Commentary on Elder Lloyd's Tikal pictures (no official letter this week)

Well, we got to go to Tikal yesterday.  Pretty much it was the coolest thing I have ever seen in my life. When you get to the central plaza with the twin pyramids, it really hits you and takes your breath away.  Anyways, here are a few pictures. Love you guys.

Well, since I am waiting for these to upload, I'll tell you a little about them.  The first pictures you see are the first temple we saw.  I guess it was where they  used to keep all of the important records of the people.  Hmm, sounds like Book of Mormon to me.  The second one was a home.  It just had a bunch of little rooms and stuff that were uncovered.

The next one was the first really cool one that we saw while we were there.   They used to let people climb this one but a Japanese guy just fell off of it so they put ropes around it.   I'm not sure what this temple was for because we didn't have a guide.

These are the two temples in the central plaza. So amazing.  When we got up there it was huuuuuuuge.  I've never seen anything like it!   If you look close you can see Elder Miller and me on top of the one.  Kind of hard to see.  Also, we were told that the big one has scaffolding on it because it was hit by lightning and they are repairing it.  They don 't let you climb on that one either.  All of the ones that you could climb on just had the super rickety staircases to climb up on.  Mom and Dad, you might want to prepare now cause it's quite a bit of walking.  Anyways, these were awesome. 

More pictures of the central plaza.  Also, that's Elder Rodriguez from my district.  He's from  Chile.

Just more of the central plaza.  You'll notice that my companion isn't in any  of these pictures.  That's because he was barfing the whole day.  We kept telling him we could go but he didn't want to ruin the day for us.  I felt bad but we took turns staying with him.  Oh well. He was a good sport. Good thing is we'll probably go in our next transfer again. 

Here are some pictures from the tallest temple looking on to the central plaza.  If you watch star wars Empire strikes back they used this when the x-wing flies through.

Well I gotta go.  Love you all.  It was really nice to be able to talk to you.  Have a great week!

I am Excited for Christmas

Hey family!  

Pues, todo esta bien calidad aqui.  It's weird to think that it's almost Christmas!  Not once did it get below 80 degrees in our house this week.  It's been frying hot.  I don't understand how it can be so hot during the month of December.  But, oh well.  The area is great and the people are awesome.  Let's see if I can think of a quick overview of what happened this week. 

We started out the week with an amazing family home evening with one of the ward families.  The father invited his nonmember parents to come and watch Joy to the World with us and have a short discussion.  Well, it turned into a long discussion and they loved it.  It was also really nice having their family there to help us teach and testify.  Well, we had 3 appointments with them in total this week and they came to church yesterday.  We challenged them to baptism in the last appointment of the week and they really were thinking about it.  More than anything they don't want to make the decision and then mess up.  We tried really hard to explain to them that baptism is just the beginning and that they'll always have repentance.  We had the wife say a prayer in our lesson just to ask if they should be baptized and the Spirit was so strong.  It was so amazing!  They told my companion on Sunday in church that they feel like they got an answer to that prayer.  I'm hoping that it was yes.  We have a lesson with them on Wednesday and really feel like they will accept a baptismal date.  It was really refreshing to find them.  Their names are Toni and Bertha.

Marcelo didn't go to church this Sunday so his baptismal date fell again.  We are going to really have to evaluate if he still wants to be baptized.  We want to make sure that he isn't going to go inactive right after his baptism.  Plus, he has to get to church in order to be baptized.  We have also had trouble finding him at home and he is never there when we put appointments with him.  We'll see what happens.  

Besides them we are really just trying to work with references from the members.  

The time is flying!  Well, I got to go.  There was a lot to have to figure out with the call home and stuff.  Have a great week and a great Christmas!  Talk to you in 6 days!

Love, 

Elder Lloyd

Scorpions!

Hey fam,

Well another week in San Andres.  It seems like the weeks are really flying by this transfer.  We are doing well and just still trying to find some new investigators, ones that will progress.  It's getting closer to Christmas and I am super excited to talk to you guys.  I'll make sure that it doesn't make me trunky though.  =)  They say baggy here though, not trunky.  

Anyways, good week.  I'll try to go through some of the highlights.  We went over to our family of 11 people this week and tried to talk to the father about the whole vengeance list thing.  Well, we kind of got on his bad side.  The first time we went over he just got kind of quiet and told us another story of something wierd that happened to him.  But then we came back and started to try and teach their family about baptism.  Well, that didn't work.  It was a little bit scary.  He started condemning us and telling us that if we didn't believe his testimony about the vengeance list, the wrath of God was going to fall on our heads as punishment and we were going to receive it within the next few days.  We left on a good note though and told them that maybe in the next couple of weeks we won't be able to visit them.  So, we're never going back there again.  Good thing is they live really far away and we never pass by except to go teach them.  It was a super bummer to have to stop teaching them though because they are such a great family of so many people, but my companion and I didn't feel like it was a very good situation.  But, there's more people to teach.  

