tHey Family!

This last week actually went quite quick. It was also a really good week. The highlight was definitely the baptism for Sara last Saturday. 

The baptism went great, and as usual we had great support from the ward, which is really nice because it does not always happen like that. There were probably about fifty people there, including eight people who are investigating the church. It was really cool to see Sara be able to take this big step after so much time, to be able to enter into the waters of baptism together with her husband and have him baptize her. Then on Sunday I had the opportunity to confirm her a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints. It was my first time confirming somebody to the church and it was a really cool experience. 

We were not able to visit Maria and Jaime much this week, though on Saturday they are going to get married they will not be getting baptized until the end of next week, July 6th.

Somebody that we started teaching a couple of weeks ago and has already came to church twice is a guy named Ovidio Ochoa, who is 25 and is the "friend" of a recent convert. He has had a lot of problems in his life and is really trying to change. He used to drink, smoke, and spent about a month in jail. He now does not drink or have problems with the law, he still smokes but it is no longer a pack a day, just about 4 a day. He knows he needs to stop, and more importantly, he wants to leave smoking behind. The journey towards baptism might be a little longer with him but he will eventually make the needed decisions to make covenants with Heavenly Father and get baptized. 
 
I have honestly seen throughout my mission how the Lord protects his servants and keeps us out of harms way. Although small things happen, big things rarely happen. For example, in front of our house there is a park. We were in front of the park and then we left, then about 5 or 10 minutes later somebody got shot and killed in the park. I don’t want to startle anybody, just to let you know that the Lord is watching out for us.

My spiritual thought that I want to share this week is actually an audio from Elder Uchtdorf. When I first listened to this, although I did not cry, I could feel the reaffirming whisper of the spirit testify to my spirit that these things are true. The other thing that I read that I loved! was from Dad’s Ward Conference talk about consecration. The big thing that stuck out to me was that being simply dedicated to something is not enough. The need to commit one’s will to the Lord and be consecrated is what is needed. The best thing that we can give to the Lord is our will.
 
I love you all and am pulling for you. You are all in my prayers along with your different needs and desires.

Love, your brother and son,
Elder Marks

Hey Family!

This last week was a good week but felt a little long because I have been looking forward to going back to Jalapa. Being here in Jalapa today has been really great, it’s always is fun to see some of the same people who I served for 6 months.

Big news with Jaime and Maria, we talked with them yesterday and we asked them how they felt about marriage and baptism and they said great! So we asked them when they wanted to get married and baptized and Maria, without and hesitation said, at the end of this month, so we asked, “how about the 29th” and they said, "sounds great!" We are super excited for them and we are going to be working closely with them all this week and the next helping prepare them for the 29th.

We are all set also for the baptism for Sara that is going to happen this Saturday! Her husband, Otto, will be the one who baptizes her, so that is really good. It will take place this Saturday at about 6:30. 
 
Thank you, Dad, for the thought that you shared about the "Sandpoint Seven" Those things are the small and basic things that help take us to live with God again. Sometimes it is easier to do them and other times it is harder, Keep up the great work!

Other then those two big things, this week was fairly normal. Also, I am going to keep this  short due to the fact that I am here in Jalapa. I am looking forward to talking more next week. Know that I love you all! 
 
God loves us and is very aware of every one of us and our situation, and know’s exactly what we need. There is a missionary in this zone, who whenever anything good or bad happens, says "God’s Plan." This morning on a bus he got robbed and they took his backpack, camera, personal card, and about 250Q, he even got hit in the face by one of the guys. When I was talking to him this morning, making sure everything was ok, he just smiled and said, “God’s Plan”, faith that God has a plan for us.
 
Love you all tons!
Elder Marks! 

Hey Family,
 
This last week was a really great week. First off, we did get to go to the sealing of Miguel and his wife Ilse. It was an amazing experience to be able to be part of the temple sealing. I even got to be a witness. The spirit really was super strong during the ordinance. We got some great pictures but I will have to send them to you next week because right now I am in Las Margaritas saying goodbye one last time before the change in the mission, so the internet is super bad and does not even let me send you guys a message through Messenger.
 
We also went to the temple again with Sara and had another amazing experience in which she could feel the spirit confirm to her that this is all true and now she has the desire to be baptized again. She will actually be getting baptized next Saturday on the 22nd of June. This time she is really going to take the step and get baptized; we are both really excited for her.
 
Maria and Jaime are doing well. He will have to have surgery but he is thinking that he will do it at the start of next month. With them we are thinking for seeing if they can get both married and baptized on the 29th of this month.
 
