Well Fam,

I got all of your emails today! Thanks so much for your insights and thoughts!
 
I'm not really sure what to write, but in a short week I'll be there with you guys at home - so that's awesome! 
 
Liseth is still doing really great, it has been interesting to see how the spirit has worked with her and helped her understand basic gospel truths. We are going to be having a home evening with her this week for Light the World. On Sunday she will have her temple recommend interview to be able to go and do baptisms for the dead. I wish I would be here to be able to enter with her, but the timing of everything just doesn't quite workout. 
 
We were not able to really teach Reginaldo this week, he still goes to church but still needs to make some more changes. Other than needing to change more, he also is slightly afraid of getting baptized and then not keeping his promise to God. I think that it is a good concern that will help him be a true convert when it is time for him to get baptized.
 
We found out that Aida is a member of the church, she was baptized when she was about 9. Her daughter, however, is not a member. 
 
I feel calm about my time coming to an end. I know that there is nothing that I can do to stop time or to turn it back. I also know that I will miss being a missionary and being in Guatemala and doing the day to day things, but I am also looking forward to getting home and being able to continue to progress in other aspects of my life. The mission has been a great time to progress spiritually and I don't want to stop progressing in that way, but I also want to start progressing in the other aspects of my life as well. 
 
The last spiritual thought that I will leave and share through an email is one that I have been thinking about during this month of December. The verse is in Doctrine and Covenants section 138 verse 23. Now I know that this section is talking mostly about the spirits on the other side but this scripture also applies to us. It says, "And the saints rejoiced in their redemption, and bowed the knee and acknowledged the Son of God as their Redeemer and Deliverer from death and the chains of hell." Although Christ is not literally here with us and we are not able to kneel down before Him, we can kneel down through our actions. Christ is the only way that we can be freed from the chains of hell. Looking unto him in every thought and doubting not (D&C 6:36) is one of the simple ways that we show our devotion to him. Through small and simple things can great things come to pass. 
 
I love you all and hope to find you all well in the airport in one week!
 
Elder Marks

Hey Fam!
 
I hope that you all enjoyed your Thanksgiving weekend, I know I enjoyed a virtual turkey and pie. It sure was good!
 
Thank you so much for your emails today mom, dad, and Kylie. I always like getting those types of emails. Emails that give updates are nice, others that give me things to answer and fill you guys in on what's going on here. As well as the emails that allow me to think about some of the truths of the universe. I am looking forward to being able to have one on one conversations with you all again. 
 
Things have been going well, the big focus in all that we are doing has been on Light the World to try and get as many home evenings planned as we can. We are starting to see a decent reaction from some of the members. Others are being lame and don't want to do what we are asking them, but that's fine. We have already had 3 home evenings, two of which were with the Chang family.
 
We went ice skating today for p-day. It really reminded me of being in Moscow and going to the rink after school with Erika and then mom would pick us up later. I also remember going with Mom and Erika. I am happy to say that in 40 minutes I did not fall once. I think that having gone before, even though it was about 11 years ago, and also having been skiing helped a little bit. Just one more P-day. 
 
Reginaldo is still going to church and progressing but I do not think that he will be able to get baptized before I leave. I would love to be here for the baptism. but if I’m not, that’s ok. I will just randomly say things sometimes like, "A beer really helps with cooling you down when there is a lot of heat." He does not really realize that those things are bad so it is a way to find out what he knows. It is a process that will last a little longer. 
 
Aida and her children went to church again on Sunday, we really have not had that many visits with her. This week we are going to really try to visit her several times to help her progress.
 
Mom, as far as the hymns go, I would like 219, Because I Have Been Given Much. The Sacrament, 174 While of These Emblems We Partake, and to close 260 Who's on the Lord's Side? 
 
Ether 11:11 says, But he that abelieveth these things which I have spoken, him will I visit with the manifestations of my Spirit, and he shall bknow and bear record. For because of my Spirit he shall cknow that these things are dtrue; for it persuadeth men to do good.  
 
Every single one of us as children of God have this same promise. I find it very interesting that it says that its after we believe THEN will we will be visited with the manifestations of the Spirit. And the Spirit SHALL bear record and we SHALL know that the things are true. The pattern is believe, be visited by the spirit, and then know that the thing is true. It is a very interesting pattern established by God so that He can help every one of his children come to know, by the power of the Holy Spirit, that these things are true. 
 
