Great Week!

Hey guys, Well it's been another great week. Like I had said, we spent the whole week outside of the capital looking for ways to open new areas up and also doing some splits with missionaries. This last week was absolutely fantastic. I loved it. It was one of the best trips of my life. So our main purpose was to go to Chisec, Raxruha, Fray, and Playa Grande and look for members and boy did we find members. They seemed to be all over the place. It was really cool because we saw miracles the whole time we were there. We sat in the back of the pickup through all of these places so that everybody could see the gringo mormons were coming to town. We also went with a guy from Coban that had worked a lot in those areas as our guide and another man that is President Watts' second couselor, Presidente Ovalle. I think going with him was the best part because he was the same man to take the first missionaries up to the Polochic and Senahu and pretty much started the church in a large part of our mission. We were making history. One of the biggest miracles was that we went to Fray to talk to the mayor and see the possibilities of putting missionaries there, and as we were leaving the city, a man stopped us in the road. He had been following us for a while and when he got out of the car he said, " So you guys coming to put in a branch, or a whole stake all at once?" He then told us that he and his family are members but have lived there for 22 years and have never seen the church since. So he is a bit inactive but will really help get the church started there. We went to his house and got to know his family a little better. Turns out he is a returned missionary and an ex branch president from peten. He told us that he had been praying all year-long that in this next year, they would be able to get the church in Fray. He also said that his brother, who is a pastor, had a dream in which he dreamed that this guy would have his own flock and own congregation in the year to come. Well, I think that might have been revelation. We also got some other contacts of people there in Fray and it's looking really great. By the way, both Benjamin and his wife are judges and are a very strong family in the community. In Chisec, we went to eat in a restaurant and talked to the family that owned the place and they were super nice. We talked about the possibilities of putting missionaries there and the man said that he thought that would be great. He said that his Dad was a member of the church and that he remembered primary and the Elders. He said that as soon as the missionaries got to Chisec, they would be welcome in his house. They also told us that they would be looking for housing there in Chisec for the Elders. By the way, it just so happens that the wife of the man is the cousin of the wife of the ex branch president in Fray. I don't think that was a coincidence. We stayed the night in Chisec and got up early to go to Playa Grande, but a little discouraged because we still had not found any members there. So as we were leaving the city, on the corner of the last street of the entire city, dressed in a white shirt was a member from my last ward in Coban. He yelled out to us and we stopped and talked to him. Turns out he just started working in Chisec from Thursday to Saturday and would love to help us start the church there. He said he could stay Sundays for branch meetings if he needed to. He also just called us today and said he's going to put out fliers and even announcements on the radio looking for members there in that area. It's wonderful! So then we went to Playa Grande. There we found more than 7 members with all their families. That place is huge and it seems like all the members know each other. There is one family that we were able to visit that just moved there 3 months ago and are very active. He's the boss of the largest bank in the city and she is the boss of the "health center" in all of Playa Grande. They have 2 kids and have been in almost every calling on the ward and stake levels you could imagine. He just finished serving on the high council. They said that they will start looking for members and helping us out. We also met a member that had the names of 3 or 4 other families of members and said that he had houses that he can rent out to the missionaries. It was perfect. The great thing is that it is such a big place that one day there could be multiple stakes there. It was so exciting to get to know these people. Another thing that was cool was that the family of the bank and the health center went to church on Sunday in Coban. They are making the 3 hour trip a couple of times a month so they can attend with their family. So all in all, it was one of the coolest couple of days in my mission. I feel so blessed to be part of it. I feel like the Lord used the four of us as instruments in his hands in a very important time. Now all we have to wait for is the approval of the Area Presidency and we can go ahead and put missionaries in those areas. So we're excited. Other than that, things are good. I'm loving life. My companion is great and we've passed through a lot together. I know the church is true, after this week more than ever. The Lord is hurrying up his work. It's a huge blessing to see the gospel getting to the furthest ends of the earth. I'll let you know how it goes. Anyways, have a great week. Love, Elder Lloyd

