For those who weren't at my phone call, IT'S STORY TIME!!


So, on Christmas morning Elder Hill made us breakfast, pancakes and eggs! Delicious! As we were getting ready to eat I got a phone call from the mission nurse letting me know that an elder in my district was sick and asking if I could get some medicine to him because the stores would be closed due to Christmas, so as soon as breakfast was over we got dressed and what not, and headed out the door!

It was SILENT as we left the house. There was absolutely NO movement in Sayaxché. As we got to the river, there were 2 buses on the other side of the river, waiting for people to head out. We were the first 2 to arrive... we waited... and waited... and waited... and after about 45 minutes one of the bus drivers decided to try his luck with the 4 of us and see if he could get more people en route. Finally, about an hour and 45 minutes after leaving our house we arrived to La Libertad, a trip that should have taken tops 45 minutes, but we were able to deliver the mess, talk to them for a bit about Christmas and what not, and then around 10:30 we headed out to come back to Sayaxché. 

The chances of us finding a bus were about 0.00000000001% so we went straight to the main road (which took us 20 minutes walking) to try to hitchhike a ride. Well, we were throwing up the thumb for about 15-20 minutes with no luck and it was now about 11 o'clock and we were stuck 22 miles from our house, and my family was going to be calling in 6 hours. It was decision time. We needed to know if we needed to start walking or not. Elder Hill suggested a prayer, so pray we did, asking direction about whether or not we should begin walking or whether we should stand there and just keep asking for rides. At the end of the prayer we stood silently for about 30 seconds or so, looked at each other, and confirmed the truth we weren't all too ready to accept... "Get walking". So, we started the 22 mile journey from La Libertad to Sayaxché on Christmas day. 

We had walked about 200 meters when we saw a Mitsubishi SUV coming fairly quickly... We had just arrived to a perfect pull out point, stuck out our thumbs, and they honked and whizzed past us! And stopped! The cabin was full, but they offered us a ride in the cargo area, and I was not at all too picky about riding in the cargo area of that Mitsubishi! As soon as we got in, Elder Hill and I both took a moment to pray and give thanks for the wonderful blessing our Heavenly Father had given to us! 

That was the biggest story of the week!!

On Friday we had a great lesson with Noemí who has really been progressing! She had great questions for us about the Plan of Salvation and she seemed to really accept the things we were teaching her. We had another lesson the next day to explain the Plan of Salvation from beginning to end instead of just her questions so that she could understand it all! She has a great desire to learn and grow and change! It's awesome! We were also able to find 2 great families that same day!!

On Saturday Elder Hill and I felt like marriage counselor! It's interesting how when you walk around in a white shirt and tie and put on a nametag people just look at you as if you were to have all these insights and knowledge about everything! I've never been married in my life! Yet a couple of 33 years of marriage asked Elder Hill and I for advice and opinions on marriage!! Definitely not what I expected. However, being in a constant companionship helps us as missionaries prepare for the day in which we WILL be married and have to do much more than co-exist with our companion, we have to reach eternal marriage! It takes a lot of work, and I'm glad to be preparing now!

Love,

Elder Andrew A. LaPray