I hope that you all have a good week, I'll look forward to reading emails next week for alls y’all. (all of you) 
 
Love you all!
Elder Marks

Hello Family!
 
This last week went really well, we were able to get some good things done. Reginaldo is still going to church every week and we are still visiting him constantly to be able to help him. He had had problems with the law of chastity but now has been keeping the law of chastity for a couple weeks. We also found out that with the anxiety that he has been feeling, he smokes. He has smoked on and off for a lot of his life but the last few weeks it has been a little bit more than normal. He still wants to get baptized but still needs a little bit more help. I hope that I am still here when he gets baptized but if not, that's ok.
 
His sister, Liseth, is still doing great. She has been very happy ever since her baptism. She has been reading the Book of Mormon and also the pamphlet for the preparation to enter the temple. 
 
The Chang family is doing great, still active and awesome. They actually asked us when they could invite non-members to their house to be able to have home evening for Light the World. They are very simple people but super special.
 
I cannot believe that Thanksgiving is tomorrow, the year has gone so fast. I hope that everybody with their different activities can have a fun time but also be safe while traveling. Unfortunately,  Thanksgiving is not really a thing here. Although I might have to make some mashed potatoes and just imagine all of the other good stuff that you guys will be enjoying tomorrow. ;)
 
Remember how last week I told you a little about Aida and her three little kids? Well she came to church on Sunday. During ward counsel we talked a little about her and explained the situation about how, even though she can find work, they do not accept her because of her three kids who would have to be with her. We were just thinking that somebody in the ward would be able to help watch after her kids but the reaction from the ward counsel was amazing. People started saying that they knew somebody who needs somebody to clean the house, or watch after their kids. Somebody else said that they have a connection with a little daycare thing. Others said they have food, clothes, milk for the baby, that they could give her. Even to the point that people wanted to be able to pay for a small room where she can live for the next couple of months while she gets her feet back under her. This morning she was able to move into her new place with some food, two beds and clothes for her kids. I was surprised to see the reaction of the ward. Seeing the loving selfless reaction reminded me of the scripture in Matthew 25 that says, 
 
42 "For I was an hungred, and ye gave me no meat: I was thirsty, and ye gave me no drink:
43 I was a stranger, and ye took me not in: naked, and ye clothed me not: sick, and in prison, and ye visited me not.
44 Then shall they also answer him, saying, Lord, when saw we thee an hungred, or athirst, or a stranger, or naked, or sick, or in prison, and did not minister unto thee?
45 Then shall he answer them, saying, Verily I say unto you, Inasmuch as ye did it not to one of the least of these, ye did it not to me."
 
This time of year is so special; it's a great time to be able to remember the birth of the Savior for the whole world. With the program Light the World, there is lots of work to do. This year the church produced an interesting video called, "The Christ Child" that is about 18 minutes long that shows the whole story of the birth of Christ. I invite you all to take time tonight to watch it. I have watched it about 8 times just in the last week, and every time that I watch it I hear things that were not spoken. Taking time to reflect on the birth of the Savior is a great tool that we have to be able to strengthen our testimony in Him.
 
I love you all so much, before too long we will be all together again. I don't know if we will all sleep in the same room of the 24th or not, but it would be kinda fun. I am aware that my time is coming down to the wire and I feel very content. I was tempted to not say anything about this but I thought it worth letting you all know that I love the missionary work and Guatemala, and I know that I am going to miss it like crazy. But as it says in 2 Timothy 4:7  (I am going to change the words a little bit:)) I am fighting the good fight, I am close to finishing the course, I am keeping my faith.
 
Love, your brother and son,
Elder Marks 

Hey Family,
 
Sounds like this week was full of all sorts of stuff. Some good, some not so good, some things that looks like they hurt a lot. First off, William, I thought that watching you get tased would be funny but after seeing the video, I bet you don’t think its funny at all. Or maybe just a little. No, but really, that looks like it hurt, how did your body feel the next day? I guess that getting tased was one of those things that was just going to eventually happen. Thanks for sharing!
 