Merry Christmas

Hey guys! Well, another couple of super busy weeks. It has been great. I think the last time I sent an email we were just getting ready to head off to Peten. Well, we went and it was awesome. We went up a couple of days earlier than the day of the Christmas conference so we would be able to to do some divisions. It was weird, we just so happened to both end up in San Andres to do a division and get to attend church there. Ha ha. Weird coincidence. =) It was absolutely wonderful. There is honestly a very special feeling in San Andres for me. I grew more in San Andres than I have in my entire life and I can just feel the Spirit as I walk the roads. When we got there, the Elders were over at Jose and Amalia's house, my convert family. They were over there because the branch was building a new house for them. What a perfect time to show up! If you remember right, they lived in a little stick house. Well, all the members pitched in their own money to be able to build it for them. I think that was one of the moments where I most felt like I was close to heaven. It was too great to even believe. A lot of the people I love most were all in one spot, laughing and having a good time serving the family that I spent so much time teaching. It was just awesome! Also, Jose and Amalia are amazing. When they were getting baptized I was a little bit scared because they live kind of far from the church and are really poor, but they are as strong as ever. They should even be ready to be sealed in February. They're just about ready to start with Temple Prep classes. So, that was just one of the best experiences of my mission. I definitely don't think it was a coincidence that during one of the most stressful, tiring months of my mission, the Lord took a weekend and gave it to me in San Andres just when all this was happening. I also did a division with the Elders in Trebol, Peten. It was a really good division because the Elders have been a little discouraged and even staying in the house rather than going out to work sometimes. They had a referral from a member for some guy named Miguel that lived in the middle of nowhere and made fried chicken. Our directions were horrible but we decided to ask a house when we thought we were close. Well, we felt like we should ask a house and when we did, he said he had no idea who Miguel was, but that he did want to talk to us. Apparently he had gone to church a couple of times a month earlier and the Elders had never noticed. His friend had given him a Book of Mormon and he had read Ether and Moroni completely. He was overtaken by the Spirit and asked, What does this book mean to God, and what does it mean for me? It was absolutely wonderful. It was by far the most spiritual lesson of my mission. You could almost touch it it was so strong. We explained the purpose of the Book of Mormon and what it meant for him in his life. We explained that the purpose is to help him get closer to his Heavenly Father and his Savior through the His grace and mercy. Then we switched right into the purpose of baptism and were even able to put a baptismal date with him for the 5th of January. My favorite thing in the lesson now is just pinpointing the Spirit to the investigators. Once you say, Do you feel that? and they recognize it as the fruits of the Spirit, the Spirit can control everything. Once they understand, you can testify with such power and authority, I just love it! You can say, as representatives of Christ we're telling you that you must be baptized and receive the Holy Ghost in order to receive the remission of your sins that you desire, and you know it, because the Spirit is telling you to do so. IT's like a huge spiritual explosion and it never get's old. Anyways, Luis is going to get baptized. In that very same lesson, his family members started coming out of the cracks and listening to the first vision story. The spirit was palpable. I will never forget that moment. But, I'm probably going on and on about it. The Book of Mormon is also super powerful. I've noticed it's power in my life as I have tried reading it more. I'm really glad that as a family we have been able to read it more this month. I really hope you all have enjoyed every day of your lectura. Well, I just noticed my time is up. I love you guys. I want you to know that I love this work. I love the gospel. As we celebrate Christmas, let's remember why we really are celebrating it. Because of Christ, we will live again after death. Also, because of Him, we have all lived after spiritual lapses in our lives. We owe so much to Him and to our Father in Heaven for what they give us daily. I know they are there and are holding us up every day. Have a great Christmas week. We'll talk to some of you soon. Love, Elder Lloyd

No P-Day this week

How are you guys doing? Hope everything is going really well. I just wanted to right and let you know that we will be heading off on a road trip tomorrow early and we'll be headed to Coban and the Polochic to do some splits for a few days and then we will have a Christmas conference up in the mountains of Senahu. So I'm not going to get much time, let alone P-day, to write this week. I'm really sorry, but President asked us to go on some splits last minute. Things are going really well. We just finished the biggest transfer we've ever had in this mission. We had to open up a lot of areas and receive 26 new missionaries and assign 26 new trainers and train them all how to do their job. It was probably the most stressful week of my life, but it was very satisfying. President Watts was very happy with the job we did organizing everything and it's really nice to get to be knowing all of my missionaries a little better. I'm sooooo tired, but it's a great tired. By the way, I've been getting pretty good at driving a manual transmission truck. Pretty fun. I really enjoy the email stream we have going as a family on our scripture reading. It's really fun to remember that our family is doing so well. I have great examples in my life and really appreciate the time everybody puts in to ensure they are sharp spiritually. Anyways, I love you guys. You're awesome. Thanks for everything you do for me. By the way, I'm completing 20 months in the mission today. It's going so fast. It's crazy. Just so you guys know. My new release date is the 16th of April rather than the 9th. Have a great week. Drink some eggnog for me! Love, Elder Lloyd

More Missionaries!

Hey family, Well, another very busy week in the mision guatemala norte. Things are going very well. The mission is growing! This week we have 12 missionaries going home and 27 coming in! It's awesome to see. We are already seeing the effects of the new annnouncement that misionaries can now go earlier. We are about up to 200 missionaries. They say by next summer we will have about 250, as well as every other mission in the area of central america. And they are going to put 3 more missions in central america! How crazy is that! That's what I call the armies of Helaman! Unfortunately the mission has not had this many missionaries in a very long time so we are having to figure out how to buy beds, stoves, refigerators, desks, and a whole list of other stuff for so many missionaries. It's a stressful situation, but it's a happy stress. =) This weekend we have been doing the changes with President Watts and getting everything prepared for the transportation. It's hard to get so many missionaries around Guatemala City safely with all their suitcases and personal belongings. We also had ZL Council this week. That was great. We talked a lot about putting and accomplishing our goals. As a mission we have a goal of getting 4 baptisms per area every month. As far as the mission goes, there are not many companionships getting that goal. But, the good thing is that little by little there are more and more missionaries getting the vision of it and working hard to accomplish it. It's been a huge blessing in my mission to trust in the promises of the Lord and later recieve blessings because of having faith in those promises. The best part of the Council, not going to lie, was the lunch. We had a full on Thanksgiving feast. It was amazing!!!! Let me just say it is a huge blessing to have President and Hermana Watts here. They love us so much and do everything to make this the best experience it can be. Plus, President is such a good man. He's so loving and you can feel that he just wants us to reach our full potential. As far as exciting things that happened this week.... not much. Haha. It's just been a lot of work for the missionaries. We did go to Chili's for Pday lunch today and I ordered a Chipotle Bacon and Blue Cheese burger. Super good. Anyways, I love you guys. Have a great week. ¡Merry Christmas! Con amor, Elder Lloyd

