Oct 19 2015

     Well this week has been pretty crazy and super fast. But we saw a ton of blessings this week in new investigators and fechas, so it was also a fantastic week. To answer your question mom, we are the only two that live in our house. I have no clue why we have more beds. As for the crazy sister its all taken care of now and she's doing a lot better but there were some serious problems there. 

     I already told you about last Monday so I don't need to go over that again. At night we headed out and did all that missionary stuff like teach and contact. Tuesday we woke up really early and headed out for Guazacapan to do a little workshop in their district meeting, which went really well. We pretty much went and told them they needed to repent and work harder. After we gave the talk, we realized it was probably a little bit hard and that maybe we should have tuned it down a little bit but I think it worked really well. After that, we had a little talk with the sisters  about their plans to fix their relationship with the members and as a companionship. It went really well and the sisters made us lunch, so I guess they don't hate us. After that, we worked super hard and had a couple of lessons but Tuesday we were in our hardest sector and so its always kind of a rough day. Wednesday we went to the other two districts and did the same thing we did in Guazacapan only this time we did tone it down a bit so it wasn't so hard. That day we did divisions too. I was with Elder Austin in our area and Elder Austin is crazy and loves to talk so it was a pretty fun day. We put two fechas for the 31 of this month with the investigator that had the accident like two months ago. He's going to get baptized the 31 with his girlfriend and his 3 kids, so its going to be a pretty great day. They are our miracle baptisms this month because for awhile we thought we weren't going to baptize anybody but then they came back out of nowhere and are going to get baptized. Thursday we had divisions too but this time it was with the assistants so it was a pretty big deal. I was with Elder Zuleta in my area yet again. We had a pretty rough day, all the visits we had planned fell and we had to contact all day but we did find some super awesome investigators and had a super spiritual lesson with Marco Antonio and Jessica. The hermana was crying at the end of the lesson and we put fechas with them too. Friday we were working in the hard section again but we still had a pretty good day. Saturday was amazing. My comp had some converts that were getting sealed in the temple and so we got to go. We got to the capital super early because there was no traffic and so we waited around for awhile and then went into the sealing. It was such a cool experience. The spirit in the sealing room was so strong and you just knew you were in the house of the Lord. The joy on the faces of the family after they got sealed was so amazing. You could just feel the spirit so strong. After the sealing they took us to papa jons and we ate some really good pizza. When we got back to the area we had a pretty rough day because we had to go to branch council and wasted a ton of time there but still. Sunday it rained all day so almost nobody came to church which was pretty depressing, but we still saw miracles. We put a fecha with another person and then found a bunch of really amazing people. I was so tired all day though there were only like 2 days I actually slept until 630 so my body was just done.

                                                                    Lasts P-day and the Sealing

Elder Gudiel Elder Call Elder Martinez Elder Ortiz Elder Wright. 

Elder Austin

           Peanut butter and Jelly!!!!!! Ive eaten like 20 sandwiches this week. they're soooooo good!

                                     Super awesome pics of me and my comp. Love this kid so much.

Oct 12, 2015

     Okay first off why is Chase always and I mean always wearing my super man shirt in the pictures you send me. Are you guys like "This pic is going to Connor, Chase go put on the super man shirt," or what. Anyway today's been pretty crazy. We had to go into the cap in the morning to get a new telephone for the sisters in an area but that's a really long story that I'll tell you later. But it has been a super good day. We went to the office and got to talk to all the Elders there about all the stuff that's happening in the mission which is always fun. After that we went to Carl's Jr which was really good. We got to go because our district earned a district p-day which means we completed  the vision of the mission which is two baptisms in every area every month. After Carls Jr. we went to price mart which is Gutaemalas version of Sam Club. Well I guess its more like Cosco. I only bought some peanut butter and jam and bread and my comp bought frozen burritos so we're pretty much set for the next couple weeks. But anyway this week has been pretty fun. Monday we went and played soccer with the elders in Cuilapa, Elder Simoni, my old comp and elder Curi. It was fun but I sweated a ton. Tuesday we had a zone council that went really well.  We shared an amazingly inspirational message and then did divisions with Guazacapan. Wednesday,  we had a study with the sisters in Chiquimulia and did divis with Taxisco, the hottest area in the mission, and I got to go there! Sweated my guts out again but we had a really good day and I was able to buy pizza which was awesome. Thursday was divisi again and I got to be with Elder Simoni, which was fun but kind of weird. He's changes a ton since I was with him, hes going to finish his mission soon.  I honestly can't remember what we did Friday so I guess nothing great happened.  Saturday was pretty crazy. We were only able to work from two to five and only got one lesson in. It was with that investigator that was in the hospital, he's doing great now and he's going to get baptized soon. At 5 we had a meeting with the second councilor in the branch which was pretty much a waste of time because we didn't get anything done. After that we spent the last two hours of the day passing by for everyone we wanted to go to church. While we were doing that we got a call about one of the sisters in C, where there district leader told us the all the members hate this one sister and are saying they won't go to church until she leaves. He told us a whole bunch of stories about how she'd hit a member and she was always fighting with her comp and a bunch of other stuff and to add to it the sisters phone was broken so we couldn't talk to them about it. We called president and he sent his councilor to talk to them and we're going to see whats up tomorrow.  Sunday was pretty rough. My comp was really frustrated and grumpy but I was feeling really good and happy and eventually it infected him too so now all is well.  Love you guys a ton and think about you always. Love Connor