Dad, I read your talk, I think it's great! I really like the way that you structured it, by giving several stories and examples of what it means to be like a child and then tied it all together. I think it made people reflect about if they are like a child, I know that there are things that I need to do to more childlike. Hopefully people were really paying attention and will apply the doctrine of being like a child to their lives. That, for themselves, they can make the needed connections. 
 
Kylie, I’m so sorry to hear that Epeli was not accepted for his Visa, I really don't know what to say. I am sure that you have had lots of your own thoughts come to mind about why he would not get accepted. I would just encourage you to do everything you can to draw closer to God and to stay positive. That is one of the blessings of being an agent that can choose and act, is that we can choose if we are happy.
 
Well, we got the office decorated for Christmas this week, so things are starting to look a little like Christmas. For me, it's impossible for it to feel like Christmas if there is no snow. Sounds like at home there has been some rain, but before you know it there will be snow falling. You might get up one of these mornings and see 6 inches of snow! I think that if the plow is not set up, that now would be the time to do it. 
 
Yesterday we were in the church just helping somebody with a few questions that they had about English when all of a sudden somebody showed up saying that they wanted to hear the word of God. She and her three kids have been passing through a very hard time with not having a place to live because where they used to live got robbed and took all of their things, plus her husband left and she has a baby of 11 months. She randomly had contact with a member and he directed her to the church. She said that she has attended church before but because of the situation that she was in she was not able to continue because she had to enter the hospital. She was pregnant with twins and there were some complications. There are always references from members of the church and sometimes there are also references that come directly from God.
 
Reginaldo is still progressing. He never learned how to cook so he ends up paying everyday for somebody else to cook for him. Everything that he earns goes towards his food, so this week we are going to give him a couple of cooking lessons to help him progress a little bit more. Hopefully we don't burn the house down! :) 
 
The Chang family and Liseth are all doing good, they still go to church every week. It is nice to see converts staying strong in the church. 
 
Tomorrow and Friday we have multi zone conferences so have been preparing the last couple of days. We are going to be giving a presentation about the power of the words of Christ in the Book of Mormon.
 
One of the quotes that we are going to use in the presentation is from President Nelson that says, "The Book of Mormon contains all the power of the Gospel of Jesus Christ. PERIOD!" This is such a powerful and direct statement. I have seen in my mission that many times we are "scared" or hesitant to talk about the Book of Mormon but we should not be. The prophet also said that when he hears somebody say that they know that the Book of Mormon is true he wants to exclaim, "That's good! But it is not sufficient. It’s necessary that we feel deeply in our hearts," that is true. A testimony of the Book of Mormon is not just something that's up in the clouds and we are waiting for some to fall on us. No, it is something that we have to actively work towards and maintain.
 
I hope that you all have an amazing week and that you can find joy in all of the work that you do. Keep working with faith!
 
Love,
Elder Marks

Hey Family,
 
This week was a great week! It was really full of lots of good stuff. Start off with Liseth.
 
Last week on Friday we went to visit Liseth for the last time before her baptism on Sunday. We taught her some of the last little things but more than anything we went through the baptismal questions. At the end of the lesson she offered the closing prayer, she gave so much thanks to God. By the end of her prayer she was crying from the emotion of gratitude. She then said something that really impacted me. She said, "I used to feel so empty. I thank God that you guys knocked on my door." Liseth was the first person that I have baptized in my mission that came from contacting, the rest have been from references. 
 
Just to fill y’all in on a little bit of the story. Liseth’s brother, Reginaldo, used to have a preacher come and read the bible with him and she never listened to any of the pastors. She said she never felt good listening to them, and she never went to church with anybody. But she told us that when we knocked on her door she felt something different. The second time that we went to teach Reginaldo she just came out and started listening to us. When we invited her to church she simply said that they would be there. In the last 10 Sundays she has gone to 9 of them. She is constantly reading the Book of Mormon. She asked the bishop for a Come Follow Me book, and she bought a year subscription to the church magazine. The spirit really touched her heart and she made the choice to change.
 
The baptism on Sunday went really well, there was good support from the ward and she was super happy after her baptism.
 
We are still working with Reginaldo, he wants to get baptized but needs to leave something behind that he used to do that he did not completely realize are bad. If he really commits to changing he should be able to get baptized in about three weeks. 
 