Dad, the aquarium turned out great! I really like the look of it. What are you going to name the fish? Maybe something like Alexander.
 
I am just about done with the book Saints, I only have one more chapter to read. Reading the book has been a real testimony builder. Being able to read and really understand the story and to be able to feel the spirit reaffirm to me the truthfulness of all of the historical events that really did take place.
 
I hope that you all of a great week! Continue strong with your different goals! Keep doing all that you can to be great! 
 
Love you all,
Elder Marks

Hey Family!


This last week was another good week in which we were able to see some good things happen. The week was also very full of other activities and running around that we had to do. Overall it was a great week!

First things first! My eyes are terrible. I went the eye doctor and my vision is way worse then it was last time I went to the doc. I now have the perscription of  '4.25 in each one of my eyes. I need to get new glasses and/or contacts but I have not made any decision yet because I wanted to be able to talk to you guys first. Now for the real good news. :)

On Saturday we had the baptism for Diego Arevalo! Things went really well and he had great support from family and friends and just overall from the ward. Diego was so ready to be able to take this big step, and his non-member family members were there to support him, so that was really good. And the next day, Sunday, he got not just the gift of the Holy Spirit but also the Aaronic Priesthood.

This week we also had mission council, the visit to the eye doc, we had to do some running for the sisters because that’s just how it goes, and overall we just weren’t able to do a whole lot this week. We did have a teaching moment with Sara in which we were able to find out that she feels that there are just a couple of things that she needs to do or change before she should be baptized. She also said that she will get baptized, but after she is ready.

We had a lesson with Jaime and Maria Colon and they are still progressing well. They are now starting to understand the Book of Mormon more and they really want to be able to get married and baptized. They are also going to start putting goals to stop drinking coffee. The only possible future problem that they might have is that at the end of this month or the start of the next month he might have to have surgery due to some problem that he has.

During some study time this week I read a scripture in James that kinda made me think. The scripture is in James chapter 4 verse 17, it says, "Therefore to him that knoweth to do good, and doeth it not, to him it is sin." It’s a short scripture but it’s true. There are a lot of people in today’s day, including myself, that sometimes we know that there are things that we need to be doing but we don’t do them. For example, in the mission there are so many people that say that they know that they need to go to church or get married and they never do it, they are living in sin. The invitation for everybody is to look for small ways that we can do better and find new ways to be able to receive blessings from God.

I love you all and hope that you have great week!
 
Love you all tons!
Elder Marks

Hey Family!

How art thou all? I hope that you all had a great week and that things are going well in all of the different activities and goals. This last week for us was really good. We had some good things happen and there is a lot of potential in the month of June.

First things first, we had a wedding for Otto and Sara this last week, and it went great! Not a lot of people came which was good because they did not want a bunch of people there, really just family members and us. #privileged.

It has been super cool to see Otto change so much. He has been a member for all of his life but for a while walked away from the path a bit with some poor decisions. His grandma, who is basically his mom because Otto’s parents died when he was little, was at the wedding and was so happy of him! She was so grateful for what we are doing to be able to help him. Seeing her cry out of joy for her son made me reflect on the pure love that a mom has for her kids.

Sara was not baptized on Saturday but she might be baptized this Saturday. Tonight we have a lesson with her so see how she is feeling now about baptism. Otto had an interview with bishop and is cleared to be able to finally present his daughter and also to be able to baptize Sara when she is baptized. I might be coming back to Guate in a year when they go into the temple.

Diego is still a beast! He baptism is a 100 percent go for this Saturday at 4 30. We should have great attendance because all of the ward knows him and want to support him.

Another person that we are teaching is Erick Molina, who I think I told you a bit about last week. He went to church this last Sunday and really wants to get baptized on the 8th of June. We are going to be trying to work a lot with him over the net two weeks to see if we can make it happen. He is 22 and also has lots of potential.

Another two people who are very probable for this month is Jaime and Maria Colon. They are in their 60’s and have gone to church the last three weeks, and they went to a marriage class that is being offered in the church right now. They have big desires to get married, get baptized, and they are starting to take an English class. PLIAS! (Awesome)

Something random: This last week I was in a paca, which are little used clothing stores in which all of the clothes come from the states, and I bought a suit vest and jacket for 6 dollars, but it did not come with pants. Dad, I don’t know if maybe you could find pants online? The brand is Vitarelli, made in Italy. On the inside of the jacket there is an information tag that says that the name is SB'V2 and the color is Charcoal. I don’t know if this part matters but it says that the shell is 65POLYESTER and 35 polyester. I don’t know why it doesn’t just say 100% polyester. I guess it is an Italian thing. :) It would be awesome if you could find some pants to go with it, it fits me great!