Pies

Hey guys, Well, yet another week in the life of Elder Lloyd. Things are going great. We spent the whole week finishing with the interviews and training meetings in the capital. They're finished!!!! That's a relief. These last couple weeks really were some of the most spiritual weeks of the mission and have helped me grow tremendously. It did get hard as we had to teach pretty much the same principles in a 30 to 40 minute meeting to 88 companionships. But it is so nice to now know every single one of our missionaries. There were definitely some interesting meetings. The ones where companions really just do not get along are the hardest ones. We were able to help a lot of people and loved it. We have also been trying to get our bake on. We made Mom's chocolate dream pie that you guys sent to us. We also made some chocolate chip cookies and some pumpkin pies. They all turned out delicious. It helps that we have a full size oven. We are the only house in the whole mission that has an oven like that. So hay que aprovechar. Pumpkin pie is really good. I had forgotten. One really cool thing is that our taxi driver, Walter, has been reading the Book of Mormon with us each night for a bit when he drops us off at the house. He has been to church 3 times in total and really loves it. One problem is that he is Catholic and his family have been for a long time as well. We have just started giving him these mini lessons on the book of mormon every night and I really think they are going to help. He'll definitely get baptized, soon or later. That is great to hear that you guys are doing so well with Alvaro and the missionaries. He is flying! It feels really good to know that my family is experiencing the same joy that i have here on the mission through sharing the gospel. As Alma says, we do it all so that perhaps we can be the means or the tool in the hands of the Lord in order to save even one soul. The Lord is going to bless you so much for your efforts with Alvaro and is going to provide you with a strong love for this work. Other than that things are going really well. We haven't been doing much else other than the interviews from 9am to 6 or 7 pm everyday so there's not much else to talk about. This week we are going to have ZL council so we have to prepare for that and help the Zone Leaders and the mission make changes. Should be fun. Then right after the meetings from that we will be doing transfers again. Life is busy but super good! Love you guys. Have a great week. Love, Elder Lloyd

I am Truly Thankful

Hey guys, Well, things are great. We had an awesome week of some serious traveling. ¡Cansado usted! We did all of the interviews and training meetings with every missionary in all of the 5 zones outside of the mission. That's about 45 companionships. In each of the meetings our job was to meet with individual companionships and see how they are doing in their area and really just try to motivate them. Each companionship ended up being between 30 to 60 minutes. So we did a lot of talking! It was really cool though. For one thing we were really able to get to know all the Elders and Sisters on a much more personal level. Another thing was that we got a lot of trust and respect from the missionaries because we were able to take some time to talk about how to help them. We were also able to learn a lot about teaching the missionaries with the Spirit. We started out the week on Saturday night going to Coban and going to church in my old ward. That might have been the greatest part of my entire week. We went for sacrament meeting and it was a miracle. Last February when I got to Coban the normal attendance every week was around 130 maybe 140. Well, this was the 3rd week in a row with an attendance of over 200. In fact it was 219! It was awesome! When I left it was just about 195 consistently. In fact, all of my converts in Coban are active. That's right, even the Dad of the family we baptized that went inactive about 3 months ago went for the first time again. It was such a surprise. He has been meeting with the bishop and apparently never had problems with the law of chastity. He did fall heavily into drinking and smoking, which was taking him away from his family, but he was able to take the sacrament that day that I got there. =) He was so happy to be back. I also went to visit the Marroquin family one of the nights I was in Coban at about 8:00 and when we got close to their house, they were in together all singing hymns together. They were baptized 2 and a half months ago and are super strong. Carla just finished 3 and 4th Nefi in the book of Mormon and is starting Mormon. Carlos is just finishing Alma. Even their 12 year old daughter Karen is going through Mosiah. Their awesome! They all started reading a few weeks before they were baptized. So, Coban is still a magical place. It is freezing though! It was raining lightly the whole time there and there's always fog. Kinda feels like Christmas! From Coban we went to the mountains of Senahu, the most in the middle of nowhere place in the mission. Coban is 5 hours from the capital and Senahu is another 5 hours from Coban. It's straight Jurrasic Park up there. It is kinda like that place we went in Ecuador to swim in the hot springs in the mountains. There is just a constant mist of clouds. Also, the people are all really nice. They all only speak Kekchi though. That zone of missionaries is entirely Kekchi. I actually got to do splits with the missionaries in Seamay right next to Senahu. It was super muddy, I got super dirty, I didn't understand anything, and it was great! =) One particular lesson that was cool was that we went to a less active member that used to be one of the counselors in the branch but got offended with the branch president and stopped going to church. One of the counsels we've recieved is to visit all the less active members and teach them about the sacrament. Well, that's what we did and it was one of the most spiritual lessons I've had in a long time. He said he realized how important the sacrament and his Savior were to him. He had forgotten it. But he promised to go to church the following week and take the sacrament. It was great. The sacrament really is an awesome thing. It cleanses us from all sorrows and afflictions. And even a little, uneducated Kekchi guy in the middle of the mountains in Senahu can understand and feel that. The gospel's amazing. It's interesting to be in Senahu. The strongest area of our mission is Senahu, even though it is the furthest, poorest area. There are 3 districts there in the mountains and they are made up of huge branches. Even in the center of Senahu, where there are only a couple of thousands of people there are 2 huge branches of more than 200 active members and they are soon making another branch. So cool. The gospel does reach every mountain top and is in every language. From there we went to Polochic, down in the valley below the Senahu mountains. It was a good day as well. It's really hot there though. Also it was really fun driving out on the little dirt road with President and Hna Watts. He's a crazy driver! Haha. I hit my head on the ceiling of the car so many times. He's famous for driving pretty fast and not seeing speed bumps. Haha. He just laughs and says, "whoops, sorry bout that guys. hope you're awake!" The next day was interviews with the Coban zone. I love that place. I'll try not to write too much about how awesome it is cause I just did, but it's like my home. I know it, I live it, and I love it! After that the next day we went to Salama zone about 2 hours from Coban and did their interviews and the same day we were able to drive to the capital. We got to the cap at 10pm and then started packing for our flight to Peten the next morning. We got to bed about 11:30 or midnight and woke up at 3:30 to get to the airport and ready to take off at 6:30. The flight was awesome. We flew over the lake that's there in Peten and I was able to see San Andres from the plane and also fly over the island of Flores. So beautiful! We had a day and a half of interviews there and it was really good. Then Elder Saavedra spent the day saying goodbye to all his converts and members. He goes home tomorrow so it was really good for him to get his last days there in Peten. He was ZL there for 6 months so he loves it there. He bought a christmas tree and decorations for the poorest family he baptized and we took it over to them. That was super fun. We also got to go to Flores to eat in a fancy restaraunt on the beach front. It was awesome. I'm not gonna lie, you guys are going to love it there and it'll be pretty cool to take you around. We had an interesting experience as we were going to the airport to get home. Haha. Elder Saavedra was saying goodbye to everyone so we were running a little bit late. It was actually 40 minutes before the flight when we were finally in a Tuc Tuc, a little 3 seater tricycle thing, headed to the airport. As we were getting there, the tire went flat and we had to stop. So stressful! I was only imagining what I was going to say to President after missing our flight! So we stopped and all 3, in our suits, lifted up the back end of the Tuc Tuc while the guy changed the tire. It was super funny. The good thing is that we got it changed and all the people in the airport know us. So they had already printed our tickets off and made everybody wait until we got there. We are sooooo lucky we are missionaries. The Lord really does protect us. It was a nice flight. So here we are in the capital again and I am tired! It was an awesome week. By the way, it was really good to hear that your missionary efforts are going well. Alvaro must be a really good guy. It makes me want to help you guys with the teaching. But sounds like you have some great Elders there. Even if they don't have too much experience, the Lord will help them do his will. I just want you guys to know that I am loving it here. I've found the reason why the lord wants me in the position I am in. It's so great to see the mission changing. We are seeing a lot of Elders changing and reaching their potentials. The Lord is preparing his work for the influx in missionaries. Nothing can stop this work and the Lord wants the Lamanites to hear the truth. Love you guys. Enjoy thanksgiving. Mom, I got the package. Thanks so much for sending it. In fact, I think tonight I'll head home and make a chocolate dream pie as I am waiting for the dats. I've been sharing the candy corn with everybody in these interviews and they really like it. Anyways, eat lots of food and get fat for me. I think Hna Watts is going to make us Thanksgiving meal on the 27th. Have a great week! Love, Elder Lloyd

