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