Week 24

12/10/13

Well, this week, my last in San Jose (transfers again), was a tough one. We had two investigators who were going to be baptized this Sunday. One bailed on the day on her interview (Saturday), the other passed her interview and everything was perfect. Then, Sunday morning we passed by her house only to find that she had disappeared. I was carrying my baptismal clothing and everything.

These past two transfers have been pretty hard in that I haven't been much outward success. I feel like the Lord is definitely doing this for a reason though, whether I need to improve something or it's just a lesson He wants me to learn I don't know. It's definitely pretty hard to see all the other missionaries baptizing a bunch and then for us to have investigator after investigator not quite make it there. This type of disappointment is definitely harder that I thought it would be. I guess I just have to press forward with hope, trying to improve everything I can on my part and work hard in my new area.

In other news, last week the weather here suddenly got pretty cold. It was a nice change and helped December feel a little bit more like Christmas time. One day we actually had a nice, foggy morning which reminded me a lot of December in Medford. Also Christmas lights are starting to go up in the wealthier neighborhoods. The lights here are different though. Apparently, Guatemalans really like flashing, multicolored lights, many or which flash to simple Christmas songs played to a cheap attached speaker. I'll admit that on multiple occasions I've had to unplug these lights during a lesson so I don't go crazy. I'm definitely looking forward to Christmas. Apparently everyone makes a bunch of tamales and the missionaries are inevitably given quite a few.

Finally, this week we also celebrated el Dia de Quemar el Diablo. Basically, people lit fires and then proceeded to throw a bunch of fireworks in. Fireworks here are incredibly cheap and incredibly plentiful, and, I have no doubt, incredibly dangerous. I felt like we were in a war zone, with all the explosions and machine-gun noises.

Anyway, I'm excited to get to go to my new area. I hope you all are doing well and enjoying your many blessings. Keep up the member missionary work! We really can't do anything without it.

Love, Elder Cannon

Foto de la Zona...!!!

Your average cattle drive through the center of a highly urbanized city... It actually is normal here.

Pictures of the mayonnaise here. The grocery stores are super tiny, but devote a ridiculous amount of space to this, ketchup, oil, white bread, etc. Yes, that bag is 3.5 kilograms. They sell bags of ketchup equally large. Don't wonder why I can't find anything healthy here. 

El Volcan de Agua. It's way bigger than it looks in the picture. very impressive. And no, not all of Guatemala is as nice and clean as the area in the photo.

Week 23

Tuesday, December 03, 2013

December already! Ha! Not sure how that's possible...

Anyway, we had a good week this week. Elder Suarez and I have been having a lot of trouble getting investigators to church. That really is the defining test for whether an investigator will progress or not. Really, if they attend church for even just a couple weeks in a row, it's "fijo" [fixed or immovable] that they'll feel the Spirit and will want to be baptized, but so many people here have trouble following through with their commitments.

This week we were blessed to have 8 investigators attending sacrament meeting. It's not a ton, in fact, it's the minimum number to meet the "standard of excellence" (as a comparison, we more than double the standard of excellence every week in most of the other categories, such as nuevos, lessons, contacts, etc.). Still, we are grateful.

I also was able to finally do what all missionaries in Gmala inevitably do a few times on their mission: bring a drunk to church. Not just someone who drinks a lot, but someone who is actually intoxicated at the moment. (The Word of Wisdom is actually really hard for people here because they drink at lot of beer and coffee. I now know very well the smell of alcohol on someone's breath). Anyway, we had taught him once and he was really positive and wanted to change. We were walking in the street to pick up another investigator when he called out to us. He wanted to go so we brought him along and sat outside the chapel so he wouldn't be a distraction. It was a good chance to serve "the least of these my brethren" and we helped him clean his face off and feel comfortable. Hopefully he will be able to stay sober this week.

Thanksgiving made me feel a little baggy. It was my first "big" holiday in the field. In the morning the other elders in Promision 2 brought us McDonalds pumpkin pie pastries that they had ordered (most fast food restaurants deliver to your house for free via motorcycles with little boxes on the back). Then at lunch our cook made us what supposedly was turkey. I'm not entirely sure though, if it was turkey is must have been a cross cut of a drumstick. It was the first thanksgiving meal I had eaten with tortillas, and I must say, I will definitely do so in the future. Tortillas really add a lot to a meal.

Oh, and a shout out to all those who just submitted their BYU applications (I'm guessing the early application deadline was the 1st). I can't believe that Ethan is already getting ready to go to college. Scary.

Also, a picture of my first zone T shirt. It's lacking in digital design but..