Another thing, I think I might end up using the money that Grandma Hughes gave me for my birthday to go towards buying a new camera. You will see in the pictures below that there are parts of the pictures that are a little blurry, and it’s due to that little part that broke. Also, tomorrow I will be going to the eye doctor to get my eyes checked. We will see if I have to get new glasses or not. I think I will because things at a distance are little blurry, I’ll let you know how it goes.

THOSE IDAHO POTATOES WERE GREAT!!!

I got the package yesterday, and wow there is a lot of great stuff. I opened what I knew to be the watch and headphones but the other wrapped package I haven’t opened although I really want to. Thank you for all of the cads and food and snacks, its perfect.

Oh, and just so you know, elder Rebeiro and I did not have changes so we will have another change together.

Reading the book Saints is going great, I am now on page 230 and still going strong. It really is worth reading, and is a testimony builder of the church.

Revelations 3:20-22 says:
 
20 Behold, I stand at the door, and knock: if any man hear my voice, and open the door, I will come in to him, and will sup with him, and he with me.
21 To him that overcometh will I grant to sit with me in my throne, even as I also overcame, and am set down with my Father in his throne.
22 He that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith unto the churches."
 
When I was thinking about this scripture I realized that maybe the missionaries are the knock at the door in some cases. When we knock as representatives of Christ, the person chooses to let the good word in or not. But many times for members of the church the knock at the door is a spiritual knock at the door of our hearts. If any man hear my voice and open the door I will come in to him. When we allow the spirit to enter into our hearts and into our home we receive those promised blessings. The biggest is that one day we will be able to return to the presence of God, with our families. I know that every one of us wants to have that great blessing, but sometime we take our eye off the ball a little. The invitation for everybody is to not wait for ways, but look for ways to invite the spirit into our lives, and be like little children who are always humble enough to do the will of the Father. I love you all so much! Thanks you all for being such great parents and siblings!

Love, your brother and son,

Elder Marks

Hola family!
 
This last week was full of some good things. There are some changes to the plans for the end of this week but I think that the plans that we have now are the best that they could be. We were able to see the Lord manifest clearly to Diego in the temple, and good progression with Sara and Otto. 
 
Last Saturday we went to the temple on Saturday and had a great experience together with Diego and his girlfriend Lucia. While inside the temple he prayed to be able to know exactly what day he should be baptized. He prayed with very specific questions and felt super strongly that he needs to be baptized on the 1st of June. He is super awesome and super smart and he has a little bit of money so he invited us to dinner afterwards. ;) So after we left the temple he drove us all to taco bell and bought us dinner. Then he took us home in the car. 
 
With Sara and Otto, they are going to be getting married this Saturday for sure. They are going to be getting married in front of our house because where we live is also an area for events that is owned by a member, so she is letting us use it without paying. We also talked with a lawyer lady who is a member who is going to do all of the legal stuff without charging us also, so there are lots of blessings waiting for her. I think that when we talked with Sara about there being a baptismal interview it kinda startled her and now she "does not feel ready". I put that in " " because the day before she told that she was not ready, she said that whether Otto said yes or no she was going to get baptized that day. We are going to talk with her tonight and see what she says.
 
Marilin dropped off the face of the map. But we did have some people come to church last week and also this past Sunday named Jaime and Maria. They are an older couple but have a lot potential.
 
I started reading the book Saints this last week. It was authorized that we read it as missionaries. It is a very interesting book and well worth reading. Or listening to the audio on the Mormon channel. I was doing some thinking this last week and either had a quote come to my mind or came up with of my own. :) I imagine that I have heard it before... but it goes like this. "The motor that drives our actions is our thoughts". This is so true with whatever it is that we want to do! Whatever we are doing, it all starts with our thought. Even in the Book of Mormon we can find this principal being taught in Mosiah 4 verse 30 that says,
 
But this much I can tell you, that if ye do not watch yourselves, and your thoughts, and your words, and your deeds, and observe the commandments of God, and continue in the faith of what ye have heard concerning the coming of our Lord, even unto the end of your lives, ye must perish. And now, O man, remember, and perish not.

Although there are distractions and lots of things going on at home, keep in the mental fight! The physical might be a tough battle but the mental is the first and most important that we have to fight. 

I love you all so much and hope that you have a great week!
 
Love, your brother and son,
Elder Marks

Well Family!
 
