Merry Christmas - 12.24.11

It's Christmas!!!

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It's CHRISTMAS!!!!!!!!! Or, almost Christmas. Same thing, right?

 

I'm not going to lie, I have like, 0 ganas of writing an email right now (Ganas means desires). I don't know why, but all my ganas of writing just went out the window, I have no idea why... sorry. I don't know what to write about. Christmas is tomorrow and I'll be talking with my family on the phone. I don't know what all to talk about either... If I say everything, there won't be anything to talk about tomorrow, right? At least, that's how I look at it.

 

I've had a LOT of people ask me what Christmas is like in Guatemala, so I guess I'll start there.

 

In Guatemala people DO celebrate Christmas... but it's quite different. People put up lights, and trees, and the whole nine yards. In fact, there is a HUGE Christmas tree on the way to the office that's all decorated and what not. It's called the "Gallo Tree" because it is sponsered by the Gallo company. In Guatemala people start celebrating Christmas on December 1st. Everyone alread is putting up their trees and they light fireworks ALL the time. From December 1st until the New Year there are fireworks EVERYWHERE. It's crazy! On December 6th they have what is called the burning of the devil. Everyone gets all of their garbage together, buys piñatas shaped like the devil and fireworks and at 6 p.m. everyone lights their garbage on fire in the streets, lights of fireworks (mostly firecrackers) and burns the devil. How's that for a different tradition? After that everything is normal, just more fireworks, until December 24th. Everyone in central America celebrates Christmas on Christmas Eve. It's a VERY different experience than in the US. At midnight on Christmas Eve they have the family hug and then they eat dinner! At midnight... then after dinner and talking for a while, they open their presents! Or sometimes even before dinner! All of the hype and celebration is a build up to the 24th of December.... it's basically like the 25th isn't Christmas. It's weird! Not weird as in weird, but weird as in completely different from the US traditions. As for traditional Guatemala Christmas food. Tamales and ponche. Everyone (almost) eats tamales for Christmas. All KINDS of tamales. You couldn't even describe them all. And ponche is a very weird drink. It's boiled fruit water. They put all sorts of fruit into water and boil it. Then you drink this hot fruit water and eat the fruits. They put in apple, pineapple, pear, cranberries, prune looking things, papaya, just whatever kind of fruit you want! I'm not a big fan. Call me weird, but I don't really enjoy my fruit HOT. It tastes alright, but I don't like eating all the fruit afterward. It's just the way it is here in Guatemala!

 

Yesterday we had our Mission Christmas Conference with all of the missionares inside of the capital. There were 100 of us! It was CRAZY! We started out by preparing Christmas presents for investigators or members in need in our areas. Afterwards we played sports for an hour. That was CRAZY with 100 missionaries. There is always a little bit of racism for soccer and basketball. It kind of stinks. I didnt play either. Someone brought a football so we played two hand touch, first to score and then switch teams which was WAY fun! Lunch was delicious as well! Roast turkey with mashed potatoes and gravy, chef's salad, and a piece of bread. And for dessert, a slice of apple pie! Yum! The best part of the activity, or one of the best, was that we got to watch... A MOVIE!!! How sick is that? We watched last year's big hit "Tangled". Absolutely loved it the second time too! It was a nice stress reliever and fun time to watch a silly Disney movie with a bunch of other missionaries and President and Sister Watts.

 

As Sister Watts was sharing her message with us, she quoted a scripture which I absolutely love and I think is absolutely perfect for this time of the year, and it applies to all of us. "And now, after the many testimonies which have been given of him, this is the testimony, last of all, which we give of him: That he lives!"

 

I, too, know that He lives. Yea, that He is our Savior and Redeemer. We celebrate this time now as His birth. In a few short months we will celebrate His resurrection. I am so happy to be here int he mission, sharing my testimony with the world of Jesus Christ. Like the prophets of old, like the prophets today, I know that He lives. Everything He did while in this life was for US. I will join my testimony with those that have gone before me, that the whole world may know that Jesus is The Christ, the Son of the Living God, our Savior, our Redeemer, and our Everliving Friend. Merry Christmas.

 

Love,

 

Elder Andrew A. LaPray

Christmas is Coming

A NIECE!! A WEEK BEFORE CHRISTMAS!

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That might be kind of misleading.. I'm not getting a niece a week before Christmas. I just found out that I am going to have another niece AND it just so happens that this week is a week before Christmas. Just a clarifier.