I feel the earth move . . .

Hey family, Well, once again, not much time to write but I will try to get as much in as possible. So, how bout that earthquake? Honestly things weren't too bad in our mission, which was a huge blessing for us. I did feel it though. I think all of the other missionaries in Guatemala should be ok as well. The interesting thing was that the earthquake happened Wednesday at 11:00 am, which just so happens to be the time when every missionary in the whole country is in their district meetings. There was a lot of damage done in San Marcos and Quetzaltenango, but none of the missionaries was hurt. We were actually visiting a district here when we felt it. It sure feels weird. I was leaning up against a post outside of the chapel when all of a sudden it started to move. I thought there was just wind or something but then I saw the cars and other things moving. You could even see the roof of the church moving a bit. It was cool though. It's a tragedy for that part of the country though. The sad part is that the poor people's houses are usually the only ones that get destroyed. But the people seem to be doing a really good job of donating time and money to help out. We were able to go and do splits with three areas in the capital this week. One was really good because I found one of my converts, actually my second baptism. We baptized him and his 2 daughters in Colombia but his whole family moved away and I kind of lost track of them when they left. Luckily he moved close by and is in the zone that all the office elders are in. He talked to the Elders about 2 weeks ago and told them that he wanted them to come visit him, but the missionaries didn't do anything so they asked him to give me his number. So I called and we were able to visit him. The bad news is that he lives with a woman. The other bad news is that he's 52 and she's 18, but I guess all's fair in love and war. He's still reading the Book of Mormon and listening to hymns and is going to start going back to church. All he needs is a little help. But it really was great to visit him and hear from his family. It sounds like his family might come to my ward to visit me this sunday. That would be cool. We had the best Pday ever this week. There is a senior couple in our mission named the Smiths. They have been here since July and work a lot in the office with us. Well, a week back we got the idea to go to the temple with them on our Pday. So we did, and it was so great. It's been so long since I've been able to enter in the temple. What a relief after 16 months to be able to enter the house of the Lord for 3 hours and forget all the hustle and bustle (and dirty, sewage filled streets) of Guatemala. I haven't felt so spiritually strengthened in a long time. It made me really grateful that the Lord gives us the time to be close to him. Then after the temple the Smiths invited us to lunch. Soooo fancy. It was so good. They took us to this mexican food/south american parillada place. It was a lot of delicious meat. The best part was that they had a mariachi band playing that came over to the table to sing to us. I'll have to show you guys the videos after the mission. But, all and all today was awesome. Now we are headed out of the capital to Coban so we can make it to Senahu tomorrow. We are starting all of the interviews and training meetings outside of the capital on Monday and in a week we will have visited everybody outside of the capital. That means we will get to fly to Peten again. So, it's going to be a lot of traveling this week, but I'm very excited to see all the missionaries and get to try to help them. Anyways, I love you guys. Thanks for everything you guys do for me. I'm grateful for all your prayers. Have a great week. Love, Elder Lloyd