Well after talking on Sunday there really is not a lot of things that have happened in the last two days. So it might be kinda of a short letter. 
 
On Sunday after the calls is when we started being in our trio. On Monday we really did not do anything because we had all of our Monday meetings and planning, and when we got back to the house, there was a bunch of water in the house because a small water line broke under the sink, so we had to call the landlord lady and she sent over the handyman and he got it all fixed. So we ended up loosing the whole day to meetings and water problems. 
 
Yesterday we had interviews with President Shumway, which was great. The interviews did not talk at all about the changes that are going to happen or nothing super special. But the Zone Leaders are always the last ones to go and afterwards President and Sister Shumway decided to take us to dinner. So we went to Burger King and we all bought our burgers, and after we ordered but before we paid Sister Shumway asked if we bought shakes, we said no and she said, “you gotta get a shake also!” So that was kind of a fun experience.
 
Also, last week on Saturday we went to the temple with Sara and Otto, Sara is the non-member and Otto is the member who is now active but was inactive. Things went super well in the temple and they are now planning on being married this month on the 25th and also she wants to be able to get baptized on the same day. 
 
Diego is also progressing really well. He has completely stopped drinking coffee and he wants to be baptized on the 25th also. 
 
And Miguel Angel from Las Margaritas is planning on being able to enter the temple and get sealed on the same day. 

With the new big focus in the name of the church I had a scripture come to my mind that talks about the name of the church. The scripture is in 3 Nephi 27 the verse says, And how be it my church save it be called in my name? For if a church be called in Moses’ name then it be Moses’ church; or if it be called in the name of a man then it be the church of a man; but if it be called in my name then it is my church, if it so be that they are built upon my gospel. 
 
This scripture really reminds me of the talk that the Prophet Nelson gave about 8 months back that had a massive focus on the name of the church. Christ himself really hit the nail on the head by saying the things that he did about the name of the church and how if the church has the name of a man or even a prophet like Mormon it means that it is the church of that person. 
 
I know a lot of people kinda joke around about having to say the whole name of the church but it really is not a joke. It is what we have been commanded to call the church and through being obedient to the things that we are supposed to do we will be blessed greatly. 
 
I know that this is the true church and that through being exactly obedient to the commandments of God we will find more joy in doing what is right! 

 
I sure love you all and hope that you have a great week! Just remember to keep the main thing the main thing!
 
Your Brother and Son,
Elder Marks

Hey Family!
 
Well this week we had some kinda cool things happen with people that we are teaching, as well as some changes for the month of May. 
 
In the mission council last week, and then also in the multi zone, we were informed that during the month of May we would be working without numbers at all. Every six months there is a little missionary survey thing that all of the missionaries take. Although Guatemala City South ranked number 1 in almost all of the categories, we still weren’t making it above 50% in almost all of the questions about teaching. So to make a really long story short, there are 0 numbers during this month, meaning there weren’t goals put as a mission for baptisms, every zone didn’t put goals, and every area didn’t put goals. Also, in mission council we made a self evaluation card that has 10 questions that have to do with the way we teach, that we now do after every lesson.
 
Flor was suppose to get baptized this Saturday but is now living in Baberena, which is a little far away and it is part of a different area. We passed the reference on and hopefully the sisters that are there will contact her and she can still be baptized soon. Obviously I wish that she was still living here so that we could teach her and have the baptism here, but the important part is not that we teach her and that she is baptized here. The most important thing is that she can still get baptized and that she can be faithful to the covenant of baptism. 
 
Diego is progressing very well! He knows so much about the gospel and really does want to get baptized. The only thing is that he has a girlfriend who is a member of the church, and he wants to make sure that he gets baptized for himself and not just because his girlfriend is a member . We are planning to try to go to the temple with him on Saturday the 18th.
 
On Sunday a member brought her friend to church, her name is Marilin and yesterday we had our first lesson with her. In the lesson we talked about the Book of Mormon because she had questions about it. At the end of the lesson she offered the prayer and was really able to open the heavens and not just talk to the ceiling. Ñ= Her prayer was very awesome. In the prayer she gave thanks that we were finally there to teach her as she has wanted for so long. And she also prayed that she would be able to continue going to church, and also that it wouldn’t just be one or two visits and then no more but that she would be able to really follow God and be able to learn a bunch. It is still super early in the teaching process and a lot of things could happen, but we are feeling super positive about the possibilities with her. 
 