Neither Angel nor his mom came to church on Sunday, then with being so busy with everything that happened with changes and Elder Bednar, we have not been in our area since Sunday around 3:00. 
 
We had changes on Monday, which were crazy! We got 23 new missionaries on Monday, which allowed us to open up 8 new areas. We got all of the normal changes done (there were a bunch) done by about 1:30pm. Then at 2:00 we picked up 18 new missionaries from the MTC so that they could have their interview with president and get their new companions. By 7:00 they had their comps and were on their way to their areas. There was also a missionary getting here from the MTC in Provo, so we sent somebody to the airport to pick him up so that he could get his companion. There were also three missionaries that got here from Brazil Monday night. They were supposed to have landed at 7:50 but they didn't land and get out of the baggage claim and the immigration stuff until about 9:45. We then got back to the office so that they could have their interviews with President and also get their comps. By the time we did that and the last minute things we needed to do to wrap up the day, I think we got home around midnight.
 
The meeting with Elder Bednar was really great. He talked a lot about faith and helped me understand a little more about what is true faith in Christ. He talked about things that we have all heard before, but sometimes you have to have the Apostle there in person so that it really sinks in. LOL
 
He really focused on faith, being an agent and not getting acted upon. One of the things that he said that stood out to me was about agency. He used the example of when someone says, "he made me mad!" He then explained that somebody cannot make you mad, but that you, being an agent, have to choose if you are going to get mad, or offended... etc. You cannot get mad or offended unless you allow it. 
 
One of the other things that he talked about was how to gain faith through action, and acting on what we learn. He said, "Faith is not a mysterious thing in a cloud, I hope I can get some! But rather, it is a principal of action." The Israelites had to get their feet wet before the sea parted. 
 
Ether 12:6 says, "And now, I, Moroni, would speak somewhat concerning these things; I would show unto the world that faith is things which are hoped for and not seen; wherefore, dispute not because ye see not, for ye receive no witness until after the trial of your faith." Many times, when we read the trial of our faith, we think that it is something big and terrible, a sickness, or a death in the family, and there might be occasions that it is something like that. But more often than not, the trial of our faith is if we will act or not. Do we choose to read our scriptures or not, do we faithfully offer our prayers or not. Every time that we have to make a decision, big or small, it is a trial of our faith. 
 
I feel more desires now to really develop true faith in Jesus Christ. I know that I have a base, but that there are a lot more things to learn and, even more importantly, DO!
 
I hope that we can all look inwards and reflect about our faith. Remembering that believing is only a small part of faith, the other part is acting on what we learn.
 
I love you all so much and hope that you have a great week!
 
Love,
Elder Marks

Hey Family,
 
This last week went really well, it was our last full week of work before the changes. 
 
First off I will talk about the area. We went to the temple with Liseth and Reginaldo on Saturday, they had a great experience while they were there and are excited to keep progressing. Liseth is almost completely ready for her baptism on Sunday. Reginaldo honestly needs more time until he is ready. He told us about some problems that he has with the law of chastity so we are going to be working with him, side by side, so that he can be baptized in a few weeks. 
 
This past week we also found several new people to be able to teach. Two of which went to church with us on Sunday. They are references from the Chang family. The mom’s name is Francesca and her son’s name is Angel. Angel is 19 and has lots of desire to learn more. It is always so refreshing to find a new person and have them go to church on Sunday. I think they have lots of potential but we will see what happens. 
 
BIG NEWS! Elder Bednar will be visiting our mission on Tuesday! It is going to be a meeting with about 500 missionaries, there is a chance that my comp and I will be able to sit on the stand close to him, so that would be really cool. It should be a really great meeting. He has a three hour block in which it will be just him talking and teaching and answering questions. I will be sure to fill you guys in next week on how the visit went. 
 
On Tuesday all of the office elders went to president's house and we had our pre change meeting. We started at about 12:00 and finished doing everything with Pres around 5:00pm. With Elder Bednar coming on Tuesday we are changing the day of changes this time around to Monday. We had to work out the whole schedule and get everything planned for doing the changes and also getting the new missionaries to the mission office and assigned to their new comps. We also have three missionaries from Brazil who will be showing up on Monday night, so my companion and I will be going to pick them up from the airport and take them back to the office to get their comps. This week is going to be crazy with the changes and also trying to do all of the last minute things to get the baptism ready for Liseth.
 
