684 Contacts

Thanks for the emails. They rocked. Thanks for the update on Alpine, I was thinking about your guys as I too was climbing up a dirt mountain to visit a sister... basically we were doing the same thing I think. 

Well.... The thing is that I am leaving my area! We got the phone call on Monday and well, I am out of here! I have no idea where I am going, if I will still be a training sister or not, I really do not know! But the people here have been so darn good to me and I am so grateful to serve here. I absolutely LOVE this place. My companion will continue here and another sister will come, I will tell you all of the details next week! But really I LOVE the people here and all have said that they are going to come visit us in Utah, and so mom, get the Funk suite ready!!

This week has been a crazy week. My companion and I really really wanted to baptize this past week and so we decided that we needed more help from Heavenly Father and decided to make a covenant with him. We told him that every day we promised to contact at least 90 people and invite as many people as we could to be baptized. I am happy to let you know that this past week we contacted 684 people and 94 families. And we invited a ton of people to be baptized. We still have not seen the baptism, but you know what?! TODAY HAS NOT ENDED! We are having a lot of faith, that TODAY before I leave tomorrow that someone will be baptized! I am really excited and I know that Heavenly Father will come through with His part.

I haven’t broken the news to my boyfriend, hermano Luis, that I am leaving... hmm.  I will tell him today, but let the tears flow, right?? haha He keeps calling me doll face and just really cute things like that. The Espinosa family is doing super well and I am going to miss them a TON but I know these changes are for a reason!!

I love you all!!!!!!

Hermana Funk

As Fashionable As Ever

Well I thought I would start out this week’s letter with some of the most hilarious things that have happened to me on the mission thus far. Let us begin.

1. It rains here, a lot. And this past week it rained a lot a lot. The people ask us why we don’t have rain coats or umbrellas, but honestly, you just can’t walk as fast when you have something weighing you down and so we don’t use them. We got to the house of an investigador named Consuelo. She is a hermana that is probably 75 years old and just loves us and literally cries every time we leave her house. And sooo we got to her house just sopping wet. Anywho, she saw us and told us that she wanted to give us clothes to borrow. Let me remind you, she is 75 years old. I told her that I was fine and that I didn’t need anything but she insisted and insisted telling us that she had some clothes that she didn’t use anymore. AND SO she went upstairs and bought down the clothes. She first presented the ones that she brought for my companion. A nice floral skirt and a white shirt, wasn’t all that bad. And then she said, ¨Hermana Funk, I was searching and found something that will look PERFECT on you.¨ She then proceeds to had me a lovely bright green dress suit. Like the one that have the matching top blouse and floor length fancy skirt.. kinda like the one you had mom. hahaha but anyway, I saw it and I just couldn’t hold it in. She told us that we could go up to her room to change and when we got up there my companion fell on the floor laughing so hard and I just could not put it on. Hermana Consuelo then proceeds to knock on the door telling me that she had something that might fit me a little better. I open the door and she hands me a mini skit.  A MINI SKIRT. I did the equation and figured it would be better to put on the dress suit then walk out the door in a mini skirt. OH my heck, I have never felt so good about myself in the whole life. We walked out of there looking like models. And did I mention it was raining?? A light green fabric doesn’t hold up to well in the rain... thank you Hermana Consuelo. 

I just had to share that story with you!! 

Our investigators are doing so well. Honestly, we had seen miracles. Ernesto and Marlene and Carlos and others came to church this past Sunday!! We are seriously praying so darn hard that Ernesto and Marlene can be baptized this weekend so that I can be here because I think I am leaving this next week. WE NEED YOUR PRAYERS. We are trying to sacrifice everything we can so that we can see this miracle. I know that it will happen! I just know it!!

Over this past year in my mission, I had learned so many things. But I have decided the most valuable thing that I have learned is to do it all because I love my Heavenly Father. Whatever sacrifice, hardship, hard task, calling, area, companion that he sends me, I need to accept it. Not out of fear or out of commitment to somebody, I can’t be obedient and diligent because the mission asks us to do it, I do it just because I love my Heavenly Father. I have truly planted that in my heart and it has changed me and my mission. You have to let Heavenly Father change you by loving him enough to trust him.