This has been a long and nondestinctive week. Except for Sunday. Sunday was absolutely incredible. I would like to quote my journal. Bear with me.

"Today was one of those days you just don't forget. I'd like to preface it with an experience that happened almost 8 years ago. Let me take you back to January 8th, 2004. My family and I were living in the Carribean on the island of Nevis.My family of 6 made up the only members of the church on the island. Fortunately there was a small branch of members on our sister island, St Kitts, where we traveled every Sunday to participate in church meetings. The summer before they had just built a new meeting house, but it had still not been dedicated. In late December of 2003 we heard the news that President Gordon B. Hinckley and Elder Russell M Nelson of the 12 would be coming to dedicate our chapel. It was a week before my 12th birthday, and I had never been in the presence of a General Authority, but I knew that this was a once in a lifetime opportunity. On that day, January 8th, 2004, we were all in the chapel, waiting for the arrival of President Hinckley. I saw the van come in to the parking lot and my excitement was grew. I was bursting. The car door opened and as we saw President Hinckley step out of the car there was a tangible energy that spread through the room, sending a hush throughout.

"I don't remember the words they spoke, but I do remember feeling the Spirit and being extraordinarly happy. We had the opportunity to meet Sister Hinckley and talk to her for about 15 minutes, along with their daughter. In the end we were able to meet President Hinckley and shake his hand.

"As he shook my hand he said, 'And where are you from?' 'Nevis,' I said. He replied, 'No no, before that!' 'Idaho and Utah,' I replied confidently. Then President Hinckley, with his never failing humor, told me, 'Well pick one! You can't be from both!' I had just spoken with the prophet of the Lord. In that brief time with President Hinckley and Elder Nelson I could feel so srongly the Spirit of God and the love of my Heavenly Father. There was no doubt that he was and is a prophet in the last days. That was my first memorable dedicationg, here's my second.

"I've been to two previous temple dedications, for the Nauvoo and Twin Falls temples. However, back then I was 8, 9, or 10. Today the Quetzaltenango, Guatemala temple was dedicated, on this the eleventh day of December, 2011. It was kind of rough to get there on time, but we were there at 8:15.

"I enjoyed just sitting reverently, listening to prelude music and watching the video of various parts of several temples. It was quiet and peaceful. It honestly reminded me of the tranquility and sense of  calm in the temple itself. I have honestly never felt that in a chapel, but today the chapel was an extension of the temple and the Spirit was with us. President Uchtdorff presided while Elder Neil L. Andersen of the 12 directed. The latter speaks Spanish while the former does not. It was a privelege to hear words from them. The sealing of the cornerstone was kind of funny with President Uchtdorff. You'd just have to have heard him. We also heard a powerful testmony from the temple president and the area president. The temple president's father had a dream in which 2 strangers came up to him and the first thing they did was to show him a book that changed his life. The Book of Mormon. That dream came to pass within a week."

The temple is a marvelous blessing given to us by our Heavenly Father. There is no other place on earth where we can be so close to our Heavenly Father and I feel truly blessed to have seen the dedication of the Quetzaltenango, Guatemala temple! It truly is a special experience.

The only other great news I would like to share with you is that today Javier was baptized! It was a great day! I've been teaching him since my 3rd week here in Martí! He looked really happy and I hope that he can keep strong in the church! He has a lot of friends in the church, and his mother is a member (not active), but I know that he can stay active, he just has to keep doing basic things like praying, reading, and going to church. Those are the basics that all of us need to do!

Next week is Christmas and I hope we can all keep Christ in mind this last week before we celebrate His birth! I'll be writing one more email next week! Talk about baggy! Love you all!!

Love,
Elder Andrew A. LaPray

December 10, 2011

Halfway

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We are halfway through the change. Not the mission. Not QUITE that far yet... but we're in the process :) 

 

Sunday was the last fast and testimony meeting of the year! There hve been SO many things that have happened this year, and at the end of the year I plan on writing a HUGE journal entry about all of the craziness that has been this year and some of the things that have made a difference in my life this year. It's going to be good! Look forward to that one the week after Christmas!... probably the 7th of January... As you all know the Christmas Devotional was on Sunday night and we got to go to that! It was really weird to think back on the fact that 1 year ago I was there in person... 1 year has FLOWN by! I remember it like it was yesterday! I don't remember the messages very well though, I know, I should, but it's really hard to stay focused on the voice of a translator because I'm used to listening to the speaker with their voices and the changes in voices and everything. Translators don't do that. So, even though I understand it all, it's just not the same. But, I know they were good messages!

