Working hard and loving life

Family,

Happy Thanksgiving!! The answer is no, they do not celebrate it here... and the answer is yes a turkey here costs 200 quets... and so If I do not want to eat for 3 weeks, I can buy a turkey, we will just have to see what happens. But nonetheless, enjoy it for me, will ya??

This week has been a really cool and hard and last week. I got to go do divisions again in Villa Nueva, and got to see the Lord´s converts that I love so much! We did something a little different for divisions, and went the area of the Hermanas really early to be able to study as four of us, and then we went and worked the four of us in their area to see how they teach together, and then we spilt off. It was incredible! Our plans completely changed when we saw them teach together and the Lord could tell us who needed to go with whom. Really, I love being able to do divisions... and President may or may not have told me that I will also be doing it my last change... I had a dream that I was going to go to the coast and train a new missionary for my last change.. but the Lord thinks something different.

WE NEED YOUR PRAYERS. I am so serious. This weekend is the last weekend in November and so it is the last weekend to be able to complete our goals. We need your prayers for Daniel.. his mom will not let him be baptized.. even though she is a member, she wants him to be older, but he wants to be baptized so badly. So PLEASE pray for him, and his mom, Elbia.
Also for the Hermanita Melany.. she needs the permission of her Dad. Even though she is not a member, she came to teach with us and she is incredible. She starts crying every time she talks about the church. Pray for her dad that he gives her the permission to be baptized.
I have all the faith in the world that we WILL see these miracles. We are being obedient, diligent and are going to put it all in the Lords hands. But please pray for them, by name, in every prayer that you do.

Funny moment of the week goes to a boy named Royer. He is 19 year old kid that we had taught once and he could not get over that North American was talking to him.. anyway, we went back for a second visit... bad idea hermana funk.. and he asked if we could have the lesson in English. Well, my companion speaks a little bit so we told him that it was okay. So when we started, he interrupted us and said, ¨Look.. Hermana Funk.. I want you to know, that when you feel lonely, when you feel sad, when you don’t even want to talk to your own companion, I am here for you. I will be the one for you. I need someone too so that I do not feel lonely and I feel like I can count on you.¨ I looked at my companion and told her ¨We need to leave right now. ¨She pulled out a pamphlet from her backpack, threw it at him, and said, ¨read it. okay bye.¨´ haha it was so awful.

Also... Mayra... it just continues to get better. She is completely lying that she speaks english.. she told me she wanted me to see what she had read in her English Book of Mormon that she had just loved, she opened it to show me, and it was the topical guide where it says ¨clouds.¨ hahaha

I have realized the change that every missionary looks for in the mission is his own conversion. I have been converted to the gospel here on my mission, I know that it is true. I love being a representative of Jesus Christ.

I love you all!
Amedawg hermnana funk

Guatemala Learning Moments

Hey there fam!!

Well Yes, I did forget that it was Thanksgiving. Until this morning and I thought to ask my Ecuadorian companion when thanksgiving was... surprise, she was even more confused than I was! Who would have thought… but I guess it is soon. 

This week was a miracle miracle week! This week 2 people came to church who we had just simply contacted on the street, 1 that we didn’t even know, 3 that we had just taught one time and 1 that will be baptized this weekend. Really, I just feel so grateful. We did nothing! It was all the Lord. But every single one of them that came is ready for baptism, but it is going to take a whole lot of prayer. I am so serious. Satan is working hard, but we are working harder. But we NEED your prayers, well actually these people need your prayers so that they can be baptized the30th of November.... OFELIA, ALICIA, DANIEL, EDGAR, EILYN, DANIEL, FELIX, ANDREA, AND MELANY. Every single one of them could and will be baptized this month! I can feel it and I just know it. But please pray. And pray hard.  This week was really a miracle week. It is amazing to me how God does the part that we as humans cannot do. He is the only one that can testify and help them to make the changes in their lives. I know that when I am exactly obedient that he will do that huge part that I cannot do. 

Mayra..... the one whose dress ripped and we had to sew it up with missionary plaques... just continues to crack us up. She didn’t come to her confirmation because she got confused about the time and when we went to visit her, she said, ¨Hermanas, The Father wants us to go to Long beach California. The three of us. To the beach… long beach.¨ Well, if the Lord wants it, we must do it. But she really needs your prayers so that she can remember to come to her confirmation next week....

