Hey!
 
Well the zoo today was amazing but we missed feeding the giraffes by fifteen minutes. It was only ten quetz also, which is only a $1.50. The zoo was lots of fun though. We are allowed to have our cameras but only use them on P day, and we cannot send any pictures from the CCM, but I was able to get some good pictures. After the zoo we went to Wendy's. Which was a heaven sent !:) I chowed down on a baconator and fries with a drink, it was truly the best meal yet.
 
So the day to day schedule here is really full, we workout at 6:45am and then breakfast at 7:45. After breakfast we have personal study for an hour, then have daily planning and language study for about another hour, then usually a grammar point to learn, or practice teaching a lesson of a concept to some Latino elders. Then lunch at 12:45. After lunch we do more of the same. :) We also prepare a lesson in there somewhere, we alternate teaching lessons to fake investigators in the morning and in the evening. After dinner it’s more study time and teaching and learning grammar points and Spanish words and phrases. 
 
My companion and I really do get along, but a couple of things annoy me. Like taking forever to get ready for the day, or when changing back into church clothes after working out. I usually take less then ten minutes to get ready, then just kinda sit there waiting. Oh and yeah, that mayo stuff was great. NOT!
 
This week has been a really good one, I bought some leather scripture cases. On the front of the BOM one is a burning of the Guatemala Temple, that is right outside the room window, and my name and mission. One the back is the 2000 stripling warriors. On my Bible front is the David and Goliath picture just like the one that you gave me Dad. Then on the back is Christ holding a lamb. They were a little spendy and I was considering not doing it but I remembered Dad saying that if I get the chance to get some, that I should. I'm really happy that I did and will always have them. 
 
Kylie, I can definitely relate with going through a growing stage with Spanish. Sometimes I feel like I should know way more then I do, but then I remember that I have only been here for three weeks. Plus, I have learned more in three weeks here then I did in two years of Spanish at school. 
 
Good for you guys getting the room set up, I'm glad that your energy is coming back. Hopefully before to long you can both be back to full strength. That is to bad about the truck needing so many things, but it really will be nice to have the truck running right again. We got the super filter water bottles this week. The filter on them is amazing, you can literally drink coke through them and only get the water out, so that will be really nice to have. 
 
There is a picture of Joseph Smith in the grove here that I really love by Walter Rome. It depicts Joseph looking more like a 14 year old and not older looking. Also, someday I really want a 1941 version of the Book of Mormon. It was designed when the church gave a copy of the Book of Mormon to the queen. 
 
Spanish really is coming along though, lots more full basic conversations are happening in Spanish. Also being able to think of something in English and then say it in Spanish is nice. That is one of the most frustrating parts, knowing what I want to say but not having the words to say it. I've also noticed my desire for reading the Book of Mormon is a lot more then It use to be, I always look forward to reading at the end of the day, during personal study. 
 
I saw a police truck drive by the CCM this week with four guys standing in the back with fully auto guns, I guess the police are a little different here! When we were driving to the zoo today I saw at least twenty different guys standing outside of stores with a pump action shotgun. 
 
The time here goes fast, I like the CCM but am looking forward to leaving here and getting out into the field. This weeks favorite scripture was Helaman 5:12. If we build our foundation on Christ we cannot fall. 
 
Love Your brother and Son 
Elder Marks

1/24/18
Weeks like days and days like weeks.
 
 
Super happy to hear from all of you guys today, email time is always something to look forward to. Everything is going well here, the saying that in the MTC days feel like weeks and weeks feel like days is true.  The new MTC President is really good, he speaks slow enough Spanish that you can actually understand some of the stuff that he says. Spanish is the main language spoken here, the majority of the people here speak Spanish, some English and a couple that speak Ketchee (not really sure how to spell that) (Mom note: looked it up, spelled K’iche’ and it is a Mayan language in Guatemala). I'm glad that people are getting better from being sick, that's never fun. 
 
That's awesome that Will and Mariam are coming up for a while, it will be a good experience for g ma to be able to help with the dress. Hopefully the ring didn't break the bank! Just kidding, I'm glad that they are moving forward with making plans. I hope that the higher ups for this company really does have some flexibility for Kylie being able to head to Peru a little later so she can spend some time with Erika before having to go. I think that it is awesome that it is in the mountains of Peru where Kylie will be going. 
 
The weather here really is amazing and I often think of the weather at home :), mainly when we are outside studying and trying to teach the restoration in Spanish. The language is coming along but it will take some time.
 