 

We went to see Carla again on Monday, which I always enjoy! This time the guard refused to let us pass. It was ridiculous! They let salesmen in with who knows WHAT that no one wants, but people preaching about Jesus Christ can't get in. We told him exactly which house we were going to, that we had an appointment, and everything and he still refused. So, I called Carla and she cinched the guard and he let us pass. (Cinched is the gringo past tense verb of cincho(noun) which means belt. Or, in this sentence, chastised...) it was sweet. We always have such great spiritual visits with them. Today we focused on faith and feeling the Holy Ghost. She says she is really focused on strengthening her faith in God and the basics, which is perfect! but that she has always had problems feeling the Spirit, so we tried to explain how the Spirit CAN feel, and to associate it to other spiritual experiences she has had in the past. I absolutely love that family!

 

Tuesday was ZL Council, but they didn't do it in the office which was sweet cause we got a little bit more work done... sort of. Oh, and we got the budget on Tuesday! I love the budget! But that's private. Sister Watts made a Thanksgiving dinner for concilio(council) which was absolutely AMAZING! I had turkey, potatoes, stuffing, salad, gravy, jello, and best of all, INCREDIBLE homemade rolls! Just delicious. Everything you could ask for in a Thanksgiving dinner! We didn't get out of the office until late though, and there was a lot of traffic. We visited a less active named Oscar Azurdia and gave him some reading glasses because Hna Watts has hundreds in her house, so we took him 3 pair because his broke. We talked about the Holy Ghost with him and helped him remember some of the great experiences he has had with the Spirit as well. He doesn't have a lack of a testimony, just a lot of things that have hurt him over the years, which is a really tough situation when you don't get the help and support you are looking for (not financial). He was even a branch president. I know that we are resparking those feelings he felt so strongly when he was a branch president and that he could return to the church and be such a strong member! Today he told us that really appreciates our visits. He hasn't had much communication for the last 10 years and it's just a perfect opportunity for him to communicate with us as human beings and servants of God at the same time. He told me that he really appreciates my patience with him and that he is grateful for me. It made me feel special. I know that sounds cheesy, but it was just one of those moments where you know that you are doing something good. That's the only way I could describe it.

 

I love days when I have a random thought to take up space in my journal. On Thursday I heard a line I really liked from a song "Mistakes of the past don't define you, they refine you". I thought that was a very uplifting and comforting thought. Sometimes as human beings we tend to think that our mistakes are what people look at or that they tell everyone what kind of an awful person we are. That is not true. It is true that our mistkaes make us who we are; but not because they define us, rather, they define us. They help us learn, grow, and progress, thus reshaping our lives to something even greater, like refined gold. It was a nice thought, that we can become something better, no matter what happened beforehand.

 

This has nothing to do with anything, but when I was writing in my Journal this morning I wrote "Time is honestly just running away from me. (Random, but that reminded me of the song "Time" by Hootie and the Blowfish). I just thought it was kind of funny. On Friday night we were able to teach Javier again, who has a fecha for next Saturday to be baptized! It was the first time we'd taught him in a while and we taught him the Plan of Salvation, really making sure he understood how it answered 3 questions of the soul Where did I come from? Why am I here? and Where do I go after I die? I just keep hoping and praying that he is getting a strong testimony to stay strong in the gospel no matter what happens. Unfortunatel he still prays to Jesus Christ, but he closed "In the name of Jesus Christ" as well... So he's getting better. It's hard growing up with the Catholic ritual of praying to Jesus to change completely. Although, I was surprised by how many catholics in Guatemala do NOT recite prayers. Incredible.

 

So that was my week pretty much! And now the change is halfway over! I have 9 more weeks in the office. Which is SO weird to think that I have the equivelant of my MTC/CCM experience to spend in the office again, but I like it. I love you all and am thinking about you all a lot in this Christmas season!

 

Love,

Elder Andrew A LaPray

December 3, 2011

Communication. The Savior of the World.

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I guess it's time I right the weekly letter! Half of my Internet time is already up. Man the time just goes by fast!

