Second Week Report (Aug 19 2013)

Hello family!

P-day is different this week because the Hispaños and some of the Norte Americanos are leaving tomorrow morning. I`m so sad they`re leaving -they`re so sweet - but it`ll be good. If you could email me on Sundays,
that would ensure that I would get emails. I love you all!

Anyway, this week went by SO FAST! First thing`s first - I sprained my ankle on Friday (I missed a step going out of the CCM). I`m doing fine -it`s barely hurting now and it`s wasn`t that bad to begin with, so don`t worry.

Last Wednesday was President Nicolayson`s (CCM President) birthday. They had a Mariachi group come in during lunch and play for us and the President. It was awesome and really good. I think I might start liking Mariachi music now. So, dad, majoring in Mariachi tuba might be a possibility. : )

Our investigator got passed off to the missionaries in his area and he`ll continue taking the lessons. It was an amazing experience teaching him, though. And I`m excited for him as he continues to learn about the Gospel.

We`re having our P-Day tomorrow, so we`re going to the Mercado and the Temple. In the CCM, you go to the Mercado once and Wal-mart once, every other Tuesday. It`s going to be fun!

This is for Seth and Jenna: was there a Fitzgerald family in Northgate 2nd ward while you were there? Because there`s an Hermana Anne Fitzgerald here who says Jenna was her Young Woman leader and was friends with Haley Rader, Jordan Hastings, and Kristy Lambert. Just wondering if you remember her. She`s going to the Retauleu mission.

The Spanish is coming along slowly but its definitely coming. As I keep telling the Hispanos, "Yo entiendo mucho pero hablando poco". I understand a whole lot more than I can speak, but it`s "poco a poco" when learning a language.

The weather here is sporatic. One minute it could be sunny and nice and the next, you hear an oncoming wall of rain, and then it`s pouring. It`s nice, though. It`s definitely "eternal spring" here in Guatemala.

We went to the Temple on Wednesday - it was so nice to go and I`m grateful we get that chance to go.

The high point of this week was Sunday. I love Sundays here. We watched "The Testaments" yesterday and "Legacy" and a devotional from the MTC in 2010 by Elder Bednar. During "The Testaments" when Christ is going through the Atonement, I became very aware of the fact that I wear His name everyday on mi placa (nametag) and it really hit me that I`m out here on a mission and that I am representing Jesus Christ in His work in the land of Guatemala. I am so grateful for the opportunity to be here and I want to express how grateful I am from the support that I have from back home. There have been days where I get overwhelmed and then I think of all the prayers that are being said by mom, dad, and the rest of our family. It has definitely held me up during times of learning Spanish. And Elder Bednar`s devotional was superb. It was about doctrine, principles, and applications. It was so good. The main thing from it was "The answers (to the Gospel) are in the doctrine."

I`ve realized more of the reason that I am here. Before I came out here, people would ask why I`m going on a mission and I would say "To teach about Jesus Christ". That`s only part of it. You come on a mission and you learn to love the people that you are serving - your compañera, the people, the CCM and Mission President, and many other people. After teaching Daniel, I can say I love the people of Guatemala - I haven`t met them yet (other than those in the CCM) but I love this people. I cannot wait to go out into the
field and teach people about this wonderful Gospel that can change their lives for the better. It has changed mine and I am so grateful for it. My testimony has grown so much in the past two weeks and I know that it will grow so much before I even leave the CCM. I just have to remember to keep things in perspective and to keep doing what I`m supposed to be doing. As Hermana Godfrey (in my district) says, "This is the best time". It truly is.

I love you all and I hope that everything is going well back home!

With a whole lot of love, Hermana Conover