Otra semana ha pasado

Hey family, Well. Things are going well. I'm really sorry if sometimes it seems like I am writing the same things over and over again every week, but that's what you get when I am in the oficina. Like I said in my last week's letter, this week was change week. There is a TON that goes into transfers in the mission. I hadn't ever realized it before, but the assistants have to do a lot to make sure everything goes really smoothly when everybody has to change areas. We started last week making all the preparations and finished up with transfers on Wednesday. We had to make sure that everybody had bus tickets and everything ready to travel. Also we had to make sure we had splits arranged for everybody who had their companions leaving the areas. One thing that was kind of my fault was that I forgot to tell a Sister missionary she had a change until an hour and a half before she had to get on a 10 hour bus ride to go to Peten. Whoops. She made it okay though. But we had a lot of long days and late nights in the office this last week. We also had to make sure everything went well to get the Elders finishing out their missions back home. Elder Allen left for Oregon so we were a little sad to see him go, but it was really cool to see just how relaxed he was going home because he knew he had done everything he possibly could in these past 2 years. It makes me really want to finish out my mission doing everything I possibly can to serve the Lord. It really is a great feeling when you know the Lord is happy with what you have done. One interesting experience in all the stress and things of the week was having to train the new Elders coming from the MTC and also training their trainers. We were doing so much to get changes ready to go that we really didn't have much time to prepare for their training. So, we had a 4 hour training with them completely guided by the Spirit. There were times when I talked for 30 minutes without knowing anything beforehand that I was going to say. I think the highlight of the week was learning how to drive a stick-shift. Haha. So we don't have a car, even though the assistants of this mission have always had a car. ( I guess the area office thought our car had gotten stolen a few to many times). Anyways, there is a senior couple here that has a pickup that they let us use anytime there is something where we need to transport (suitcases or furniture). So for the changes they let us borrow it for a couple of days. The problem was that Elder Allen had always driven and I had never had a time to learn to drive stick. Well, Tuesday night on the way home, we realized that Elder Allen and Elder Saavedra would be with president Watts all day so I would be alone with my companion Elder Willardson all day with the truck. So we stopped on the side of the road and switched places and I got a 20 minute lesson on driving a stick. Well, that was it. I then had the truck the whole day to drive all around Guatemala City. I was sweating like a mad man! I've never been so nervous in my life. As soon as I got out on the road after the change conference, it seemed like all the wrecks and traffic and construction started. It was actually really fun. I finally got the hang of it though. Luckily I had a lot of practice driving tractors (Thank you Brother Wilson for 5 years of peach and cherry harvest!) So, I learned how to drive a stick in 20 minutes! My new companion is Elder Willardson from California. He is a great guy. He is 100% surfer and his dad too. I still am in a threesome because Elder Saavedra has a month extension on his mission until the 19th of November. So we're really excited to be together. Elder Willardson is a really great guy. He has a great way with the Elders. He really can help them. He only has 4 months left in the mission so he'll be going home before me. I have really been enjoying being with Elder Saavedra. He is a really good Elder. He is having a rough time staying excited here in the office because he has been in the office for a total of 13 months of his mission. he was also finance Elder. He is really trying to learn as much English as he can before he goes home. His English is great, he just doesn't like to practice very much. But English means money. So for the whole extra month that he is here we are only speaking English to him. I've been really rough on him correcting his errors, but that's what he wants. He's come a long way just in the past week. Well, everything else is going great. Sounds like things are going well at home. Well, love you guys. Be good. Read your scriptures EVERY day. Have a great week! Love, Elder Lloyd

Hot, Hot, Hot

Hey guys, Well, here I am once again in Peten. Things are going great and I am loving it up here again. It truly is the home of the Mayas. Sounds like you guys had a super busy week. You guys are always traveling around the whole US. I guess if it was any other way it wouldn't be quite as exciting. The start of the week was concilio with all the ZLs and President. We were assigned two 1-hour presentations for the meeting. It went well, we talked about the importance of working with members and ward leadership and the importance of the Book of Mormon. That is a great book. It has so much power and is essential in our conversion. The meeting went well and we were all edified. Plus Sr. Watts made us chicken cordon bleu afterwards. Soo good. =) After concilio we packed up and headed to Peten. We were all excited because we had some awesome seats in a really nice bus at 9pm, but I forgot to buy one ticket, so we had to go on the 10:30 not so nice bus. After 10 hours in the bus we got on another bus to go 2 more hours and start splits in Sayaxche, a super-hot area. It was a rough day because we were all so tired, but it turned out good and we were able to help all the missionaries. We then traveled the next day and were able to go to my beloved San Andres. It was really nice to be back there and get to see everybody. We got to visit some of my recent converts. It was especially cool seeing Tony and Bertha because they have grown a ton in the gospel. They are reading through the Book of Mormon and are now in Helaman. They know all the hymns. Tony is the President of the Sunday School and Bertha is a teacher in Relief Society. They have been members for 9 months now and are making plans to be able to go to the temple in January to be sealed. They also should be able to go do baptisms for the dead with the ward in November or December. =) That was the good part of San Andres. The discouraging part was that the missionary work there has really slowed down. =( It was sad, but we are going to see what we can do with changes in a couple of weeks. Oh well, the Lord puts missionaries in all areas for a reason. The good thing was that most of my recent converts are doing really well. I think 13 or 14 of the 16 are completely active. It was suuuuuper fun to be there again though. The people are really special. We then traveled to a place called Poptun where we worked a day in splits and also spent Saturday for General Conference. That was an interesting experience. Poptun is super far into the jungle, but they have a whole District. The only thing is that the district building is still really old and not too up to date when it comes to electronics. We got everything ready to go for the conference and when it started up, we only had the conference in Portuguese! We were super worried, but luckily there was a maintenance man there that knew how to work the transmission box and got it switched to English. Had it not been for him, we would've seen it in Portuguese. We missed President Monson's first talk on the ages for missionary service, but after that we were able to see everything. We had to leave the second session on Saturday an hour early to make the 2 and a half hour trip back to Flores for the Priesthood session, which by the way, was awesome! We then spent Sunday and today here in Santa Elena (Flores). The conference was awesome and a huge boost spiritually for me. On the mission it is sometimes easy to get so busy that the simple spiritual aspects of the work can be overlooked. This work is definitely true and I am super grateful to be a part of it. Well, time's up and the chicharrones I ate this morning are starting to fight back. Love you all and Hope you have a great week! Tell Aunt Barbara I say hi and that I'm praying for her. Love, Elder Lloyd