Scary moments of the week include almost face grabbed by a drunk man and also well... almost getting robbed by a man on a motorcycle, but I like to refer to these moments as learning in Guatemala moments, instead of scary ones.

I love being a representative of Jesus Christ. Here, I have come to know him, and because of that, I have learned to love him. 

I love you all!

Hermana Funk

A Missionary with a Goal

Fam,

This was the first week that you guys were baggy! (or trunky como you say it) Every single one of you reminded me of how much time I have left. Hahaha I am serious! Every single one. But yes, I am very aware of it, but I do not think about it! 

This week we had yet another miracle ustedes. I am so serious! So we have the goal of 400 baptisms in the mission this month, and 8 as a companionship. And so we have been praying, fasting, and working as hard as we could. 

So there is a hermana named Mayra, that has been in our ward for like ever. The first time I saw her I had the feeling to ask if she was a member, so I asked as she said yes. I saw her the next Sunday, and the same feeling came to me, so I asked her again, and she said yes. When I received my new companion I told her about her, so we went to her house. Again, she told us that she was a member. But when we left, my companion said, ¨We have to call the secretary and see if her papers are lost. I just have a really strong feeling.¨ 

So that started the process. We called our ward clerk, the mission secretary, our bishop, and just about everyone we could think of to see if really she was a member or not, because she had her three attendances and could be baptized that same day. Well, no one answered until FRIDAY! When they all called, and told us that she was not a member!! WHAT. The spirit had told us, and so we taught her every single little thing in two hours, she had her interview, and was baptized. It was truly a miracle, and I am so grateful for it. For the 23rd we have Hermana Ofelia, Daniel and MAgi, and so please please pray for them. I know that they will be baptized.

But the funny moment of the week, goes to Mayra. She is a little bit crazy, and is not completely there in her mind. She is from Los Angeles, and always talks about the states. She keeps telling us that in the states.. ¨I was a model. I was skinny. I drove cars.¨ (view photo that my comp sent.) She cracks me up. But anyway, we were really worried if the dress was going to fit her, and well, when she put it on, the dress completely ripped down the back. Completely. And here in Guate, there aren’t people who carry safety pins or anything, and so we had to get creative and take off the back part of our missionary plaques. Good thing it was stake conference and so we used all the Elders plaques too, and got that thing shut... blessing from the Lord. And then as we were just putting the last plaque thing in to seal up the deal, a member came in and gave us safety pins... gee thanks.

I am so grateful to be here. I love it. I love the people and I love being a representative of Jesus Christ. I have never felt so close to him in all of my life. If we want to know someone, we have to serve them. And that is why I am here.

I love you all so much!

Hermana Funk

The Story of Edgar

Hey there fam.

Pues les cuento algo.....

So I have a new comp, her name is Hermana VIllacis! She is the second one that I have had from Ecuador and she is really pilas. She really testifies and teaches with power. And we are seeing a lot of miracles.

SOOOO we had worked so hard all week so that our investigators would come to church. Eric and Edgar both had their interviews to be able to be baptized... which was a miracle in itself. Eric did NOT want to come to his interview, and it turns out that he had drank the night before... just like last time... and so he could not be baptized. We have now just realized the he does it so that he doesn’t have to be baptized.... we are going to give him a little bit of space. AKA break up with him.

But also Edgar had his interview, and he passed! But then he told our district leader that he just did not want to be baptized yet and that he was going to wait. We went with him and tried to convince him, but it just did not work. He just kept saying that he was not ready and that was it.

Well, on Sunday we were praying so hard that our investigators would come to church, and no one came. But we just kept praying and praying, and after the Sacrament, the doors opened and in walked Edgar. WE were so stoked! But he could only stay until Sunday School, and if they come after the sacrament and don’t stay for the other two classes, it does not count as an attendance, and he needed one more to be able to be baptized.

So he left…and right after lunch we had a strong impression to call our Mission President, and ask if there was any possible way that it would still count. After I explained to him what had happened, he paused for a second, and said, ¨Hermanas, I can feel that this is a special case. Baptize him. Today.¨ And so with that determination, we went to find him. And as luck would have it, he was sleeping! Rude. But then like 15 minutes later we went back and there he was out side of his door.

We explained to him all that had happened, and then told him that the Lord wanted him to be baptized TODAY, and not a day after, but he kept saying no and no and no and no. We didn’t want to force it, so we told him that the Bishop was going to pass in one hour and that he was to be waiting outside with a towel ready to go to his baptism... that isn’t pressure right??