We were teaching a pastor this week in Ixhuacut.  Usually I really don't like teaching other leaders of churches but this guy was different.  He really knew his stuff about the Bible and had a really big interest in our message about the Book of Mormon.  He was hungry to learn everything he possibly could about it so we were pretty excited about him.  We gave him a Book of Mormon and asked if he would read it.  He said sure and we also asked if he would pray about it.  To that question, he refused.  It was hard because he really wanted to know if it was true, but he was too scared to even pray to ask if it is true because he didn't want to change his beliefs.  It really woke me up to the importance of humility and prayer and the very simplicity of the workings of the Holy Ghost.  It says in the scriptures all the time, ask and you shall receive, knock and it shall be opened unto you.  But he was unable to knock.  It's sad, but someday he'll come around.

We have a husband and wife that seem to be really interested in our message.  It has been really hard to teach them because he works as a microbus driver from 4am to 8pm every day.  But we did explain to them the Book of Mormon and they are both reading and praying about it.  I really think they are going to be good possibilities.  We passed by last night and the woman said she definitely knows the Book of Mormon is true and thinks she better go to church this coming week so that she can know what's so special about the Church.  We're hoping to get them progressing here soon.

We had a ward service project this week.  We painted and fixed up an old couple's house in San Jose, the other Elders' area.  They really needed the help.  It was kind of scary though because as I was painting, there were GIANT scorpions coming out of the cracks in the wood.  Those pictures of the scorpion I sent were of a small one.  The other ones were WAY bigger!  Oh well, I didn't get stung and I am really glad we don't have those in our house.  The old lady is blind and the man walks an hour and a half to church every single week.  They have nothing but he still goes every week and is a faithful tithe payer.  That was a real testimony builder to me.  He's a great man. 

Man, the time is already gone.  We had the dedication of the temple in Quetzaltenango this Sunday.  It was so great!  We got to go to the session and listen to President Uchdorf.  There are a lot of happy members over there and I have a feeling that there is going to be a huge work going on over in that side of Guatemala.  Too bad it's 14 hours from here.  Haha.  

Well, I have to go.  I'm getting excited to get to talk to all of you. Know that I love you and am praying for you daily.  The Church is true and as long as we keep our covenants, the blessings of an eternal family will be ours.  I'm so grateful for that.  Love you guys. Talk to you next week.

Elder Lloyd

Temple Dedication

Hey family!

How's everybody doing?  Well it was great to  hear from you all and it's sounding like everybody is getting ready for Christmas.  I  honestly don't feel like it's close to Christmas at all, but that could be a good thing to help me focus on the work.  Although, the little cantina called the Bungalito next to our house put of a sign in flashing Christmas lights so that makes it feel a little more festive.  =)

Things are going really well here in San Andres and I am really enjoying it.  It's kinda uncanny how much like I was when I started the mission my companion is. (Sorry if I just said that sentence in Yoda form.)  He's super super hard working but he doesn't really understand the importance of loving the people yet.  That's kind of how I was and I worked like a robot.  But, that's why he's got me to help him along.  I really have enjoyed being with him though.  He has a strong Spirit about him coming out of the MTC.  Even though he doesn't know Spanish that well, he still has a strong testimony and knows how to testify.  It's helped me kind of focus on my purpose and really invite people to come unto Christ.  

The (Name blanked out) family came to church again this Sunday but it was a little weird.  We were in Elder's quorum and at the very end the dad asked if he could say something.  He then stood up and took a piece of paper out of his pocket and unfolded it.  He had a list titled Lista de Venganza.  List of vengeance.  There was a list of 24 people or situations that he wanted to get vengeance on.  He then told us that his goal in life was to use the love that God has for him to find those people and get vengeance on them.  Long story short, we think that he might be into witchcraft.  So this Tuesday we're going to go over there and find out what we need to do to either help him, or maybe stop teaching them.  We'll see.  They came to church twice so they're obviously interested.  

Marcelo didn't come to church this Sunday because he went to a late night party on Saturday and was sleeping when we passed by. So he can't get baptized on Christmas eve because we aren't having church this Sunday.  Kinda stinks, but he's still reading and praying and progressing.

This Sunday is the dedication of the Quetzaltenango temple so they aren't having any meetings but we get to go to the stake center and see all three sessions.  I'm really excited about that.  I've heard that the temple here is really cool because everything has Mayan designs in it.  Even the carpet in the celestial room has Mayan designs cut into it.  There were 226,000 people that attended the open house.  It was a huge success for Guatemala.  Anyways, that should be cool.  I just have to find a white handkerchief.  

