Brrrrr.

Hey fam,
 
Hey, sorry I don't have too much time to write because I had so much mail!  Things are going great here and I am going to really quick tell a little bit about what happened this week and today. 

The change in climate has made me a little sick.  Well, a lot sick with a cold and I think I might have sinus-itis (however you spell that).  But, I think I might be getting better.  It's just a little hard because our water heater on the shower broke and it makes me more sick every morning, but tomorrow we are going to buy a new one. 
 
We were able to put a date for baptism on the tenth of march with a couple and a little nine year old kid this week.  We also are trying to work with the members to be able to get some references and start working with them.  The members here are awesome.  People  have always told me that zone leaders always get the best and biggest areas and wards to work with.  Our ward is about 150 active people and we have a goal to get the attendance up to 200.  This week was a little rough as far as visits though because I was sick and my companion is a little chambón(lazy.)  But, this week is going to be good and we are going to work a lot harder. 
 
We have some awesome elders and sisters in our zone.  12 elders and 6 sisters.  Two of the areas in our zone were able to get over 20 new investigators each just in this week.  That's crazy good. They really know how to work.  As a zone leader it is a little crazy because we are in charge of everybody and out area is huge.  We are in the center and just to get to one of the areas in Tanchi it's 2 hours in a few different buses.  We are also in charge of recieving any of the elders or sisters that come from the capital to go to coban, polochic, or verapaz at the bus station and buy tickets for those going to the capital.  We also have to deal with fighting elders in the zone.  That is the worst part.  But, for the most part it's good. 
 
Tomorrow president watts is coming and doing conferences and interviews.  That should be really great.  We also are going to be doing divisions with the assistents to the president, one of which was just the zone leader here before we came so that will be really good for us.  That way he can show us around a little more. 
Well, times up.  I love you all and hope you are having a great winter.  =)  Weather is absolutely perfect here.  All the time.  Just a little cold at night.  Have a great day and eat some lasagna for me.  The church is true!!!!!!!!!
Love
Elder Lloyd

Coban

Hey guys,

Well, as you read, I am now in Coban.  It is amazing here.  I am the new Zone Leader here with my companion Elder Navas. He has 19 months in the mission and is a great guy.  He is really good with the other missionaries and it seems like it's going to be a great time here with him.  He was in the capital for all 19 months of his mission and this is the first time he has ever left the city so he is really excited.

I'll start from the begining and try to tell everything that has happened in the past week.  Monday night Elder Adams took off on the 10 hour bus ride to the capital and I stayed with Elder Miller and Elder Rodriguez in San Jose.  We spent all Tuesday saying goodbye to our investigators and the members and packing our bags.  Then on Wednesday morning we went to the Zone Leaders' house in Peten to be able to wait for the phone call from the Assistents with changes.  They then informed me of my change to Coban and that I would be Zone Leader and told us to go to the bus stop and get to Coban.

Well, we got to the bus terminal and waited for the 1 o clock bus to Coban but it didn't show up.  So, after stressing a little we figured that we could get there but we would have to go in 3 trips to get there.  So that's what we did.  I was with Elder Miller and a Sister missionary.  Interesting because we first went to Sayaxche, out in the middle of nowhere, and crossed a river in a little boat with all our luggage.   That was probably the coolest part.  Then we got on another microbus with 35 people and crossed through the narrow neck of land right on the border of mexico through the "coconut farms."  Ya, definitely drugs.  Then we got to a small town called Raxhuja, even more in the middle of nowhere.  Well, when we got there we found out that the next bus to Coban had gotten in a wreck the day before and would not be going to Coban that day.  Also, there were no buses headed back to Peten that night.  So it was a little bit sketchy but I was able to get a guy to take us in his microbus all the way.  It cost the mission a pretty penny, but we were able to make it back to Coban on time.  It was a weird ride because there was a french couple that were with us also and the lady kept getting really bothered when the driver turned up the music.  She was screaming a mixture of French, Spanish, and English.  Also, about and hour and a half into the trip they stopped off the side of the road and bathed themselves in a river.  The french lady was livid!  But, we got there ok.

And now I am here.  The area, amazing.  The house, amazing. And the missionaries serving in my zone, really good.  I think more than anything I like the temperature.  During the day when you are in the sun, it is still pretty strong, but there is always a good breeze.  And at night, it gets sooo cold.  =)  It got down below 70 degrees in our house last night.  Sooooo rico.  The house is also a mansion.  It's super big because anytime there are changes in our zone, baja verapaz, or polochik, the Elders come and stay in our house for a night.  The night I got there we had 32 missionaries for the night.  It was pretty fun because we ordered 15 dominos pizzas.  Oh and I have a queen sized bed.  Again, rico.

The members here are really good.  We have a couple of young men that are preparing for their missions that have gone out with us and shown us the area.  It is really a large area and we have everything.  We have city, stick houses, and everything in between.  We were out proselyting the other day and we had an appointment at the church in 10 minutes and I asked one of the kids how far we were away from the church.  He told me, well, here we're about 8 Kilometers from the chapel.  What?!  That was a surprise.