Two of the big focuses in the mission right now is the way that we are praying, and reading in the Book of Mormon. Although these things are really focused on the person being taught they also apply to our lives. A prayer is not just simply talking, but rather, when we pray we have the opportunity to open the heavens. When we pray we truly should go to our quiet place like is says in the scriptures and then really express all of our thoughts, concerns, and also ask of God. When we read in the BOM we should not just simply just read the words, but rather, we should learn how to savor the scriptures. Learn how to read slowly, and with pauses, really taking the time to allow the spirit to teach us. After all, the spirit is the best teacher that there is. I know because I am personally trying to make these changes, that if we apply these two basic principles to our life that we will have a deeper, lasting conversion to those things that we know to be true. That truly when Christ returns for his own he will have no problem recognizing us, because our banner will be clear, our banner being that of discipleship.  
 
I love you all so much and hope the best for you all!
 
Love,
Elder Marks

 
Hey Family!
 
This week we did divisions with the AP’s of the mission, so that was exciting. It was kinda cool because at the end of the day they ask a bunch of questions about the zone and we can just tell them exactly how things are, they are going tell president and he will get things organized the way that they should be. 
 
We had our lessons with Diego this last week and that went really well. He has almost a year of exposure of the church, he understands a lot about church doctrine and wants to learn more. He is 25 and works a lot and also studies, so we can only teach him on Saturday and Sunday. On Saturday when we has our lesson with him, we left him the cover page, intro, 2 Nephi 31, and the first pamphlet to read, and when we talked with him the next day at church, he had already read all of the reading assignments! We have high hopes for him, so we will see what happens. 
 
This week we also went to the temple with Flor and had a great experience. Before hand she wanted to be baptized but now she really really wants to get baptized. Her programmed baptismal date is for the 11th of the month of May. In the picture attached below Flor is the very short one:)
 
Well, that’s really all that happened this week. It was just a nice normal week of missionary life. Actually, the highlight of the week might have been dinner last night. You know those frozen been and beef burritos? Well, a family gave us those for dinner and it made me really happy. We were just missing the Pace salsa and the melted cheddar cheese!
 
 My spiritual thought is, "Oh be wise; what can I say more?" (Jacob 6:12). Short but sweet. Lots of messages we can pull out of the scripture, everyone will pull out the teachings that are needed at this time in your life.
 
I love you all so much and hope that you have an amazing week and that you can MAKE lots of things happen in your life.
 
Love, 
Elder Marks

Hey Family!
 
Well such a short time has passed since last P-day that there really is not that much stuff to tell you guys. :) I’ll just fill you guys in on the investigators that we have.
 
The investigator closest to baptism is a 19 yr old girl named Flor. Flor works in the house of a member and has always been invited to church but never forced to go, and then a couple of weeks ago she decided to go and really like it. She has already been to church three times and really wants to learn more about the church, and she has big desires to be baptized. We are going to be going to the temple with her this Saturday if we can.
 
Another investigator that is progressing is Sara, she is the girlfriend of a member but they are not married. Classic! The members name is Otto and originally did not really like the idea of marriage, but just in this last week alone he is starting to open up to the idea. Yesterday we saw him and Sara together in the street and started talking with them and he told us that they were talking about marriage and then made a joke saying that Elder Ribeiro and I might have to put in for the rings! Sara also has two brothers who are 16 who live with her and Otto because their parents died a few years ago. We just started teaching them but if they go to church with Sara and Otto this week, then we are going to try to take them to the temple at the end of next week. Lots of potential there to have all three of them get baptized during the month of May.
 
Another two investigators that we have are Tania and Yoliver, who came to church for the first time on Sunday. Also, the non-member family of an elder that is serving in Mexico came to church on Sunday for the first time. It is the sister, mom, and grandma of the elder, their last name is Pinto. There is another guy named Diego, who almost always goes to church with his member girlfriend but has always said that he did not want people coming up to him and trying to teach, but rather in his own time he would invite to missionaries to come over. This Sunday we approached him and started talking and we are going to visit them on Saturday just to get to know him and gain some confidence. He also has a lot of potential, he studies the Come, Follow Me program and everything. When we talked to him before church he was sitting in the chapel early reading in Come, Follow Me. We will see what happens. 
 
"And it came to pass that the servants did go and labor with their mights, and the Lord of the vineyard labored also with them, and they did obey the commandments of the Lord of the vineyard in all things" Jacob 5:72. The Lord is truly with us in all that we do! He wants the best for every one of us. He is on our side in every battle of everyday! Our worries are His and the joys and blessings that we have and feel come from our loving Father in Heaven! I love you all so much!
 
Love, your brother and son,
Elder Marks