I love you all. Just so you know, my 75 year old boyfriend is doing real well. Brought me treats again this past Sunday and whispered things in my ear during Sacrament meeting. I am so blessed!!!

I love you all. Honestly. And I love my Heavenly Father!

Ame 

Buenos Tardes Fam!!

The wheel on the Guatemala bus go...

Buenas Tardes!

Okay, I am glad that you guys are going on about 2234 vacations while I am gone, that is really neat. But I want to know, how many of you have traveled in a hot, packed full, but OH SO FUN Guatemalan bus for 4 hours two times a week for the past 4 months?? I think I win that one!! It almost wins with the big blue van... basically the same. Just with these buses you have to like sit on top of people and they fit so many people.... no seatbelts.. aka I am breaking Laurie Funk rules. hahaha

This week was a week of miracles! We just have so many pilas people! We put a goal for 5 baptisms in the month of August and I think we will be able to do it. La hermanita Dafnee is doing well, she just really wants to get baptized and we put her date for this Sunday! BUT I need your prayers so that her parents give her permission. Also prayers for Marlene and Ernesto forthis Sunday. They are such a great fammmm and I know they will do it! They even gave me my seventh bday party. they rockkkkk.

We have this investigator named Carlos. He cracks me up. He is 19 years old and just LOVES to try and impress us. He was like the hot topic at church this past Sunday and all of the young woman are so willing to come with us to go visit him and all the young single adults were just thrilled. We really have brought the main attraction to church, but he actually really loves the church, not just all of the attention. We just always pray that he can *remember* to put on a shirt when we teach him, and if not, we just tell him that we are going to leave and he can call us when he is presentable. hahaha 

I went on divisions the other day to the hottest part in all of Guatemala, I am so sure. It is called the GOMERA. ohhh my heck. They have sand instead of roads, and in the first 15 minutes that I was there, I got blisters on my feet from having the sand be so HOT. Then a rainstorm came in at night and so the lights went out, and this meant that the fans didn´t work and this meant that every 5 seconds I went to the bathroom to wet down my whole head just so I could sleep for like 10 minutes. It was just so fun. So fun. But the hermana that I went with is awesome so that makes up for it.

My 75 year old boyfriend is doing well. He is so confused about what the Priesthood is and thinks that when he gets it he will be able to make whatever change he wants in the church. For example, ¨Hermana Funk, when I have this priesthood, I am going to liven things up in Sacrament Meeting. I am talking about guitars, trumpets, everything.¨ He wants to buy out one room in the church to make it into a place for people to sleep when they get tired because he told us he bought a lottery ticket and it is the winning one. Wow, will I be ever so lucky when I marry him, right??

Well, love ya all. Ame

Ame

I am here to serve

Buenas Tardes a todos!

Wel,l Thank you for your emails, I truly love always hearing from everyone and so thank you for not forgetting about yours truly!

Well this week. Let us see! I had divisions with the one and only hermana Oliphant. She rocks! I am so serious. She walks so darn fast and just loves her mission. I felt that she helped me more than I helped her, but I have seen such a change in her and I loved being with her!!

Our pilas investigator Carlos came to church again this past Sunday, but this time in a shirt and a tie and with his hair cut, and boy did the girls go wild. But it was so cool because in the middle of fast and testimony meeting he got up to bear his testimony! He said, ¨I am so imperfect, I have so many changes that I need to make in my life, but I do know one thing, that this church is true.¨ Okay, I seriously was jumping up and down on the church seat I was so darn excited! He is doing so well but he just has a problem with tobacco. If each and every single one of you can pray for him, I know he will make the change!!
My dearly beloved Hermano Luis received the priesthood this past week. Don´t you remember him? My 75 year old boyfriend. Boy you should have seen him walking into the church, his hair TOTALLY slicked down, in a shirt, tie, suit, the whole shoe! And when they sustained him in church to be a priest, he stood up and put his arm way up over his head, as if he was like receiving something. AND THEN in Sunday school, there were about 56 seats, but what would you know, he chose the one right next to me! And I said hello and then halfway through the class he looked over at me and said, ¨Are you like mad at me or something? You just seem really distant.¨ Hahaha I was dying! Nonetheless he received the priesthood and is doing great!