This is our house but it was really dirty, don't worry we've cleaned it since the picture was taken.

Oct 5 2015

   Well sounds like y'all had a pretty interesting week. My week was pretty crazy to be honest with ya but it was still fantastic. Monday  was pretty sweet, in the morning we wrote and did the normal stuff and then for lunch we hooked up with a bunch of other missionaries and went to Pollo Campero and ate a ton of food. My comp and I had a little bit of extra money left over at the end of the month so we went big and bought 4 wings for the two of us and a member. We decided to buy spicy wings and they were pretty good, I mean they don't stack up to any wings I've had at home but they were alright. After that I don't think we did anything. Tuesday was when things got crazy. Like I told you last week we did changes without a change meeting and they just sent the missionaries to their new areas. But our zone is super huge so we had to go wait on the side of the road and get all the missionaries off their buses in our area so that we could make sure they got on the right bus to their new area.We only lost one missionary and it was only for a second and apart from that everything went really smooth. Two of the new Elders are opening and area for the first time ever, which is pretty much every missionaries dream, the lucky suckers.  We had to go and show them were their house is and all that jazz. When we went to drop them off we figured out that there weren't any buses back to our area so we had to spend the night with them. It was probably one of the worst nights of my mission  Wednesday we had district council and that was pretty normal I guess. We got to work like normal that day which was a huge blessing because we didn't work hardly at all in our area. Thursday was a normal day as well, but I got to take these pictures of this super fat dog that lives where we eat. Its easily the fattest dog I've ever seen and it makes me laugh ever time it walks. Friday we had the mission council which was really good. Presidnet Caffaro is a little frustrated about the mission because we're not completing the goals we've set so he yelled at a little bit but I left inspired so that is all that really matters. We did divisions that day too. I got to be with a gringo which hasn't happened for quite a while. I was with Elder Call from California who is dying. He only has 5 weeks left in the mission.  Saturday and Sunday  were General Conference and as always it was fantastic. I had to watch two sessions in Spanish and I really didn't get as much out of them so that was too bad but I still learned a ton. 

These are picts of the really fat dog and then of the gringo group for general conference but two Latinos sneaked in...

Elder Call Elder Gudiel Elder Wright Elder Austin Elder Ortiz

Sept 28, 2015

          I can tell you about my week. This week was the the last week of the change and I don't know why but the last week of the change is pretty rough for everybody. Nobody really works really hard and its pretty hard for everyone to focus on working really hard. It was pretty much the same with us. We were just thinking in the changes so we kind of slacked off a little bit this week. We don't have changes in our area which is fantastic, because its going to be the first time in a long time that I've had a comp for two changes. The changes this change are going to be crazy. We don't have a meeting anymore so the missionaries just have to find their way to their new area all by themselves. I know the assistants and all the secretaries are really worried about missionaries getting lost and all that jazz but I don't have to worry about it.  Monday was pretty normal, so normal that I don't even remember what we did.  Nope that's a lie. We went to this little lake  and it was pretty cool.  It was pretty rainy, but it was fun to get out and talk with other missionaries. It rained pretty much all week and its starting to get pretty cold which I really don't like but whatever. Tuesday we went to the district meeting in Guazacapan which was pretty cool and then did divisions with the Elders in Taxisco. Luckily I didnt have to go to Taxisco and got to spend the day in my area. The next day, Wednesday, we had our district meeting and it went really well. We did divis that day and I stayed in the area again but our two fechas passed their baptism interviews, so thats awesome. Rained super hard too. So hard that the roads were turned into rivers and we were stranded in our comedor for an hour waiting for the rain to stop. Thursday, I was with my comp and we had a really good day worked super hard and it was awesome. Friday, it rained all day. Super hard right at two so we got nice and wet and then it was just raining a little bit all day so we stayed nice and wet. It was pretty windy too so we were freezing all day long. It was a pretty rough day to be honest. Saturday was fantastic. We spent most of the day preparing for our baptism and it went really well. Everything was really well planned and lots of people showed up. Probably the best baptism I've ever had. Sunday, we were pretty chambon because of the changes but will do better this week. 