We got to go to the devotional last night.  That was such a nice night.  Even Abraham, Mariana, and Sandra went with their parents.  (they're our recent baptisms).  We had to go by hitchhike though and it was a little wet because it was raining hard.  We got there drenched but it was worth it.  They even put it in English for all of the gringo elders.  Awesome.  

We had a tarantula go through our house this last week while we were planning.  That was a little scary.  I'm kinda a little baby so I got out my mosquito net and put it over my bed.  Ha ha.  

Well, it's about time to get going.  It wasn't too exciting this week but we got a lot of work done.  We are really praying to find some new families.  I feel bad because my companion is getting a little bummed that we aren't having too much success.  But, I know that as long as we keep working hard, the Lord will provide sooner or later.  He always does.  

I love you guys and am really looking forward to talking to you on Christmas.  Drink lots of eggnog for me.  

Love,

Elder Lloyd

Hey - Your dog is biting me!

Hey,

Well, this week was awesome!  And, once again I don't have too much time to write because I sent the pictures.  I don't know how that sucks the time so fast!  I'll try to get everything in on time.  

To start out, my new companion and greenie to the mission is Elder Adams from Murray, UT.  He's great.  We have had a lot of success in just this last week.  He just graduated high school and put his papers in to leave for the mission.  He's about the same size as me and weirdly a lot like me.  He's super quiet though and extremely serious.  But, I guess that's kind of how I started the mission too.  His Spanish is actually really good.  He just gets a little scared in the lessons and switches into robot mode to teach the same 10 sentences.  But, every day he is getting better and we are really practicing a lot in our study.  One thing that's nice is that we're on a new program where we study in companionship for 2 hours every day instead of 1.  

It's really been fun having him here in Peten for his first area.  It's kind of a culture shock for somebody who doesn't know Guatemala at all – all the pigs running around the streets, the fleas and the women breastfeeding in our first lesson.  The list goes on.  He thinks it's fun though.  I feel kind of bad however because we live in a pretty junky house and I think he comes from a pretty well off family.  Oh well, it's a good humbling experience.  =)  At least we get along really well.  

We had a ton of success.  We found a new family of 11 people that we've taught a couple of times already.  They came to church yesterday and we're really excited to keep working with them.  The only thing that's hard is that they live about an hour away from the church in Ixhuacut.  We were practically pulling them to church yesterday.  We also found a couple of new investigators and were able to put a baptismal date for Christmas Eve with Marcelo.  He's 17 and he seems pretty interested.  His parents were just baptized and he's never wanted to talk to the missionaries, but now he seems interested.  We also have found a couple other families that seem interested.  By the way, the super big one is the Perez Garcia family.  So, the work goes on and we're super excited for this coming week.  I think we're going to be able to put a couple of more baptismal dates with some of our investigators.  

I got bit by a dog this week.  That was lame.  Luckily it was biting me pretty softly so it didn't break the skin.  Ha-ha.  Stupid dog.  It scared my companion pretty bad though.  He hates being out at night now and freaks out whenever he sees a dog.  Poor guy. At least the dog bit me and not him.  We were at this member's house and the wife was letting us in the gate when it started biting me.  I started yelling, Hey!  Your dog's biting me!  A lot!  At the same time I was beating it with my Book of Mormon in the head, she was screaming, hey!  Don't hit my dog; you're going to hurt it!  I just wanted to tell her, it's biting me lady, what am I supposed to do?!  Oh well, I don't have rabies, I'm ok.  We’re never going back there again.  

The trip to the capitol was awesome!  I especially enjoyed the 1000 quetz of pizza that President Watts ordered for us, and the marshmallow brownies and pumpkin bread Hermana Watts made us.  MMMMM!  She's great.  She really loves the missionaries.  It was a long trip back to Peten though.  It was super long.

Anyways, short letter, but I have to get going.  Sorry mom, they didn't have my package in the office so I didn't have it for thanksgiving.  I did have some turkey hotdogs and beans and tortillas for dinner.  Ha-ha. But we were working so hard I hardly noticed it was Thanksgiving.  Anyways, love you guys.  Have a great week!

Elder Lloyd

Brand new Companion

Hey family,

Well I got a call at 10:30 on Saturday night that I am going to be training this change.  Pretty exciting!  Right now, I'm back in the capital getting ready to go over to the mission office and receive some training.  Then we'll stay with the AP's tonight and have the change conference tomorrow morning where I'll get to meet my new companion.  It will be interesting to see what kind of a guy he is.  Hopefully he likes to work.