So we called the Bishop and he said he was going to go, and I asked my companion who we should visit in the meantime, and she said ¨No one. We are going to the church and filling up the baptismal font.¨ So there we went, filled it up, and got everything ready, without an investigator to be baptized.

The bishop called us like fifteen minutes later and said, ¨Hermanas, do you have someone there to fill up the font? Edgar is with me right now, and he is ready to be baptized!¨ We both just jumped up and down and cried and prayed with so much gratitude.

And so he was baptized at 8:45 in the night time, and really it was truly and utterly a miracle. And I am positive that Grandpa Benson had something to do with it.

I know that the Lord always comes through when we do our part. And never in the way that we are waiting for it. I just truly feel grateful.

I love you all. And I am sure that the lizard who lives in our house whose tail got chopped off by a plate that I threw at it loves you too!

Hermana Funk

Our Miracle

Hello there fam!!

This week was just wild. WILD I tell you. This is only a four week change and so we have changes tomorrow.. they called us and told us that we didn’t have changes and we were crying we were so darn happy. Then at like 6 in the morning on Monday they called us and told us that President had revelation and that my companion was needed in a different area. And so.. well.. she is leaving me. I AM SO SAD. She has become one of my very best friends and together we have really given it all, but I know that it is for a reason and so I will just start praying now to have the same love for my new companion. I would appreciate your prayers as well.... woohoo. Just keepin my attitude high!

So, update from last week. We went to absolutely every single person on that list that I gave to you guys last week. It was seriously like the hunger games, with a divine help from God and from my Guardian Angels. It was incredible because when we would go to someone they would say, ¨If you are here to baptize me, I am not going to be baptized in your church.¨ When before they had just been so iffy about everything. But the Lord was guiding us out of the goats to be able to find the sheep. As we eliminated... which sounds really bad, but I do not mean it in a bad way... the only ones left on that list were the Family Beliz. On Friday we had a lesson with the dad and told him basically that the Salvation of his family was upon his shoulders, and that if he did not make this decision that the condemnation was also going to fall upon his head... I know it was a little strong, but this man needed it.

He said he would pray and that if God told him that he was to be baptized, that he would do it the following day. The next day, we went with him five times. Not one of the times was he there or available. My companion and I had no idea what the Lord wanted us to do. We went to a member’s house, kneeled down and offered a prayer. At the moment that we left, President and Hermana Markham drove by on their way to a stake conference. We called him to ask what they were doing. President ended with the words, ¨Hermanas, when we saw you, we saw you walking with determination and faces of dedication. If it is the Lord´s will, you will baptize.¨ We went with the fam beliz again, and they were not there. We left a note saying, ¨your baptism is prepared for tomorrow and we will wait for you there.¨ Well, they did not come. And when we went with them after they told us that they were not going to be baptized. We were only sad for .2 seconds, and then we got back up and worked even harder.

And then... it happened. NOT what we were waiting for, but exactly what God wanted us to do. We looked on the Church action plan for people to visit, and found a lady who had been baptized in 1999 and never got confirmed. No one knew anything about her, but we were determined to find her. She didn’t have an address, but we picked someone with the same last name… and everyone has the same last name here.. and went with them. WE FOUND THEM. A whole family that was sealed in the temple, with three kids who have not been baptized. They had not been to church in three years, and are now going to come back. We looked at each other and said, ¨this is our miracle.¨

Although we did not baptize this month, I can honestly say that we were obedient with exactness and diligent in every moment, and when we weren’t, we repented and kept going. Now we have a goal for 7 baptisms this month… I know we will do it. Actually, not us, the Lord will do it. The bigger the trial, the bigger the blessings that follow it.

Funny... As you all know, I sleep talk. I woke my companion up and I guess I was shaking my bed and just screaming, ow ow ow ow ow. She asked me what was going on and I told her that I had glass shards in my bed and that they were cutting me. okayyy.... Hermana funk. Winning.

A lady asked for our address in the states so that she can get to the US for free and can work for my parents. So I told her... yes. She will be arriving on Monday. Ha ha! jk. But really, she was just pleading with us and then after sang us a song to try and convince us of all of her talents that she could offer.

I love you all. Happy Halloween.

Hermana funk

We Can't Choose Our Own Miracles From God

Dearest Family,

The title of my email just describes this past week. It is incredible the times you can feel like you are falling down in just a day, but there is always time to get back up! 