There are some really good elders here, the Latinos are awesome, there is this one elder that always calls me Bruno Marks. One night I was wearing a BYU shirt and he was wearing a BYU sweatshirt so when he sees me he either says “ah Bruno Marks”, or “oh, my BYU twin”. 
 
Next week a lot of missionaries are leaving the MTC so those of us who get to stay are going to the Zoo and Wendy's, so I will get to email on Tuesday next week. I hear that for 10 quetz, so like a $1.50, you can feed a giraffe from a big platform, but you have to be there at the right time, so we will see if I get to do that of not.
 
There is an Elder here who's name is Elder Soto, he plays the piano beautifully and it reminds me of listening to Kylie play. He does an amazing job but in my mind and heart Kylie is da best. :)

This last week we had the worst meal yet! I'm not really sure how to describe it, cold firm potatoes covered in chopped red peppers with way too much mayo. Then a sandwich which was on a huge roll that was crunchy around the outside, and on the sandwich was way to much mayo with some white iceberg, and the meat was perro. Just kidding! Not actually dog but that was the joke. Then to make things worse, part way through the dinner one of the teachers heated up fish in the microwave and made the whole place smell like fish! So that was the low for the week! :) For the most part though the food has been really good.
 
The schedule is a grind, and is super busy but great. The full sixteen hour day is filled with all sorts of things to do. One of the favorite things for me is when we have devotionals. On Sunday we watched a devotional that Elder Holland gave in 2011 in the Provo MTC that was super powerful. It was at the same time that Preach My Gospel was being introduced, so he talked about that for a while, but also talked about why they were changing the missionary program. On of the biggest things that they were trying to stop was when people get home from their missions and then decide that the church is not true for some reason. He spoke of the Saviors love that he has for His children and how He wants us to be happy, and he talked a little about the Saviors earthy ministry. We sang "Because I Have been Given Much, I Too Must Give". You should read the lyrics to this hymn. While singing it, I was thinking about the Love of the Savior and all of the things that he did for us, all of the truly selfless acts of love that he decided to do. It almost makes me tear up thinking about the song now. Elder Holland closed his talk by saying something along the lines of how it breaks his heart, and how it beaks the Saviors heart when one of his children leave the church, so don't you dare even think about getting home from your mission and then deciding that the church isn't true!
 
We do go the temple every P day in the morning and it is amazing, the temple is super small but really beautiful, made of only white marble. The temple is always peaceful and amazing.
 
With love, your brother and son,
Elder Marks
 
P.S Please go for the Pats:)
 
 

I'm so happy to hear from everybody! This week has been insane as we all thought or knew it would be. From the moment that we arrived we have been crazy busy. My companion’s name is Elder Merkley, he is from Utah and it’s quite obvious once you are around him for a while. He is a really good kid who wants to be here and do the work, so that is really nice. Dad, I'm glad to hear that you are almost healthy again, sorry you had to be sick. To answer Mom’s list of questions. First impressions of Guatemala, it is awesome, even though I really haven't been outside the gates of the MTC (or CCM). From our bedroom window we have an awesome view of the temple, which is made from white marble. Then behind that is a large hill that some people are calling a mountain. Which is kinda funny because it is not that big. In LA I met up with about 15 other missionaries. In the MTC there are only about one hundred and ten missionaries, which is nice. The daily routine is very full from personal study to language study to progressing the investigator. We, as a companionship, prepare to teach lessons to an investigator for practice. Church was nice because it was a small break from the everyday routine. We just got a new MTC president so it will be good to meet him later today. The Spanish is coming along, it’s a lot of work but the teachers are so good they keep it fun and spiritual. We went to the temple this morning, it really is just a two minute walk, it was a really nice time, although it made me think of home and miss going through with family. 
 
Snow Snow go away! and don't feel like you need to come back, I really don't miss the snow. The weather is amazing. All of the Latinos say that it is frio (or cold).
 
The Latinos are awesome, they are always super nice and really happy and willing to speak Spanish slowly so us gringos can try to understand it. The food here is really good for the most part. Some of the meals are lacking but that’s fine. We have breakfast first thing when we get up so that is hard because you know me and breakfast. Most days I try to eat something but it can be difficult. They have filtered water stations all over so that makes it really easy to remember to drink water.
 
A couple of the elders have already gotten sick, I've been healthy so far, hopefully it stays that way. I think that it will. 
 
