Week 52

July 8

Well, here we are, in Sololá yet again for another zone training. I really will have to find out how to get a picture of the corte that the men here wear. Anyway, well, this week was a big one, as a mission we made the change between President Brough and our new mission president, President Markham. The difference between the two is quite interesting. As far as the rules go, President Markham hasn't changed anything. He really likes our focus on obedience, diligence, and urgency (walking fast, not eating dinner, etc.) and doesn't want to interfere with any of that.

However, President Brough was very serious and President Markham is... well, different. One of my friends who entered the field with me, Elder Hintze, told me about how he called President Markham during a baptismal interview because the candidate have some sort of issue with the Law of Chastity and President Markham started to chat and joke around and Elder Hintze had a hard time not laughing which would have surely offended the investigator who was being interviewed. As different as President Markham and President Brough are, I can tell that President Markham will be just as great a mission president. He has already taught us some really great things, in his very unique way.

Also this week was the 4th of July. That was the day we had the conference with President Markham. I almost wore a rather aggressive American flag tie that I found in a paca (used clothes store), but decided that maybe that wouldn't leave a good impression with our new mission president. In retrospect, I think he would have loved it. Don't worry though; it's what I'll be sporting next 4th of July.

And of course, it was my birthday on the 5th. Wohoo! I can't believe I'm 20. The 19th year of my life seems to have flown by. Sadly, no one from Medford swung by to drop of a cake as the Parks did last year, but it was still a good day and included one pretty cool miracle.

We had a lesson with an investigator as we were knocking on doors a few days before. As we started to teach him it quickly became apparent that he didn't understand anything and wasn't paying any attention. We ended the lesson and had walked out the door, with no intention of coming back, when he ran out and said "wait, when are you coming back? My family will be here next Saturday." which was probably the only thing he could have said to convince us to return. It really was strange since he had said very little and had shown no emotion during the entire lesson. We came back on the 5th and learned that he had some brain damage from when he was a kid but on had just received some medicine so he was far more mentally able when we came back for the second visit. We had a great lesson and he seems pretty positive.

His very aged mom, not so much. She has what we like to call "selective deafness." She can have a normal conversation and all but if you ask her something like "will you come to church this Sunday?" or, "will you say the closing prayer?" she says "What?!? I can't hear you!" Even more entertaining is when people suddenly lose the ability to speak in Spanish and revert to kakchiquel whenever you try to talk to them about the church. Good times.

Anyway, thanks again for all your support. Hopefully we'll see more miracles this week!

Love, Elder Cannon

P.S. a good picture of a cow answering the door and a house made of lamina. Super common here (the house not the cow answering the door)