Life on the Road

Hey guys! Well, It's 7:30 on a Saturday night and I am tiiiiiiiired. We had a week chalk full of AP fun. Our goal this week was to cover half of the areas outside of the capital and do some divisions and training. We left Guatemala City on Monday at 3pm and went to Salama. That was a funny bus ride because my companions are used to the comfy office life and we took one of those huge buses with the neon lights, stickers, and loud ranchera music. I was completely used to it because I had lived that for 7 months in Coban. But they just thought it was horrible. haha. By the way, we don't have a truck anymore because a new senior missionary couple came needed it. So we had to do the whole trip in bus. Oh well, it keeps us humble that way. Anyways, we got to Salama and I went to Rabinal. We were trying to get as many visits with missionaries done in one week as we could so we divided in 3 and went to 3 different areas. It's a little rough for the Elders there because of the lack of support, but we had a great division aún. =) The only not fun part was the bucket showers and sleeping on the cement floor covered in huge cutter ants. After that we went up to Alta Verapaz and I was able to work in an area called Val Paraiso. That area is beautiful. It's right in the mountains and really nice and cool. One thing about divisions that I realized this week was that the Elders think that they need to kill the APs working them to death because they're "always sitting in the office." What they don't realize is that if every area does that during a week, it makes for a pretty rough week. Haha. So the Elders in Val Paraiso made me walk about 5 miles with them right off the bat. It was a great division as well though. We found a couple of great families. Their bathroom was the biggest nightmare I have ever seen. I'll just tell you that all the walls were made out of cardboard. After another night of sleeping on cement we went up to Coban. Home sweet home. I know I was only gone for 5 days but I was already missing it. I was going to go with the Coban 2nd wards area, but the Elders got sick. So I was actually able to go with Elder Proctor and his new companion Elder Dold in my old area. That was fun, but also a little challenging. We passed by one of the families we taught. It turns out that the husband is cheating on his wife with the schoolteacher of his oldest son. He comes home really late every night and has also taken up smoking and drinking. He also denies that he ever thought the church was true and that he was just baptized to see if we would ever catch him in his lie. This is one of the hardest things I've ever dealt with. I don't understand what's going on. Well, I do, it's Satan, but he seemed like he was doing so well. The man that was one of my best investigators and converts went completely off the deep end. I just hope that he can work things out. It doesn't look like it'll happen quickly, but I pray he fixes it. But, after the day with Coban it was off to the Polochik for us. That was awesome, except for the tiny horrible bus we were in for hours on end. I finally learned what roughing it on your mission is like. Those Elders are so far out in the middle of nowhere. It is really cool that there is so much success in the church though. The mountains and valleys of Polochik and Senahu are scattered with chapels. I stayed with the ZLs in Teleman, Polochik, while Elder Allen and Elder Saavedra went up to the mountains of Senahu. I was a little jealous they got to go up to the mountains, but I knew I'd get a chance to see it later on. Polochik is hot! I was sweating the whole time I was there. We just went there to be able to train the zone leaders a bit on their assignment so we were not there for too much time. We actually got there yesterday at 6pm and left this morning at 3am. By the way, I'm tired. We were in buses from 3 am to 6pm. The funniest moment of the trip to Polochik was that the ZLs didn't go there to wait for me. I got off the bus as my companions drove away and sat on an old tire waiting. Now remember that people speak Kekchi in Polochik and not Spanish. I felt just like John Groberg on the Other side of Heaven. It was quite funny cause I was just sitting on the edge of a muddy soccer field with my little suitcase, gringo as can be. =) So we came back today and are tired! We'll have just enough time to write and go home. By the way Mom, I live in a house with all the office Elders. It's also pretty much the mission home because any new elders or ones that are going home spend the night there with us. It's really fun. And the house is super nice. We pay like 700 dollars a month for it. (An average house rent in the mission is about 100 dollars a month.) Plus it has a real hot water heater, a washer, and dryer. Luxury! This week starting on Tuesday we will be doing visits with 3 areas everyday here in the capital. Then the next week we will be in Petén. So it's pure divisions and traveling for us this month. That's great though. I know this church is true and that the Lord loves us. I learned something extremely important in my divisions this week. No matter who we are or where we are, the Lord helps us live the gospel and be in his service, if we are willing to do so. He is so aware of every single one of us. With so many different Elders, he knows just what they need and how they can reach their potential. I also know of the importance of sharing the gospel with everyone. I was sitting in the bus with an empty seat next to me so I prayed to our Father in Heaven to ask if he could give me somebody to share the gospel with. Less than one minute later the bus stopped and picked up a young man that came in and sat right next to me and started talking to me. He also bought me a soda so that was sweet! But I was able to teach him the restoration lesson and give him a pamphlet and get his address and phone number. The next day the Elders in San Jeronimo were able to find him, teach him, and give him a Book of Mormon, and he's going to church tomorrow. It was an awesome experience and a testimony that the Lord puts prepared sons and daughters in our path so that we can share what has blessed us so much. I know that God lives and loves us. Prayer really does rest the weary. Love you guys and hope you are all great! Thanks for the letters! Love, Elder Lloyd

Life in the Office

Hey guys,

Well it's sad news to hear that grandpa passed away.  Although it is sad, it isn't bad news.  He will be much happier now that he has more opportunities.  He was really suffering quite a bit.  The good thing is that we really can be together forever.

