HERE'S A BIG ONE

Buenas Dias Familia!

How is everything going? I loved talking to you the other day! It was so much fun to talk and hear your voices and see how everyone is doing! It sounds like everything is going great in Utah, but Elder Lanham and I have been talking, and we´ve decided we really aren´t missing too much! Everything, besides our awesome families and friends (Oh, and the gym for Elder Lanham.. haha), is here in Guatemala right now! It really is a blessing knowing that we are all being blessed and watched over by our Heavenly Father and we have NOTHING to worry about. I´m a little bummed out that I haven´t been able to see Christopher and Tanner´s games! Oh well, I know you are tearing it up out there, and I know that there is nowhere else I should be right now.

Congrats on everything that is going on with basketball right now Christopher and Tanner, it sounds like you´re doing great! Seriously, I couldn´t be more proud, i´m always telling the little Guatemalan kids (and sometimes parents) about my huge brother that´s only dieciseis(16) and is so much taller than me. ha. They are so funny when they hear that, I usually say it just to see their reactions . =)

While i´m thinking about it, I realized that while we were talking on the phone I had so much to say and so many things I wanted to hear about, I don´t feel like I was able to express how thankful I am for the Christmas Package! I felt like I just started telling you more stuff I needed! Really though, the Christmas package was AWESOME. Thank you so much for all of the little toys and food and everything else! I completely appreciate it, and WOW it was awesome.

You had a lot of questions about whether or not we´d have people cleaning our houses and making us food. Well, I´m pretty sure this house is the only one that has a lady come and clean it. The rule that lets us eat with families is missionwide, as long as they have received a pamphlet on how to cook for us, what kind of water to use, and just a bunch of stuff to keep us safe. SO, you have NOTHING to worry about. I have my big blue Nalgene bottle and I just fill it up with my pure water before I go out, and every time I get the chance I fill it up and drink it.

In the other houses we give our clothes to a member to clean them and she brings them back, but in this house we have a washer and drier so we just do it. So either way, it sounds great to me.

You were asking what to include in another package. You really don´t need to do that, BUT if you do send one, send healthy stuff! I feel like I can get basically everything I need here, minus healthy foods. I´m at the halfway mark on my green juice (that stuff goes fast) but I really think that stuff makes a difference. Also, The ama ama would be great, both sound good, but more raspberry if thats ok! Anything that´s healthy, or a tie, go ahead and send it! Don´t go buy ties though, we can get them cheap here, I´m just saying if there are any ties in my closet that you would care to send, that would be great.

Anyways, yesterday was the big day! I had the opportunity to give my talk in front of the whole ward. I´m not sure why they chose to have the missionaries speak the week after a greenie comes in, but oh well! That´s what the MTC and CCM were for. Seriously though, it looked like the ward had doubled from last week. I´m not sure where everyone was last week, but this week that chapel was FULL! I was perfectly fine until the last minute, and I got a little bit nervous. I just kept praying in my heart though for the gift of tongues and for the spirit, and just to relax.

Well, I got up there to the podium, pulled the microphone CLEAR up and crouched a little tiny bit and just started talking! I was speaking about missionary work, and I challenged the whole ward to pray for missionary opportunities every day, and make it their new years resolution. I talked about how Joseph Smith prayed, and he received an answer to his prayers in a BIG way. I said that if they would pray with faith they could receive the opportunity to take part in missionary work, and share this awesome message with their neighbors. It made PERFECT sense to me, which worries me... Usually when it makes sense to me they have no idea what I´m talking about... haha They were very nice and said they could understand it though.

Oh, I forgot to tell you, I think it was 2 nights before? or 1 night before, I can´t remember... I was sleeping, and went to roll over or something and I hit my head on the cement windowsill right next to my bed... I just fell back asleep and didn´t even realize anything, other than my head hurt a little bit. The next morning I woke up and was just doing my thing, and was washing my hands and looked in the mirror... hahaha Let´s just say I was REALLY surprised to see a big gash in my forehead! It isn´t deep or anything serious, just a big red mark. So, my 2nd week in this ward, the first impression a lot of the people in this ward get is this missionary with a big gash(of course it´s not as big as I am imagining it, I was just self conscious...) in his forehead and a thick english accent. =) Everyone kept asking what happened, all the missionaries got a big kick out of it. Mom, I don´t need stitches or anything, It´s healing up as we speak.

So, we were able to eat at the Hermano´s house who only has one hand, and he is the nicest guy ever. He came with us to an appointment and really testified incredibly well, and could relate with the investigator, because he had the same questions as she. Anyways, it turns out he works for NuSkin and has been to Utah once. He said he didn´t like all the expensive fast food but loved the temple. He was trying to sell me some NuSkin! haha So if you ever need Nu Skin, I´ve got the hook ups. Don´t worry.

You should have heard Christmas Eve Night at midnight, there was a HUGE roar of fireworks. It is almost impossible to sleep on New Years Eve and Christmas Eve here because the people go CRAZY with their fireworks! It´s a constant roar of fireworks for a good half hour or so. The firework laws here aren´t anything like they are in Utah either, so these fireworks are LOUD and BIG. It´s really the coolest thing ever.

Ok, I have 2 more funny stories. There are HUGE hills here in our area. It´s nice because I get a good work out while we´re walking up and down and all over. Anyways, as we were walking, we saw this lady pushing a wheelbarrow up the hill. She looked like she was having a hard time making it up the hill, so we asked her if we could help. My companion started, and I, thinking we were about halfway there took it from him so I could help too. Well, We weren´t even close. It was quite the spectacle for some reason, all of the people were laughing so hard. I guess they just aren´t used to seeing a Canche Gringo pushing a woman´s wheelbarrow up a hill. They got a kick out of that.

Oh, and I don´t have much time, but lets just say we had to hitchike, and it truly is possible to fit 4 missionaries plus 2 Guatemalans in a 2 door Honda Civic Coupe. Elder Lanham was nice and let me sit on his lap. IF he hadn´t have done that I proabably would have had to walk. Maybe we should look into a Civic for the family.

I know this work is real. THis work is changing lives. I´m so thankful for the opportunity to represent the ONE and ONLY true Church of Jesus Christ. We just need to keep him and the Atonement at the center of our lives and everything will work out.

I love you all so much! Thanks for the updates on everyone. I´ll keep praying for people.

Elder Micah Melville (Melbeeay)