Hey Family!
I feel like its been forever since I have written or communicated with you guys! This last week felt like such a long one with the change in P-day! Even two days more than usual feels like a whole extra week. This last week was a good one, there were lots of things that happened, including changes!
I did get transferred, so I am now in an area called Boca del Monte, or Mouth of the Mount. My new companion is Elder Ribeiro, from Brazil. He is 21 and has 19 months in the mission, he speaks Spanish, English (not perfect, but really good) and he speaks Portuguese! The native language in Brazil is Portuguese. So by the end of the time that we have together, whether it be one change or two, I should be on my way to being tri-lingual!
The area of Boca del Monte is in the city, but not in the heart of the city. There are not skyscrapers or anything like that in the area. But a 10 minute bus ride and it is city city. I’m not really sure how to explain this area. It still has more money, nicer houses and most people have cars, but there are still some parts that are a lot more poor. The area has parts that are dangerous at night, but for the most part it is a fairly safe area. We do not go to the dangerous parts at night, so don’t worry too much about that. :)
So, before I left my last area, I just had to go Iguana hunting with one of the members there named Jaime, so last week we went and hunted iguana. As missionaries we can’t use guns, so we just went with them. But Jaime climbed about thirty feet up in a tree and saw and shot an iguana! The next day we ate it! :) It was a lot of fun, and a great way to remember Jaime and his awesome family! I will attach a couple of pictures below of me with the Iguana. While we were doing that, there were some other people who were fishing in the near by river. They caught a couple of tiny fish, some snails, and some crabs, so at the end of the day we made a very fishy soup for dinner and chowed down. Honestly, I did not do much chowin’ but I did eat a crab. Got some cool pictures of the natives doing their “no shoes or shirt” cooking thing so I’ll also add them below.
Also, something really interesting is that I ate cashews in the most natural way that you can! The fruit is called Maranon, and it has a seed, and the inside of the seed is cashew. But I remember that forever ago we watched a show talking about cashews and that if they are not cooked they are very bad for you and can be poisonous. So we threw a bunch in the fire till they were nice and cooked, then using a rock cracked them open and ate some natural fresh cashews! They tasted good!
I’m not sure if you guys got an email or not, but here in Boca I will have the opportunity to serve as a zone leader. I am excited to being a zone leader because now I can exercise my power over people! Not - just kidding! But to be able to serve and help other missionaries, to be more animated about the work, and help things function smoother. Although it include maybe not sleeping as much as normal, that’s totally ok.
3 Nephi 13:5-7 says:
And when thou prayest thou shalt not do as the hypocrites, for they love to pray, standing in the synagogues and in the corners of the streets, that they may be seen of men. Verily I say unto you, they have their reward.
But thou, whey thou prayest, enter into thy closet, and when though hast shut they door, pray to thy Father who is in secret, and thy Father, who seeth in secret whall reward thee openly.
But when ye pray, use not vain repetitions, as the heathen, for they think that they shall be heard for their much speaking."
Here in Guatemala we see that so much! People preaching and praying in the bus and then asking people for money! Prayer should be such a personal one on one time with our Father. And family prayers are a time in which we communicate our gratitude and needs as a family to the Father who sent us here and gave us the awesome family that we have! Just remember the power of prayer, we should not allow ourselves to leave our prayers to one side for any reason. God wants us to talk with him, and when we do, we can call the blessings down upon us. Those blessings will come in Gods due timing. Neal A Maxwell said, "faith in God includes faith in His timing."
I love you all very much and hope that you have an amazing week!
Love, your brother and son,
Elder Marks
I feel like its been forever since I have written or communicated with you guys! This last week felt like such a long one with the change in P-day! Even two days more than usual feels like a whole extra week. This last week was a good one, there were lots of things that happened, including changes!
I did get transferred, so I am now in an area called Boca del Monte, or Mouth of the Mount. My new companion is Elder Ribeiro, from Brazil. He is 21 and has 19 months in the mission, he speaks Spanish, English (not perfect, but really good) and he speaks Portuguese! The native language in Brazil is Portuguese. So by the end of the time that we have together, whether it be one change or two, I should be on my way to being tri-lingual!
The area of Boca del Monte is in the city, but not in the heart of the city. There are not skyscrapers or anything like that in the area. But a 10 minute bus ride and it is city city. I’m not really sure how to explain this area. It still has more money, nicer houses and most people have cars, but there are still some parts that are a lot more poor. The area has parts that are dangerous at night, but for the most part it is a fairly safe area. We do not go to the dangerous parts at night, so don’t worry too much about that. :)
So, before I left my last area, I just had to go Iguana hunting with one of the members there named Jaime, so last week we went and hunted iguana. As missionaries we can’t use guns, so we just went with them. But Jaime climbed about thirty feet up in a tree and saw and shot an iguana! The next day we ate it! :) It was a lot of fun, and a great way to remember Jaime and his awesome family! I will attach a couple of pictures below of me with the Iguana. While we were doing that, there were some other people who were fishing in the near by river. They caught a couple of tiny fish, some snails, and some crabs, so at the end of the day we made a very fishy soup for dinner and chowed down. Honestly, I did not do much chowin’ but I did eat a crab. Got some cool pictures of the natives doing their “no shoes or shirt” cooking thing so I’ll also add them below.
Also, something really interesting is that I ate cashews in the most natural way that you can! The fruit is called Maranon, and it has a seed, and the inside of the seed is cashew. But I remember that forever ago we watched a show talking about cashews and that if they are not cooked they are very bad for you and can be poisonous. So we threw a bunch in the fire till they were nice and cooked, then using a rock cracked them open and ate some natural fresh cashews! They tasted good!
I’m not sure if you guys got an email or not, but here in Boca I will have the opportunity to serve as a zone leader. I am excited to being a zone leader because now I can exercise my power over people! Not - just kidding! But to be able to serve and help other missionaries, to be more animated about the work, and help things function smoother. Although it include maybe not sleeping as much as normal, that’s totally ok.
3 Nephi 13:5-7 says:
And when thou prayest thou shalt not do as the hypocrites, for they love to pray, standing in the synagogues and in the corners of the streets, that they may be seen of men. Verily I say unto you, they have their reward.
But thou, whey thou prayest, enter into thy closet, and when though hast shut they door, pray to thy Father who is in secret, and thy Father, who seeth in secret whall reward thee openly.
But when ye pray, use not vain repetitions, as the heathen, for they think that they shall be heard for their much speaking."
Here in Guatemala we see that so much! People preaching and praying in the bus and then asking people for money! Prayer should be such a personal one on one time with our Father. And family prayers are a time in which we communicate our gratitude and needs as a family to the Father who sent us here and gave us the awesome family that we have! Just remember the power of prayer, we should not allow ourselves to leave our prayers to one side for any reason. God wants us to talk with him, and when we do, we can call the blessings down upon us. Those blessings will come in Gods due timing. Neal A Maxwell said, "faith in God includes faith in His timing."
I love you all very much and hope that you have an amazing week!
Love, your brother and son,
Elder Marks