Today for P-day we went to a place called Cayala. If you look it up online it will give a good idea of what it is. It is basically just a massive rich city. We even saw a red Ferrari. We went and did an escape room that was a lot of fun, we had one hour to find all of the clues to be able to move from one room to the next and at the end disarm the bomb so everybody did not die. It's a good thing that we are awesome and got the bomb disarmed with 10 minutes to spare. We also bowled for half of an hour. I’ll attach some pictures down below. 
 
One of the talks that we are reading to get ready for the visit of Elder Bednar talks a lot about agency and also the faith to learn. It is really interesting to see the different ways that we can apply faith, lots of times to don't think about having the faith to learn. The spirit takes the message unto our heart is what it says in the scriptures. But taking something UNTO our heart is very different then taking something INTO our heart. Really accepting something into our heart is where the faith factor comes into learning by faith. Elder Bednar also talks about how agency is not just the freedom to choose, but that it is also the freedom to act, to be agents and not just objects in which other people act. I am really excited to have the chance to meet Elder Bednar in just a few short days. That means that while on my mission I will have seen Elder Gong (just before he was called to be an apostle), Elder Cook, Elder Bednar, and also the Prophet in person. What a blessing.
 
I sure love you all! I hope that you each have a great week! Keep doing the little things to be able to be happy.
 
Love,
Elder Marks

Hey Family,
 
Another week in the history books here in Guatemala. Weeks keep on clicking by and the work keeps going on. 
 
This week we were able to visit Liseth and Reginaldo a couple of times, they are still doing good on not drinking coffee. Honestly, I thought it was going to be a lot harder for them to leave it behind but they are doing great. They have a baptismal date for the 9th of November. I know last week I said that we were going to take them to the temple on Friday, but we weren't able because of the timing of everything, so at the end of this week we are going to try to take them. 
 
My comp has a convert from an old area who communicated with him a few weeks ago saying that their son was kidnapped and they haven't heard anything in several weeks. Last week on P-day, in the evening, my comp got a call saying that after 5 weeks their son was found dead. After running DNA tests in the states it was confirmed that it was their son. On Friday we got permission from pres to go to the funeral. It was very interesting to be there and see people who are not of our faith absolutely losing it, to the point of screaming, out of control. Such a difference when compared to members of the Church of Jesus Christ who were obviously sad but still had a spirit of peace because they know that they will be able to see and live with their son again. They also happened to move into our ward this last week, which is really good because my comp has a really good connection with them so he will be able to help them a little during this time of grief.
 
Yesterday we found a new person to be able to teach named Maik (Mike). It was really interesting how easy it was to be able to get into the house and share with him. He is 19 and told us that he really wants to change his life. He told us how sometimes when he wakes up he does not want to do anything and how he has thought about taking his own life. He has so many desires to change his life and start doing things right. It might be a long process but I am really grateful to know him and to have the chance to help him.
 
I sure love you all and hope that you have an excellent week! Stay strong and focused on the important stuff. 
 
Love,
Elder Marks 

Hey Family,
 
This week was a really full week that actually went flying by. The multi-zone conferences that we had went really well, there were lots of good thing that the missionaries could have learned. We really hope that everybody took notes and really learned some good things. President talked about a really important topic which was, "The Divine Companionship." He really focused on the scripture in Doctrine and Covenants that says something like, we should first obtain the spirit and if we don't we shall not teach. He used a really great talk from Elder Holland that talks about how the plan that God has is that when we, as missionaries, go into a house we are to take with us the Holy Spirit, and not God the Father or God the Son.
 
Although the talk was given directly to missionaries it also applies to all people in all stages of life. As Dad wrote about in his letter to me today, the importance of being like a child (crying, throwing food, etc...) just kidding J. Being like a child and being humble, willing to just believe, doing the will of the Father, and lots more become more and more essential as we grow in age. It's almost like our time as kids is to be able to prepare ourselves for adulthood. In the moment of needing and wanting the companionship of the Spirit it is necessary to not just acknowledge children like attributes but develop children like attributes, which in hindsight are really Christlike attributes.  
 