Eric was SET to get baptized! Like set. We had an awesome lesson with him on Friday, and he was set for Saturday. But then when we called him to come to his interview on Sat, he wasn’t here, but we were just going to do it Sunday. Well, Sunday came and he didn’t come to church. We decided that we were just going to go to his house to drag him... to his own baptism… after church, so we went there to find him sitting in his house. We entered and I said, ¨Hermano, we have something for you.¨ and I pulled out his baptismal clothes from my bag. He screamed ¨NOOOO! I cant I cant I cant.¨ We were so confused. But then he explained how he had drunk the night before... at the same time he was supposed to be in his interview... we were so sad, not that we weren’t going to have a baptism, but just so sad for him. But he reaccepted his date for the 2 of November. Just pray for him. He learned his lesson. 

Edgar was also SET to be baptized this next weekend, and came to church, and everything, but then Sunday night as we were going to teach him.. we saw him.. drinking a beer. THE SAME DAY AS ERIC! WE were distraught. We just love them with all of our hearts. But he accepted a new date for the 2 of November too. 

Let me just top it all off with me losing my wallet... with EVERYTHING in it, and also the bird that pooped on my companion. ALL IN THE SAME DAY! But you know what we have decided, the harder the trial, the bigger the miracle will be at the end of the trial, so are going to be patient and grateful, and I know we will see the miracle.

We are determined to baptize this weekend, so we went and searched in our area book for all of the people who have attended church in the past 2 months and who could possibly be baptized. Here are our options.. we don’t know them yet.. but we will. PLEASE PRAY FOR THEM. WE WILL see a miracle. 

Susana

Familia Beliz

Rocio

Olga

JOrge

Maxi.

One or more is the chosen one. We know it. 

I am so grateful to be a missionary... no matter what happens. Even if my Jack o lantern that we carved a week ago molded up with black fuzz in two days, it is okay. haha

I love you all!!

Hermana Funk

Some awesome "only happens in Guatemala" moments

So sorry... surprise that I am writing today, but a man is coming to our house tomorrow to put in a fire alarm so we have to have Pday tomorrow... sorry... but at least we won't die of a fire anytime soon! Blessing, right?

Well this week was so awesome! I love my companion and she loves being exactly obedient and dilligent and so we are doing so well. We work as a team so that we can have the spirit as a team. I would send you pictures of us two, but I am pretty darn sure that the Bishop of this ward has sent you 5000. He literally is the best.

This weekend a man named Eric will be baptized. IT IS A MIRACLE! He has been an eternal investigator for like 500 years, and we had a very powerful lesson with him. While my companion was challenging him to be baptized, I pleaded so hard to Heavenly Father that he would allow andsend Grandpa to testify to him....  and he accepted to be baptized! GRANDPA IS THE BEST MISSIONARY I KNOW. Eric doesn't want anyone to know, he wants it to just be us him and the pèrson that will baptize him, but really, it is a miracle. But please PLEASE pray for him this week. I know Satan will try hard with him, but that the power of God is more powerful.

If you could also put in your prayers for Edgar. He is a 23 year old guy who has decided to completely change his life. He used to smoke 10 cigarrettes a day, and when we taught him about the Word of Wisdom, he said, ¨Today, today, I will stop smoking.¨ And you want to know something? He has not smoked a cigarrette since. He is so pilas and will be baptized on the 26th. He is a miracle from God.

This week I went back to Villa Nueva to do divisions. I saw Hermana Sonia and La Familia Luna! We all started crying, it was so special. And it made me think that that is a little bit what the celestial kingdom is going to feel like, and that I will never have to say goodbye to them. That is why I work and never give up every single day.

And now let me just share some ¨only happens in guate¨ moments.
1. Out of all the places to fall, a cockroach fell from the ceiling and landed on my head and started to crawl down my neck. It was the size of a small hotdog. It was awful.
2.I made a rookie mistake by leaving my shoes outside to dry during the night, what I didn't know, was that our ant friends were looking for a place to make their  next ant hill, and my shoes won the chosen place. Yes, ant bites hurt just as bad as they did in Villa Nueva.
3. Good news. The dog that bit me doesnt have rabies. Blessing. And yes, the wound is healing up.

We just keep going every day with energy and help we find from the Lord. I am a representative of Jesus Christ, I know he lives and loves you.

Obey with exactness, it is the only way to kill the natural man inside of us.

I love you all more than you know.
Amy