Here I am as a new Assistant to the President inthe Guatemala North Mission.  Don't worry, I'm not letting it get to my head.  It's a little weird here in the office.  It's weird not to work in the field.  It reminds me a lot of working in an office at home.  It drives all of the Elders crazy to be in here.  Oh well.  It was really sad leaving Coban.  I got on the bus Wednesday at 2 in the morning and left my beloved home.  That place is paradise.  The work is great and the people are even greater.  But the Lord has called me here.  I got here that morning and was put to work to help everybody get to their areas.  It's a bit stressful.  Then we went home and got everything arranged in the house for our trio and ate with Hna Watts.  She cooks really well.

My new companions are Elder Allen and Elder Saavedra.  Elder Allen's a pure cowboy from Baker City Oregon.  He's awesome.  Elder Saavedra is from Argentina.  He's also a really great guy.  It's funny because they were both my Zone leaders in Peten 8 months ago and we're companions now.  They both go home in a month.

On Thursday we had a meeting with President Watts to plan out what we wanted to do these next 6 weeks.  This is what made us all happy.  He said that neither he or the area presidency want the Assistants in the office.  They want us out in the field training missionaries and helping them.  President said that he hardly even wants to see us in the office this whole change and wants us in divisions every day.  So starting yesterday we are officially traveling division missionaries.  Divisions are awesome and what's really cool is that we have 3 people so we can do even more work.  President let us take a few hours alone yesterday to plan every day of the transfer and who we would go with.  On monday we will start with Baja Verapaz, Alta Verapaz, Coban, and the Polochic.  We'll then come back on Saturday to have Sunday and Monday here in the capital.  That next week we'll be here all over the capital in divisions as well.  After that week we are headed off to Peten. =)  I'm so excited for Peten especially.  We'll be there for a week and a half and get to spend conference weekend there.  Then we come home for a couple of days to rest before our mission tour with Elder Duncan, area Seventy.  We get to fly up to Peten and come back, have a meeting in the capital, and then have a combined meeting in Coban with the missionaries from Coban, Polochic, and Salama.  And that just about finishes up our transfer.  It's gonna be awesome!

Divisions are really cool because the Lord really guides you as a leader.  They are also really nerve racking because you know you have to be the greatest missionary you can be every moment because they're watching your every move.  That's a good thing though because it keeps you really focused on the work.

I got to go in a trio with the zone leaders in Alameda yesterday.  They are in the zone that I started my mission in.  Man I'm glad I got to serve outside the capital for so long.  But, even though it was a little feito, we had some great success and they are great elders.  It was also great because I got to see a lot of the families from my first ward at an activity they had going on in the church.  We also had an activity in the ZLs chapel that 20 investigators attended.  It was a huge success.  Too bad we can't get that many in sacrament meeting!  Maybe we should strap fireworks to a guy and have him run around every Sunday too.  =)  It was a cool activity because today is September 15, the independence day of Guatemala.

My new house is awesome.  It's once you get in the office of a mission that you really realize how much money the church has.  It's ridiculous how much we spend every day!  At least I have a hot water heater in my house now.  =)  I won't complain.

Anyways, I don't have much else to talk about because I haven't done much this week.  I officially don't have a proselyting area... =/  That's the lame part about being Assistant.  No more baptisms for me...  Oh well, there is still the chance that I train to finish out my mission.  That would be so amazing.  Anyways, love you guys.  The gospel is true.  Shall we not go on is such great a cause?

Love,
Elder Lloyd

P.S.- Here's a picture of how the men carry fire wood here.  That thing weighs more than 150 pounds.  They weigh like 80.  Also a Kekchi family in their ropa tipica.  Everybody dresses like that in Coban.

Transferred from Coban

Hey guys,

Well, another week and more transfers.  These 6 week transfers are going by so fast now.  It's actually kind of sad.  Things hit me yesterday that I'll really be leaving Coban tonight.  My bus leaves at 2 in the Morning and I'll get there at 7 just in time for the transfer conference at 9am.  It's a tired trip.  

Yesterday we went to the highest mountain in all of the Coban/Alta Verapaz area.  It was sooo much fun.  I've wanted to do that ever since I got to Coban 7 months ago.  It was unfortunate though because we brought some of the Sisters in the zone along with us and they showed up an hour and a half late and couldn't stand the hike.  As we were about an hour from the top, one of the sisters caught up to us to tell us that one of the other sisters was at the bottom dying because she was super sick.  So, I took another Elder with me and we ran down the mountain to see how she was and if she needed a blessing.  We were able to get down in about 20 minutes after it taking about 2 hours to get up.  We got to the bottom and she said she was perfectly fine, just waiting patiently for us to finish the hike and have a good time.  So, we started up the mountain again and hiked an hour just when the APs called us to tell us that one of the Elders on top of the mountain had to take a bus to the cap 2 hours later so we had to turn back.  So I didn't get to hike it, but it was still an awesome activity.  