We had the coolest experience with one of our converts. There is a hermana who just had a baby and they live in terrible circumstances. But the ward has been so good to help them out. Anyway, we went to their house to visit them and when we were leaving, we asked if they knew of anyone that we could visit, they said no, but when we left their 6 year old daughter ran out of the house and told us that she had friends that we could visit. She then proceeded to go to each and every one of her neighbor’s house with us and she said, ¨Hello, these are missionaries. They preach the word of God. Want to listen to them?¨ SHE IS 6! It was so awesome! We found 6 new investigators with her.

I had learned a lot this week about how to dedicate my whole self to the work. One Elder in a meeting said, ¨I came here to give my life.¨ and that is exactly why I am here! It doesn’t matter if I am completing one year to me because I know that I am here to work and work hard until the end. I have realized that as I give more of myself, I am happier, have a stronger testimony and that the Lord trusts me more. I am here to serve!!

I love you all. And really love the food here. Just sayin. Ame

My Mission Birthday

Hey Fam!!

Thanks for remembering my birthday!!! I hardly even remembered it... but the people here sure did! It was just so cute and I have never felt so darn loved in my life. So really it was a great day and so you have no need to fear, they celebrated it just fine! My companion, morg and her comp did a surprise birthday party for me with the four of us. A hermana cooked me a full dinner and decorated her house, another gave me cake, another hermana did a full dinner and cake and then the other did tacos and cake. Then today, I got more cake from the missionaries from my zone, and so really, I have tried every cake here in Guate! I would say it was a pretty darn good day.

This week has been really good! We started divisions again for this change and I went to the place where you get to ride in the back of pick up trucks again. Boy, was that just the funnest thing in the world. But really, it all just teaches me that I am here to learn so much more from the hermanas that they are ever going to learn from me. I love it because I just learn how many things I need to change to be able to become better.

Our PILAS family is doing awesome! They came to church this week again and they stopped drinking coffee... I am so serious. everyone and their baby... litterally drink coffee. BUT they are super pilas and so they stopped drinking it and now are preparing to get baptised. I think they will be baptised this 3 de August. But I would LOVE it if you could pray for them, it is the Family Espinosa. Their names are Ernesto and Marlene and they rock.
I  am just here in Guate, trying to re-read the BOM again, I love the Book of Mormon. But really, there is not much to report in this week and so I thought it would be better to send pics.

LOVE TO YOU ALL
Hermana Canchita

Duck in my backpack

Buenas Tardes!

I loved each and every one of your emails! honestly. whenever I receive an email from your guys, I just feel so loved and blessed so thank you so much!

This week was a good week. We had changes but we didn´t have changes but..... we opened an area. Yes, that is right. We are still staying in our are but now we also having to take on the area of the elders who were sharing the ward with us (because their area was just not seeing any progress. And sooooo now we have a HUGE area. I am serious, it is so huge. but is a blessing, because that just means that Heavenly Father wants us to find more people!

Robyn and Dabeiba were confirmed this week... they are the  two who were the miracle baptisms from last week and it was such a neat experience! They were oh so happy! Then, you know who spoke in Sacrament Meeting?? Yours truly! I had planned a talk on how when we keep our covenants we receive power.. but then during the sacrament I had a distinct impression that I needed to simply talk about how I gained my testimony about Joseph Smith, and so with no talk in hand, I walked to the pulpit and shared my testimony. It was short and simple, but it made my testimony stronger and it is what I needed to share.