     Can't wait for General conference, it's going to be awesome. I read a talk yesterday in the October Liahona that I really loved. It talked about doing things with real intent and it made me think if I'm always doing things for the right reason or if I'm just going through the motions without know why. Hey so Nanie and Pop have been out of town for the last couple of weeks so I don't have anyone updating me on sports. Step up guys. Love you guys a ton and hope you have a great week. Love Connor

                                       This is me and my comp with Elder Call at the lake. 

                                                                  District Guazacapan

Lucy and Laura

                                 Con didn't tell me who any of these people are, but yay!  baptism

Sept. 21, 2015

     Well this week was pretty darn crazy for us too but still it was an awesome week. The kid at the internet cafe is playing really good music again so I'm probably going to have to stop writing here. Anyway this week started off pretty chill. Monday we just bought some food and then cleaned up around the house again. I've discovered it is much better to have a clean house, something that mom has always told me but I just didn't want to listen when I was at home. After we cleaned, we watched Meet the Mormons because we got a copy of that so we can do an activity with the branch. We've watched it about 7 times now, it will be really weird to watch that movie in English some day. After we left we had a pretty sweet adventure. This week Guatemala was celebrating Independence day and they have all sorts of fun traditions. One of them is that the 14th of September, the day before Independence day, they do these things called torchas, which is when a bunch of people run a really big relay races with a torch. They have a van driving behind them, so if they get tired they just hop in the van until they're ready to run again. Some of them go super far but the funnest part about this traditions is that while these people are running all the kids in the town are on the side of the road throwing bags of water at them. So of course when we left the kids decided it would be really fun to throw water at the missionaries. We didn't get too wet but the bags did hurt a lot. Tuesday we went to the district council of O and it was terrible because they just started arguing the entire time. We did divisions that day and I was stuck with Elder C. So ya not a great day. Wednesday we did divisions again and that day was pretty good. We were able to do a baptismal interview and the lady didn't pass again due to coffee. Thursday we were in divisions again. I was with Elder Caal who is a Guatemalteco and I really enjoyed my time with him. He's a great elder with a super strong spirit. Friday we were in divisions as well and I had to go to Guazacapan. I really don't like that area because its "stupid hot", bonus points to anyone who gets that quote. So anyway I spent the whole day sweating my guts out and being super uncomfortable. Then Saturday we spent the entire day in a bus. We had to go to this area called Ixuhatan or something like that because they're going to make it a new area in the zone so we had to go look for a new house. After that we had to go and do another interview. The nice thing about Saturday was that I finally got to work with my comp which was great. Sunday was the primary program which was fantastic and the kids here are just as funny as they are in Utah but they don't sing so it was kind of awkward during the songs. Anyway that was my week. 

Spiritual note. This month we've been studying the Atonement and I was reading this week in Moroni 7 and in Ether 6 about faith hope and charity. I was able to learn so much about the Atonement and the importance of faith. Without faith we are nothing and can't use the Atonement in our lives. I also loved the definition of Hope in Preach my Gospel.