There is one story from this week that I did really want to share.  We were out meeting some of the members in our ward and were walking back the main area when a man came running and shouting after us, Hermanos!  Hermanos!  He was crying and told us he wanted us to come back with him and pray for his son.  We went with him and followed him to his house.  He actually lived on the very top of this really big hill in a stick house.  We went in and his son was horrible.  He was laying on the ground and just shaking and his eyes were all rolled back.  I have never seen anybody that sick.  Well, we gave him a blessing.  Then we gave a quick spiritual thought.  The man said that he knew his son would be healed and he wanted us to come back the next day to see him.  Now, this was after a month of his son already being practically unconcious.  Well, we went the next day and his son wasn't there.  We were surprised because he wasn't there and asked what happened.  Apparently he had healed and walked to the hospital to be able to get help because he was so malnourished.  He was healed!  What a strong testimony to me and the others who were able to participate in that experience that the priesthood is real.  I know it is.  I know it works by faith.  I know that by faith, the Lord can give us all that we ask.  I know this gospel is true and that our Father loves us.

Well, time's up.  Ask me questions in my next letters.  I'll try to answer them all.  It's going to be interesting figuring things out in the next week. By the way, the Doctor over all of Central America is coming to Coban tomorrow and wants my companion and I to give him a tour of the zone.  Haha.  Who knows how we're going to do that.  Oh well, he's buying us McDonalds.  =)  I love you all.  Talk to yous later.
Love,
Elder Lloyd

Transfers

Hey fam,

Well, I have a transfer this Wednesday.  I still don't know exactly where I am going or who my companion is, but I do know I'm not going to the capitol, so I'll be in either Coban, Baja Verapaz, Peten, or Polochik.  Oh ya, my companion is going to be training here in San Andres.  Crazy!

Well, sounds like things are going really well with everybody.  Thanks for the letters.  Now I am going to try and pound out this letter so that maybe I can send some pictures afterward.  

The first thing I wanted to write about was the wedding.  It was great!  You would not believe how ridiculously late people come to weddings here!  The bride and groom were 1 hour late and the lawyer, which does the actual ceremony, was 2 hours late!  I couldn't believe it!  The we had to leave the church and run over to the lawyer's house 15 minutes away to be able to wake him up from a nap and get him there!  Oh well, it happened.  We were able to work with all the branch members to get them fancy clothes and also make food for afterward.  Being so poor they had nothing to wear, but they were looking super nice with the help of the members.  

It was a super good wedding.  I felt a little bad because Amalia speaks Kekchi and only a little Spanish and her parents speak absolutely zero Spanish, so they were a little overwhelmed.  I think she was a little embarrassed being the center of attention.  We got some good pictures.  The funniest one is of the kiss.  Haha.  It was so awkward looking.  I'll attach the picture. The food was also delicious.  My chicken that I bought turned out amazing.  We were able to use a bakery's huge oven to cook it really cheap and deliciously.  After the wedding it started poring down rain so everybody stayed in the church to not get wet.  We had to stay and clean up so not much work other than the wedding got done that day.  But, who cares, they're married and definitely both excited for their baptism this Saturday.  

Another thing that I really wanted to tell about was that I made lasagna for district meeting on Wednesday.  /=^)  That was amazing.  I have gone way to long without it and it was about time since it's the month of my birthday.  I figured it would be a good opportunity to make it in our last meeting together.  It was super tasty and actually not to expensive to make.  It was funny because we used a bunch of little personal packages of spaghetti sauce to do it. 

I think one of the greatest miracles that has happened to me happened this week.  I learned alot about putting goals, fasting and prayer.  I don't know if I told you guys about it, but we put a goal this week of finding somebody new, teaching them and then putting a specific baptismal date for the 10th of March with them.  Well, last Sunday we really fasted and prayed to be able to meet that goal.  I have to admit, sometimes in my mission it has been easy to put goals and then never think about them again, and just not really strive to get them, but this one was different.  I really wanted to see what would happen.  So we went through the week working and trying to find them, but it just wasn't happening.  Honestly, this week has been kinda hard compared to some of the last weeks.  A lot of our appointments were falling through and we weren't having much luck finding new investigators.  Well, we had had a referral for a couple of weeks that we had never been able to contact because the member never was willing to go with us.  But we decided to try and contact it.  Well, when we got there, the lady was there.  She said that she had talked to 4 or 5 sets of missionaries before and had never been too interested, but lately she has been feeling the need to talk again.  Well, within 20 minutes, she had asked us when she could be baptized and we all agreed on the 10th of March.  She came to church yesterday and seems to really be progressing.  She has 3 or 4 kids that are members.  It was a miracle.  

Well, transfers.  My companion is super afligido!  Haha.  You should have seen the size of his eyes when the Zone Leaders called and told me he would be training.  What's even harder is that the 2 other Elders in our district have changes also and Elder Adams will be the only one staying to show the others about the areas.  It's probably my fault, I may have told president in a letter that my companion was fluent in the language, great with the people, and ready for any assignment needed.  Whoops... =)  He'll be great though.  

Now I am just anxiously waiting to here about my change.  Tonight Elder Adams goes to the capital at 9pm and I stay with the other 2 elders in my district.  Tomorrow night Elder Rodriguez goes to the capitol for his change, and Wednesday Elder Miller and I will find out our changes.  I send pictures next week.  I'm super excited!  These last 3 changes have flown by though!

Well, picture time.  Love you all.  Have a great week and stay well and happy.  

Love,

Elder Lloyd