout.. 

Don't worry Jen, Prodo is Way better than me.

 I love cutting hair!  I always get a hispana that knows english to traslate what the girl wants her hair to look like, because I dont want to 

 traslate what the girl wants her hair to look like, because I dont want to guess their spanish on something like a haircut!

When we walk to the temple or the capilla we always see little kids going up to cars asking for money.  Its so sad, but they always get money!  Almost every car gives them some!

Accross from the CCM, they just changed a billboard to an ad for the Justin Bieber Believe tour in october. I always have Baby stuck in my head now, its very distracting.  

I love the CCM because songs circulate so fast. I'll start whistling a song in the hall then, someone will pass.  We and start singinging it, then I get downstairs and someone else is humming it.  Its so funny.

i paid my guy teach to get some.. haha.we arent supposed to do that.. shh

My teacher came and gave me a hug from you the other day Mom!  Then I warned her, my mom is obsessed with me, if you write her back, she wont stop and probably ask you to do things. Haha. then she came up to me later and told me you asked her to send a picture! Shes not allowed to. I love her, shes so sweet.  

I forgot to tell you, I obtained 2 milkyways this week.  I am so happy when I have Milkyways.  i paid my guy teach to get some.. haha.we aren't supposed to do that.. shh.

I think I still hold the record for Dear Elders. 5 again,  Thanks guys!  Mom, you should send one to my friend Hermana Phillips.  She doesnt get any, shes the one who brought balloons too.  She's going to my mission. 

 Etranny, I got yours too!  It made me laugh, email me so I can email you back!

The rain is so loud here. Our class meets in the gym sometimes for planning, and it rained so hard the other day we had to yell to communicate, and we still couldnt hear.  It's rediculous!! it just pours.  It usually starts when we have to leave the capilla to come back to the CCM, so it pours on us the whole way  back.  I never bring my umbrella, but I do always have my rain jacket because im always freezing in class (they blast the AC).

The rain is just a small taste of what I will get in Retalhuleu.

I cant wait to share the gospel with everyone.  How amazing is it that we can be with our families forever.  God is too good to let us die and not reunite us with those we love most. Our whole purpose on this earth is to develop our families. I love you all so much and am so thankful for your love and support on my mission. It means so much to me.

Jesus the Christ is an AMAZING book!  It goes through everything we know about Christ's life.  Everyone needs to read it to gain a better understanding and a testimony of Christs atonement.

Last Monday we got to watch a live devotional from the Provo MTC!  Usually we just watch taped ones.  It was the first time they'd ever done it live to all the other MTC's. 

 It was so good.  All the devos we watch are so amazing.

Sorry that was so scattered.  My mind is a little crazy.  I leave in 2 weeks!  Tomorrow we get to go see a Guatemala Relief Map (google it), then to the Mericado!  (the market), I hear its crazy and there is a ton of fun things.  I want to get a guatemalan dress i've seen some of the older girls wear. 

My norte roommates leave tomorrow! :( 

I'll be in the older group when they leave!  So crazy.

Wilkes came when I did!  I met him at the SLC airport.  He's in the other district that we hangout with all the time.  He is gonna be such an amazing Missonary!

Thank you all for wrtiting.

 love yoU!

Hermana Terry

Wow, what a week!

After I e-mailed saying I was about to kick my cold, it got so bad!  My disticto said my companion and I looked like death. 

Tuesday we had our big Walmart trip! 

Can i just say people are CRAZY drivers here!

The prices are so weird, I had no idea what I was spending. They didnt have a good chocolate selections, BUT THEY HAD MILKYWAYS!  I bought two bags, and a regular bar. They taste SO MUCH BETTER here!  Idk if  its because i've been milkyway deprived, or if its just because they´re delicous. 

 Mom, they also had Kinder Suprise!  I bought one of those, it was so good. I ate it in the store. The toy was an alligator. I'm saving it for ninos in the field.  I bought a pillow there, now I sleep with two. 

 I'ts amazing, after Walmart we went to a mall food court for lunch.  Their mall is super nice. They have a store called "Always 21".  All the hermanas took a picture in front of it because its like Forever 21. They had a PINK store too.  We weren't allowed to shop at the mall, but we could go inside the stores.  I was so curious.  I went inside and some of the stuff is similar and a lot of it is... cheaper. 

They were playing Maroon 5 payphone!  I was so happy.  I ate pizza hut and taco bell at the food court. 

(Mom, the pizza looked old, so I used an old trick I learned from you.  I asked for a piece they had to make fresh.  I had the best piece ever). 

When I had to pay for it, I  had no idea what the lady was saying.  I just held out all my money and she picked what she wanted and gave me change.  I need to learn how to speak money!.

Wednesday the new Nortes came!  It was fun greeting them. There are a TON of them!  

Recently, the water here is having problems.  It shuts off so we have to use the banos (bathrooms) by the gym outside. Wednesday night was no exception.  The water was shut off, so we couldnt shower after deportes (oh, we have deprtoes at night now).  One new norte was showering when the water shut off, so two girls dumped a bucket over the shower for her.  About 10 minutes after everyone went to  bed, I heard a loud noise.. it sounded like it was raninng again.  

(When it rains it POURS here).  I sleep by the window, and it wasnt raining.. we got up and opened our door to the hall, there was a waterfall coming from the ceiling!  Water was flooding everyone´s rooms!  luckily the floor slants and the water went accross the hall to the other room, not ours. It was so funny, the water was so powerful.  A maitnence guy ran up and fixed it.  We closed the door and put sheets under our door and went to bed.  Everyone else had to stay up and get it out of their rooms.  It was such a funny night? 

 Welcome to Guatemeala new Norte´s!

By the way, I feel like I hold the record for Dear Elder Letters!  I got 4 Dear elders and 1 letter in one day!  All from Mom and Brianne haha.  I LOVE GETTING THOSE!  SEND ME SOME!! 

 I felt bad cause I was given the pile of letters for the girls in my district to distribute, and I was holding a lot of them, but they were all for me.  GRACIAS MOM AND BRI!

Mom, send me pics of the boys! JEN-tell the babies i love them!

I'm usually cold here. Reu is different though.
 Everytime I tell a latina where im going on my mission, they fan their face and say "hace calor!".
First thing, everytime.  It's so funny.

I´ve learned being here that mom knows best. Mom, you know how you always tell me what I need to do, bring, etc., and I shut you down?  Well everything you had me bring that I didnt want, ive been so grateful for.

We found out the people think the CCM (guat mtc) is a Correctional Center for Missionaries haha.  We are gated in and have guards all over.  I can see why they think that.

We have class in the capilla (church building) by the temple now.  I love it.  Only one other district has it in there, so we have the banos pretty much to ourselves.

I came up with a very pronound quote on sunday.  I feel like it needs to be used in general conference. "You might not always be prepared, but you can always have the spirit, and the spirit will prepare you." -Hermana Terry.

The food here is amazing, as always.  ITS SOO GOOD.  I love it at the CCM.

Keep writing!  I appreciate it :)

love you all,

Hermana Terry

A thought I had today:  Why is everyone´s biggest trial obedience to god?   Read 2 ne 31!

Oh yeah, the epanol is coming along.

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