As we rode the bus back to Coban through the hills and fields of the aldeas, it made me pretty sad to know I'd be leaving the people of Coban.  This place has really changed me.  I've seen miracles here.  I've struggled here more than in other time of my life, but for a great cause.  I feel just like Alma did when he talked about his joy of being an instrument in the hands of the Lord in saving some soul.  Really there is nothing better than finding people that want to come unto Christ and giving them the key that lets them enter in at the gate of the narrow path to eternal life.  I'm going to miss Elder Proctor as well.  What a great guy.  I'm really grateful I had this last change with him to learn all that the Lord had prepared for us to learn.  We really have felt the hand of the Lord here in this great city.  But, the Lord has other things in store for me now.  

It's looking like I'll be an Assistant to the President...  Not sure how I feel about it.  It's very possible that I won't have a proselyting area again in my mission. I sure hope that's not the case though.  I have 7 months left and it's possible that President could let me train the last 3 months of my mission.  But that's in a long time so I won't think of it too much.  It will be kind of cool because I will be able to go on a lot of divisions with Elders in the mission and try to help them work more effectively.  I also will be able to eat Hna Watts' food.  Ha-ha.  We'll see how it goes though.  

We had an amazing experience this week.  The mission has a goal of finding a 2 new families every week in every area, one through tracting efforts and one from member referrals. President Watts talked to us in concilio about putting goals of faith and asking the Lord to complete with those goals.  So we put it into practice and put the goal on Friday morning to fast starting after lunch and look for 2 new families before the weekend was over.  Well we went out to work and all our appointments fell.  But we continued and talked to a less active family that gave us a referral right there for a family that lived close by.  We went and contacted them immediately and taught them a lesson.  They loved it and invited us back.  New family.  Then we went to a street in our area that we had never tracted.  I had always felt that we should touch doors there since about 5 months ago but never had gotten to it because our area is so big.  So after knocking 5 or 6 houses and getting rejected at every single one of them, we felt we needed to contact one more house before we went to the next appointment.  We knocked and another family let us in to teach them about the book of Mormon.  They also loved it and invited us back for another visit.  All in all, God is very loving and will give us what we need if our desires our righteous.  We were able to complete that goal and feel a miracle in the work.  

On less great of news, the guy that got baptized about 2.5 months ago seems to be with another woman...  =(  He left his wife and 5 kids a week ago and seems to be living with another woman.  His wife asked for an explanation but he said it was none of her business and left.  I don't know what happened.  He was doing so well.  We've tried to find him at work to talk to him but haven't had any luck.  I don't like writing about it much because it's broken my heart, but please pray for him and his wife and her five kids.  She's thinking of moving to Chiquimula to live with her family, but isn't sure what to do still.  I hope everything goes ok.

I love you guys.  I hope everybody is doing well.  Congratulations Levi for becoming a High Councilman. The Lord has great things prepared for our family.  Thanks for the money for the suit.  It's going to be awesome.  I'll take a picture when I get it.  Anyways, got to pack.  

Love,

Elder Lloyd

Working-Working

Hey guys,

Well, another week in paradise.  Things went really well this week.  It was definitely a harder work week, but it turned out well at the end of everything.

The first highlight of the week was interviews with president Watts.  Poor man, he has to do soooo many interviews and he does a mission tour every 3 months to do them.  He does them all in about 3 weeks for about 200 missionaries in the mission.  When he did them for our zone he was in there without resting or eating from 8am to 6pm.  He is an amazing guy though.  He really receives revelation for every one of us here in the mission.  Everytime I go in to an interview with him, he knows exactly what I need to hear, even if I'm not even sure what I need to hear.  It really helped our zone as well.  Sometimes there is a lot of pressure as a zone leader because it's our job to make sure the elders and sisters are having success in their areas.  Even when we are doing so well in our own area it isn't enough.  Elder Proctor and I are really trying to see how we can encourage our zone to do better.  But, with lots of love and prayer it will happen.  It doesn't help when all the Sisters are angry and fighting with each other.  We had to go over and reprove with the scriptures this week in the house of some Sisters.  That was fun....  It's all part of a day's work though.  =)

Another highlight of the week was that I got a new man bag/purse that I had made in the Polochic a month ago.  =)  You can see my pictures to see it.  It may sound silly, but a good bag makes missionary work all the better.  I just hope you guys don't make too much fun of me for using a purse for 2 years straight.  It's comfy...

In other news for this coming week, we have more baptisms.  The Marroquin family that we found about a month and a half ago is more than ready for baptism.  They will be baptized this Saturday at 3pm and it is going to be awesome.  Everytime we go over there they always just thank us to death for sharing the gospel with them.  They understand everything and are receiving the blessings of heaven for their obedience to the commandments.  They have given up coffee and are even married, miracle of miracles.  Really though, this family is special to me.  The Lord has been preparing them for a long time and they are seeing the results of their love for God.  They asked for a small baptismal service so we are just going to have some family members and Church leaders there.  We hope it goes really well.  So their names are Carlos, Carla, and their 13 year old daughter Karin.  I can't wait to introduce you guys to them when you come down. Please pray for them.

Besides them we were able to put a baptismal date with a young man, Otto, for the 6th of October.  We are really hoping that he can attend church every Sunday to be able to get that date.  We've taught him a little and he loves the gospel.  He also loves the young women, but we'll make sure the testimony comes first.

We are really trying to look for new investigators now.  We have been so focussed on the investigators we have had that it has been difficult to find new people to teach.  Now we are really trying to pass by with all the members and ask for referrals.  There is great power in a sincere referral given from members to the missionaries.  I hope you guys can think in all your friends and give some referrals to the missionaries.  They are in great need of your help.

Anyways, times up.  Love you guys and hope everybody is healthy and happy.  I miss you guys but never enough to distract from the work.  I love it here and hope that in these last 2 weeks of this transfer, I can give every minute to the Lord.  Have a great week.  Bueeeeeeeeno.

Love,
Elder Lloyd