That trip from Peten to the capitol is a doozy.  I left last night at 9:00 pm and went all night and got here at 7:00 this morning.  We went on a double decker bus on the second level and it was crazy!  Those drivers are insane.  There were a couple times when he drifted the bus to try to avoid semi trucks.  He even had the tires screeching.  Not the greatest thing when there are 80 people on the bus.  But we did make it.  I'm just super tired and can't wait to sleep tonight!

It's really freezing in the capitol I've noticed as I got back.  My toes have been freezing.  But I'm just soaking as much of it in now before I have to get back to San Andres.  It is so hot there. 

Let's see, Saturday we had a baptism in the lake.  =)  That was awesome.  I didn't do the baptism but it was cool because Abraham, the kid that got baptized last weekend, was able to baptize his little sister.  My companion baptized his other sister too.  It was a pretty cool thing.  We had everybody sitting on the rocks and singing hymns and stuff.  My companion "accidentally" slipped and fell in the water and started to swim. awesome... Ha ha.  It was a great baptism though. 

We had a conference for all of Guatemala.  It was a broadcast with Elder Holland and President Uchdorf.  The coolest part was that Elder Holland bore his testimony in Spanish for about 5 minutes.  It was so cool!  As far as I knew, he doesn't know Spanish.  It seemed like the gift of tongues to me.  They were pretty excited for the Quetzaltenango temple dedication in 3 weeks.  So is everybody else here in Guatemala.  It's a shame we can't go. That would be cool.  But when you come to pick me up we'll have to swing by.

Well, as always, the time flew by.  My letter seems pretty short, but I think it's just because I'm so tired.  I'm excited to tell you guys about my companion this coming week.  Hope everybody enjoys thanksgiving.  I love you.  Eat some good turkey for me.  I'll have to see if I can find some here.  Oh, and the rolls too.... enjoy... Oh my goo'ness, oh my goo'ness. 

Until next week.

Elder Lloyd

Hot-Hot-Hot

Hey family,

Well, another week.  Once again I don't have much time to write because of sending pictures.  I enjoyed hearing from you all.  Sounds like you guys had a fun weekend in Portland. I forgot to say last week, super awesome Cody going to Brazil!!!!!!!!  And even cooler that he and Eli are going to the same mission.  That's crazy!  They'll definitely at least get to see them every once and awhile.  Tell him I said good luck and congratulations.  Since he has so much time he should start studying now.

Let me start by answering some of your questions.  Sorry I don't always answer them.  By the time I get through mom's letter it's hard to remember any of them. ;)  First off, my health is doing well.  Nothing out of the ordinary and I am still losing weight, although a little slower than I was.  I am getting pretty sunburned.  I put SPF 75 on every day but I still get burned.  The sun is super strong here and I guess it's just kind of part of being a missionary in Peten.  I just am hoping that the Lord will have mercy on me and I won't get cancer because I am serving Him.  My machete wound is doing well.  I was a little worried because it was turning red after I got the stitches out but it seems to have healed all the way and there is no infection.  

We don't have a ward, it's a branch.  We have about 100 that come every week between my area and the other two elders' area.  All four of us share the branch.  The President of the branch is interesting.  He likes to do what he thinks is best, even if it might be against the manuals.  Like the other week he canceled church because it would be easier with the elections that day.   The branch does do a very good job at being friends with new members and making sure to include nonmembers in activities.  We work a lot more with references than anything else.  They do feed us quite a bit.  There is a family in our ward that is super rich and said that any time we need food, even if they aren't there, we can come in and take anything out of the refrigerator.  I haven't done that yet.  Maybe this week. ;)  There aren't that many inactive members here.  Most of the members here are all from 3 families.  It's a relatively new branch here in Peten.

P-days are interesting because we don't have anywhere to use internet or shop in San Andres.  We have to always take an hour ride to San Benito and Flores to use internet and shop.  It works out though because we usually do some sort of activity like soccer as a zone.  Today we went and rented an Astroturf field for 2 hours and played soccer.  Soooo hot!  It´s always hot.  Anyways, that's what we have to do on P-days.  It's a good day.  We also ate at Pizza hut.  Mmmmmmm.

Our apartment is not that great.  Ha-ha.  We do have a shower but it is definitely not hot.  It actually feels really good to take a cold shower in the mornings.  It's just a really big room with everything in it.   

We got to go plant corn 3 times this week with Abraham to help him have time to get baptized.  We woke up at 5 every morning and walked 1 hour through the jungle to get to the field.  It is sooooooo hot out there and there is nowhere to hide.  We hauled water, planted corn, and sprayed pesticides.  It was a good experience.  

Well, I got to go.  I love you guys.  Have a great week.  Oh yes, Abraham and Devorly got baptized but Abraham's sisters didn't show up.  They'll get baptized this weekend.  THE TIME GOES SO FAST!!!!!!! bye!

Love,

Elder Lloyd