I love my new area!

Hola!

I am doing fantastic! I love my new area! The members here are great! And the area here is so white! Last week we started teaching two families. They both seem really positive. One family is Catholic and the other family is Evangelical. Teaching Evangelicals is definitely a challenge. Their interpretation of the Bible is quite different. For example, they don’t believe we are all children of God. That people who don’t accept Christ are just God’s creations. The first time I heard that I was really taken aback. It’s in moments like these that I am so grateful for the knowledge of the gospel and for the opportunity and privilege to share it with the people of Guatemala.

Our New Year’s Eve was good. We were invited to a member’s house. New Year’s Eve was also the birthday of one of the Elders in our area (Elder Tinoco). So when we got to the house the Elders hadn’t shown up yet. So we taught the lesson we had prepared about the Book of Mormon while we waited. They still weren’t there when we finished so we started eating without them. We had paches of course, because that’s what everyone eats here this time of year. Hermana Suliafu and I had bought a Tres Leches cake for Elder Tinoco as a surprise for his birthday. It was getting close to the time we had to leave and they still weren’t there. We finally convinced the family we should eat it without the Elders because we thought they weren’t going to show up. (The Elders lost their phone on the bus a couple of weeks ago so we have no way to call them...) Just as we were about to start to cut the cake, the Elders showed up. And I am so glad they did! Elder Tinoco was about to cry because of the cake he could barely even smile. He said that the only person who had ever given him a cake before was his grandma. It was really a sweet moment. I never realized how big a deal a cake could be to someone. I have had a lot of moments that have really humbled me since being here. Last week we visited a member just as she was preparing to sell most of her things to pay her rent and buy food for her kids. She told us of the miracles that had happened to her over Christmas. One of them was her kids wanted fireworks (kids here have been lighting fireworks in the street since Christmas) But she couldn’t afford this for her kids. They were walking in the street and they found a bag of fireworks that someone had left. I know Heavenly Father is looking out for us and is always willing to bless us even with something as simple as fireworks.

This week we went to Xela 3 times! We went on Monday for P-day then on Wednesday because Hermana Suliafu was called as the Zone leader for the Hermanas so we went to the Zone leaders’ meeting. Then we went on Thursday for our Zone meeting. So much traveling! 

We have been visiting a less active family since we got here, a member in our ward told us it was a waste of time on Saturday night. It kind of frustrated me and got me down that they said that. But guess who showed up to church on Sunday? Oh you know it was that family! I was so happy to see them there. I was reminded on how we don’t get to judge who to teach. We teach whoever will listen to us. Also we should never judge our family or friends and say they will never accept the gospel. The gospel is for everyone and everyone needs it. I hope that you remember that. I love this work and I know it is not mine but it is God’s and we are just an instrument in his hands.

I love and miss you!

Hermana Davies 

PS Lindsay, if you are reading this, congrats on getting engaged!!