Liseth and Reginaldo are still progressing, they didn't drink coffee even once in the last week. We had plans for a member to pass by for them on Sunday bringing them to church, but he didn't show up. So when Liseth and Reginaldo came walking into church we were a little surprised. When we talked to them after the sacrament meeting they said at 9:15, when the brother still hadn't showed up to bring then to church, they paid for a tuk tuk to be able to get to church. Shows that they really want to be in the church and make the sacrifices necessary to be at church. 
 
I hope that you all continue to be happy and have a very successful week! Stay strong and committed to doing the will of our Father and not our own. 
 
Love you all tons!
Elder Marks
 
 

Hello my family!
 
I hope that this email finds everybody well and happy. This last week we have been in the office a lot preparing for the multi-zone conferences that we have tomorrow and Friday. We have been preparing for three different power point presentations that we will be giving and also printing out cards that we are going to give to all of the missionaries. 
 
This week we were able to teach Liseth and Reginaldo about the Word of Wisdom, they accepted it well. We gave them a bag or Morcafe which is not coffee but it tastes like it. We also made a deal that I was going to take their massive thing of coffee, so I did.  HAHA! I guess that is the power of being persistent with the people. They both also went to church again on Sunday and still have the desire to get baptized. 
 
We were going through the ward list and found a family that is somewhat active and their ten year old son does not have a member number, so we sent all of his information to a guy who has access to the record of all members of the church and he did not show up. So either he was never baptized or he was baptized but his record was lost. Either way he will still need to get baptized. We talked with his mom and she was ok with it but she did say that she really wanted him to understand what he was doing and also to make some changes. She said he is starting to use some bad words and stuff like that. His name is Justin, they did not come to church on Sunday, which was really lame. We will be working with them a little this week to make sure that they come to church on Sunday. 
 
I listened to a talk this week called Why 1820, by Elder McConkie. It is a very interesting talk that talks about why the restoration happened in 1820 and not any earlier. In the talk he gives lots of dates and explains a lot about the apostasy and about all of the things that had to happen before the church could be restored. It was a really interesting talk and well worth listening to, to be able to understand a little more about the fall of the true church. I really like the feelings of peace that we can all get through knowing that this is the true church is on the earth today.
 
Have a great week! 
 
Love you all,
Elder Marks

Hey Family,
 
This last week was a good week, we were finally able to work in our area a little bit, however we are now starting to prepare for the multi-zone meetings that we are going to have at the end of next week. 
 
General Conference was great! One of my favorite talks was from Elder Uchtdorf about just going on the adventure and leaving the things behind. I think it was one of my favorites because it was during the session in which we had some interested people there watching, including Liseth and Reginaldo.
 
Sunday evening we went and visited Liseth and Reginaldo to see how they were doing and they both started asking a couple of questions like, “how long of a process is it until somebody can be baptized?”, and “what are the requirements for somebody to be baptized?” After explaining a little bit I asked them if they had the desire to get baptized and they both said, “yes” without hesitation. We are very excited that they are progressing and that they have this desire. Now they just have to stop drinking coffee, which might be a little tough because they literally drink coffee every single day. But no worries, I know that they will do it. 
 
Another person who is progressing is the daughter of a member who was recently activated in church. His name is Mauricio and is a member, but his daughter Carol, who is 9, is not a member. We are working with them so that they get in a solid pattern of reading the Book of Mormon. After the conference we gave one of the children’s versions of the Book of Mormon, the one with pictures, to Carol. They seem excited. Welder and his family are also doing well at getting settled into the ward so that has been a really good thing. This Sunday they will most likely get their temple recommends and also Welder’s interview for the Aaronic priesthood.
 
We really don’t do too much traveling around the mission, just once a week we go and participate in the district meeting of one zone. Nothing too exciting has happened. Although president told us of a missionary who accidently sent him a message that was meant for another missionary, so that was kind of funny. The message did not say anything bad but kind of embarrassing.
 
I also love that a third temple was announced in Guatemala in Coban! Which is great because about 22 years ago one of the Apostles promised the people of Guatemala that there would someday be three temples in Guatemala, so that is really sweet!
 
Well I hope that you all have a great week and that each and every one of us can find and identify moments in which we can see God’s hand. 
 
Love you all,
Elder Marks