Okay, this week was pretty hilarious. Since we are opening the area of the Elders, we have to know all of their investigators. There is this one named Consuelo. She is like 70 years old and LOVES us. I am so serious. We went to her house to visit her Saturday and she told us that she couldn't right then because she was having a family lunch for her birthday. She told us that we could return. So we went and ate lunch and then went back to her house. She opened the door and we walked in to find her and her 20 closest family members. And let me remind you... they are all Evangelics. She told us how she wanted to share her birthday lunch with us but we told her that we had already eaten and were really full. She did not take that for an answer and brought us out a plate.. actually I should say platter of Chicken, potatoes, tortillas, and Duck. spicy duck. I was trying so hard to force it all down my throat without throwing it all up on her table when she brought out some sort of jello surprise with sour cream... I knew I wouldn't be able to finish and so I hid the duck in my backpack and swallowed up the jello surprise. But then I had completely forgotten about the duck that was in my backpack.. with skin and all... until we got to a lesson and I was taking out my scriptures when all of a sudden, the duck came rolling out of my backpàck. It was so embarrassing! But you know what, they fed it to their dog and so all was okay.

I am doing well, and could use some extra prayers right now!!
Love from Guate,
Amy

Survived an Earthquake

Family! 

Thanks for your letters. I sure love them! This week was an awesome week, and yes, I did celebrate the fourth of July. Morg and her comp received a pineapple, so we all at one slice and all said.. ¨Happy Fourth of July.¨.. in my miranda voice of course. And yep, that was the extent of our Fourth of July celebrations!

BUT I AM SERIOUS! This week was so awesome! Do you remember that family that magically showed up at sacrament meeting but had the three kids that weren´t members? Well, they don’t even live here, and we had only taught them one time, but they wanted to be baptized SO BAD! And so we had it planned that they were going to come Saturday in the night, because we had permission to teach them for two hours and then they were going to have their interview so they could be baptized Sunday.

Well, at 8 o’clock Saturday night they still hadn’t arrived.... and we said, well, if Heavenly Father wants them to be baptized, he will make possible a way for all of this to happen. They didn´t arrive until 9! WE HAVE TO BE IN OUR HOUSE AT NINE! And so, well, we did not teach them anything, but we did not lose the faith! 

Sunday they came to church and our district leader had told us that if we could find a way to teach lesson 2, 3, 4, and 5 before Sundayschool was over, he could have their interviews and they could be baptized. So right after sacrament meeting, we ran to find them and teach them. Poor things. WE taught everything! EVERYTHING. The Lord wanted them to be baptized because they understood every single lesson in a matter of 45 minutes. They both passed their interviews. But this was at 12 49 and then baptism was supposed to happen at one. We didn´t have baptismal clothes, a program, the ward had no idea, and ooops we did not have someone to baptize them. The Lord really wanted them to be baptized because in a matter of minutes, someone came with baptism clothes, the elder randomly had packed baptismal clothes in his backpack that day and so he could baptize them and the ward members agreed to give the talks. This all happened in 10 minutes.

Then comes the baptismal service. I would like to remind you that the parents had been inactive for 15 years although the dad was a returned missionary. After his two kids were baptized, our ward mission leader, who was directing the service asked the kids who had just been baptized if they could share their testimonies. The 18 year old girl got up and just started crying, she could say anything. The dad, got up from his seat and ran to his daughter and gave her a hug and then said ¨I have been inactive for fifteen years. I am a returned missionary. But I could have died until I saw this marvelous day of my children’s baptism. I know this church is true.¨ And then they just stood in front of us hugging and crying. It was such a life changing experience, just to see how much the Lord prepares people.

I thought you all might be wondering about the earthquake... well it happened at 5:27 in the morning and I thought I was dreaming it but then I woke up and our whole room was shaking, and me and my companion just kind of sat there in our beds looking at each other... smart.. we know. But then it stopped. But then we had nausea ALL DAY! But I’m fine. hahaha

And for the funny news of the week... our convert Luis.. that is 75 years old.. that is in love with me asked me this week, ¨Hermana Funk, do you think I wanted to get married to you? Because I couldn’t... you are just a child.. how old are you anyway?¨ and I said ¨19¨ and he looked at me with a huge smile and said ¨ ohhhhhhhhhh you ARE older.¨ hahaha I was dying. 

I love you all and love this gospel! I love the BOM. Read it everyday fam.

Ame