Love you all a ton and hope you have another great week. Love Connor 

This is the only pic I have this week sorry. This is a package that my trainer Elder Mann sent me. It was full of really great food and it was cool to get that package from him. He was just thanking me for being his comp and I think its something I'm going to do when I get home for my comps that are still in the field. 

sept 14, 2015

     Okay, first off right now the internet cafe where I'm writing is playing the Imagine Dragons Nightvision Album and its killing me but in a good way. Okay Mom to answer your questions about who is feeding us, Presidnet just barely put a new rule that we don't pay for the month anymore, we just pay day by day, so right now we just kind of wander around looking for a place that looks pretty clean and good or we cook for ourselves. Breakfast is always us cooking so I can tell you, you don't really want to know what I'm eating for breakfast. People work in Guatemala doing what ever they can mom. They don't really have set jobs, they work until the work runs out and then they move onto something else. So there are a lot of people that are all really good at a lot of things which is pretty cool.

     So my week. On Monday we went to a lake with some other Elders which was super fun. For lunch we went to the branch president's house and cooked over 70 hot dogs and ate all but 7 of them. I ate like 10 hot dogs. I though I was going to explode. The lake was super pretty and it was nice to get out in nature. After that we came home and went to work like any other night. Tuesday was pretty interesting. So for the elections, the same mayor stayed and the people weren't very happy about that. So Tuesday, we were heading to the church to plan our zone council and drop off the clothes when we saw a ton of smoke coming up from one part of our area.   Naturally we went to go see what it was. Turns out that a bunch of people had started a bunch of tires on fire in the middle of the road. They were there until the cops came and chucked some tear gas to break things up. After that they headed to the city office building, I guess you could say, but they didn't do anything because there were like a million cops. So they just wandered the streets burning things and breaking bottles. The entire town was dead that day but we still left to work. Wednesday was the multi zone council which was really awesome. We had our zone council as well which went really well. It was super spiritual and just great. Thursday I did divisions with Elder Wright again which was pretty fun. He's just an awesome missionary and is killing it with only 4 weeks in the mission. Friday was a normal day. We didn't do anything special. Saturday was a pretty normal day as well. We had to go help Daniel with a couple of problems but it wasn't anything too serious which is good. His girlfriend had dumped him and he was just feeling pretty sad about it. Sunday we had a meeting with our Branch president which was really good and then Sunday we made flour tortillas with Ronald which were really good and they filled me up. I've been constantly hungry since I got over my stomach problems which sucks because I'm never full. Tuesday we took a cake to our branch president and asked him for blessings which was cool. They're playing On Top Of the World right now.... Any way sounds like you guys had a pretty fantastic week and I hope you have another one. Love you all a ton. Love Connor

Sept 6, 2015

     This week didn't get any easier for us. I don't know why, but these last few weeks have been pretty crazy what with sickness, traveling, and all that fun stuff but hopefully this week that's coming will be much better. Okay so Monday  we didn't really do much, just hung out for awhile went and took some more tests at the Clinic to see if my comp was still sick and he was. I really don't know why they're having him take so many freakin tests but I guess the Doctor knows best. After that we went and played a little bit of soccer with the zone which was pretty fun and then we headed home and went to work. Tuesday night we found a really awesome family that was super receptive and the mom already knows a ton about the church because her mom was a member until she married a catholic. Wednesday, we went and got even more tests and this time I had to get some too because I wasn't feeling great. After that we only worked for a little while because my stomach was killing me so we all went back to the house and rested. Wednesday was the mission council which was fantastic. This month president is having us focus on the Atonement in our studies and In our lessons. The mission council was full of really awesome testimony about the Atonement and of course there is always really good food at the mission council so I love to go. That day we got started late too but still had a really good day. Thursday we had divisions with our DL to do the baptismal interview of Daniel, again. He passed and got baptized Saturday but more on that later.  Friday I went to Taxisco which is the hottest area of the mission. It was a pretty good day the missionaries there are kind of dead and not working very well but I think they'll do better this week. Saturday we had another lesson with the family we had met Monday and then The baptism of Daniel. The baptism went really well and he's doing really well. Its been amazing to see how much hes really changed his life.  Sunday was pretty normal, even though we had elections. The dry law was pretty funny because everyone was stocking up on beer Saturday morning like it was the end of the world. Nothing really happened which is good. My new favorites in the zone are easily Elder W and Elder S, the newbies you just can't help but love them. Miracle of the week Is Daniel and his baptism Weird food. is this fruit that I don't remember the name but its green on the outside and red on the inside but isn't a watermelon is really good.  Love you guys a ton and hope you have another fantastic week. Love Connor.



I got these pictures from Con's president's facebook page.  This is him with his comp and Sister Caffaro, the president's wife.