Thank you so much for sending letters in my bag, I have been rationing them out over the first few days :) However the cookies were not rationed very well, I'm afraid there is only one more. I have done good in writing in my journal everyday and plan on keeping it that way. It's been so nice to have those brand new scriptures to be able to mark in.
 
I'm so happy that William and Mariam set a date, I'm so happy for them and know that it's going to be a very happy day. It would be nice if I could be there with the family but for me at this time, Guatemala is where I want to be and need to be. 
 
Erika, it's awesome that Jake is coming around to the gospel. What a great example of how the Holy Ghost works. We had a devotional yesterday and part that stuck out to me was talking about what the word unto means. When it says that the Holy Spirit will bring the joy unto our heart. When the word unto is translated from old English it means until but when it is translated to Spanish it means into. As missionaries of the Lord we can take a message to somebody’s heart but the Holy Spirit is the one who takes the message into the persons heart. 
 
The security is kinda sweet, I have felt safe the whole time that I have been here. Around the whole building is a black fence, which has guards who patrol with a gun on their hip. Everyday we have sports time, for each district it varies, ours is at six forty five which for me is really lame because I like being able to be up for a bit before having to do physical activity, but that's OK. 
 
After being here for just a few days, a bunch of elders and sisters were asked to go into the MTC President’s office, I was called as well. Once we were all in the room we were told that we were there to be given callings. I was asked to serve as the district leader for Isaiah, which is our district in which everybody speaks English, they have all English speaking districts so we can all be together learning Spanish. I was also called to be a technology dude, which I have not really had to do anything for yet. If somebody needs help setting up a power point of something then I am the one who gets to figure it out. I am happy for the callings and like to conduct district meetings and call on people for prayer and things. It adds a few things to my plate, that I have to remember to do, but I'm happy to do it. 
 
They really don't give us a whole lot of time to write home but it's really nice to have access to a computer. If I missed over anything big that I wanted to include but I forgot, I will have to send it next Wednesday. Wednesday will be my P-day for the whole time that I'm here as far as I know. 
 
I love everybody so much and am so happy to be on a mission. 
 
Yesterday President Nelson said, "You can face your challenges in life with optimism and joy, if you have faith in Jesus Christ.”
 
Full of Love, your brother and son,
Elder Marks
 

All right, well I made it! The flights here went mostly smooth. When we landed in LA we sat on the plane for an hour before being able to pull up to a gate. When I got to the new gate to come to Guatemala I was able to meet up with a bunch of other missionaries. The flight was delayed for two hours so lots of sitting around. I was good though, it gave people more time to talk and learn who people are. The flight went well, on the way they gave us a turkey sandwich which tasted amazing. We landed and met up with the bus driver to bring us to the MTC, Traffic moves really slow in the city. Once we got the the MTC we took our bags up to the room, then took care of a bunch of the paperwork. They are telling us time is up so I will email soon.

Love ya,
Elder Marks

Well, we did it! Jeff and I took Garrett to Spokane, WA to leave for his mission to Guatemala! All four of our kids have chosen to serve the Lord through serving a mission. We are really proud of all of them in making this sacrifice in their lives, and I know that they have been/will be blessed for their service.

The other three all served missions in the States, and we drove them each down to Provo, UT to drop them off at the Prove Missionary Training Center (MTC). It has been a really nice tradition, and great time to spend with each child before they left for 18 - 24 months. But with Garrett, he was called to serve in Guatemala (which is exciting because his Grandpa Hughes served part of his mission in Guatemala in the late 50's) and report to the Guatemala MTC on January 10th. I knew the LDS church had multiple MTC's, but I had no idea that there were 15 MTC's around the world! It turns out that all missionaries called to serve in Central America go to the Guatemala MTC. There they learn how to be good missionaries, how to serve the people, and in the case of those coming from other areas (like Garrett), how to speak Spanish!

Since Garrett was going straight to Guatemala, instead of our normal tradition, we just had a 90 drive over to Spokane, WA and a 4:50pm flight to catch on January 9th. We left early and had lunch together, had good conversation in the truck, and then had about an hour together in the airport. There is something about dropping off your youngest that is just so much tougher than the rest! For one thing, there were no kids left at home to depend on us! We gave Garrett a last hug, and watched him go through security. It was hard to see him go and know that it will be two years before we see him again, but he is going to do awesome!

Garrett was excited to begin on this next venture in life, he is excited to get to know and serve the people of Guatemala. He is such a happy, good hearted young man and naturally reaches out to serve others, I know he is going to be a great missionary! He will love the people of Guatemala, and I know that they will love him too.