I just wrote this to Spencer, but I thought I'd throw it in here too.. time flies by SO fast! I remember 6 months ago when I called home for Mothers' Day I was thinking about the Christmas phone call and how it was an eternity away. Well, guess what. It's coming in THREE WEEKS. That's basically tomorrow in missionary time! Times just keep going by faster and faster and faster. Although, from what I hear, the time period of 9-12 months in the mission is the slowest. I say "casaca" (lie in Guatemala). Anyways...

To talk about the week...  On Sunday afternoon Elder Barahona and I did divisions with members. He went with the bishop and I stayed at the church to do an English Book of Mormon reading which was pretty legit! The bishop wants all of the members to read the Book of Mormon in the "language of the Restoration, exactly how Joseph Smith translated it" which I think is a really cool idea! I found power in the Book of Mormon no matter what language it is! (assuming I understand more or less what is going on.) So I did that for an hour and we had a decent turn out of about 8 people! Hopefully that number increases this Sunday! We were also able to teach Javier Cotero (has a baptismal date of the 17th of December) more about prayer using Enos as an example and the importance of praying to our Heavenly Father and closing in the name of Jesus Christ. Sundays are good days.

As a missionary you try to leave out negative things in your emails, as mentioned in the Missionary Handbook, so I don't want to mention specifics, but more about the learning that comes from these experiences. It all focuses on one word. COMMUNICATION. This word has a meaning of transmitting thoughts, feelings, and ideas through speech, writing, simbols, signs, etc. (Definition according to Elder LaPray). Communication can bring about many terrible things. However, when used correctly, it is a very powerful tool. Here in the office we have what I like to call a LACK of communication. With the exception of the communication between finance elders (my comp and I) and the poucheros (Elder Francks and Elder Cantillo) it's pretty much everyone to their one stuff. We're a team in the office and we need to communicate. It's a simple matter of "Hey, we have these things planned for this time and we wanted to let you know so that there are no conflicts in schedules and so that we can work better". Or "Could you call us a taxi to take us from A to B at X hour for such meeting?" Done. Here in the office I am learning A LOT about myself and how I can become successful in all aspects of life, like this communication stuff. Yesterday the poucheros needed some help with the packages and materials they were moving. They told us at 2 p.m. "Hey, around 3 we'll be coming back with all of the mail packages and picking up the materials to send out to the various areas. When we call you could you bring the materials out into the hall and load them in to the elevator?" our reply "Absolutely". Then, at 2:55 we received a phone call "Hey, can you take the stuff out to the elevator, it will be waiting?". Done! We took the stuff out there, loaded up the elevator, got in, took the stuff down, unloaded with the help of the poucheros, loaded up the taxi, put the packages from the post office into the elevator, went up, and took it out. Job completed in a matter of 10 minutes with COMMUNICATION. The poucheros alone would have taken at least 30 minutes to complete the job alone. 

Now, this communication business isn't just a work thing or a human to human thing. It works on an even grander scale. Personally, one of the most important communications I have is with my Heavenly Father. This communication is absolutely NECESSARY to success in life. We can communicate with our Heavenly Father and He can communicate with us if we are willing. He has given us the wonderful opportunity to pray, communicating our thanks, desires, questions, and needs to Him and He will communicate with us through thoughts, feelings, the words of a friend, one of His servants, or thousands of other means. When this communication is a in work, life always seems to go just that much smoother, with that much more tranquility and calm. What a wonderful gift we have in communication.  

On Wednesday our District Meeting focused on sharing the Book of Mormon. That was also the message in our "Noche de Hermanamiento". There are so many blessings we receive from the Book of Mormon and it is so easy to share with a friend. "Hey, Jim, I know that Christmas is coming up and I was thinking about you. I love Christmas because it gives us a chance to reflect up the birth of Our Savior, Jesus Christ. I love that about the Christmas season. But it's not just about the birth of Our Savior, you know? He did so much for us! He performed miracles, He established His church here on the earth, and more than anything, He paid for our sins. What a wonderful gift our Savior has given us. You know, Jim, one of the best ways I can remember the gifts of my Savior is through the Book of Mormon, I know you've heard a little about it. But really, it's one of the most beautiful testimonies we have of Our Redeemer. I'd like to give you a copy I bought, just for you. There is one scripture I would like to share with you, that helps me remember Jesus Christ at this special time, it says......."

What a wonderful opportunity the Christmas season opens to share OUR testimony of the Savior of the World. What have you done this year to share YOUR testimony of your Savior, Jesus Christ?

Love,

Elder Andrew LaPray