Hola!
This week is a bit crazy because the older missionaries (and the
Latinos) left today. So there are only about 40 missionaries here and
we write our emails today. Tonight, the new North Americans arrive
(at midnight and 2AM!) and tomorrow we welcome the new Latinos. And
GUESS WHAT! I get a Latino companion tomorrow! Our district is the
first one in the history of this CCM to get switched to Latino
districts! There are a few elders who get switched after three weeks,
but never an entire district. So that will be awesome! I´m so
excited but so nervous. Everything (class, devotionals, etc) will be
in Spanish. But I´m ready and I think it´s going to be a huge
blessing.
Last week I sent an envelope home with a couple quick letters and a
bunch of letters for friends. That should arrive this next week, I
think. I do get to work out every morning. I wake up at 6:00 every
morning and do push ups and sit ups. And then we get 45 minutes of
gym time. There are two basketball/soccer courts in the back of the
CCM property. I play soccer pretty much every morning. It´s a lot of
fun. The Latinos are soo much fun to play with.
This morning we got to go to the market, which was sooo cool. We had
MCDONALD´S for lunch!!! It was soooo amazing haha! Before that
though we went to a park that had a huge topography map of Guatemala.
We got to see the contrast between the mountains and the coast and
everything. Right now we´re at about 6000 feet (I think). Retalhuleu
will be about 100 or 200 haha. And it´s going to be hot. It´s about
60 degrees every day here and I love it. But the map was cool, there
are a bunch of huge volcanos and little towns around them. Not sure
why, it doesn´t seem a very smart place to settle considering how most
of the volcanos have been active since this place was settled.
So after that we went to the market. We drove past the red zone on
our way, which was crazy to see again. I got a couple blurred
pictures this time. But the market was really interesting. It´s all
underground, under the central park. It´s really cramped and smells
kinda funny in certain places. Some parts of it are really loud and
people are shouting and cooking, and then other places look almost
like an overstuffed hobby lobby. There were soooo many cool things to
buy. The tricky thing is bartering for everything. Since we´re all
white, the vendors increase their prices by about 75% right off the
bat. So you have to cut that in half and work your way toward a
legitimate price. I bought a German soccer jersey for 60 Quetzales
($7.50) and a little woven bag for 50 Quetzales. And then I spent
about $6 dollars on lunch and $2 on bread later on. Everything is so
cheap, but I was sure to avoid being like a lot of the missionaries
and buying a bunch of useless stuff haha. Some of them got
ridiculous. But there are so many cool things to see and buy there,
it would be a great place to visit as a tourist. And it was really
strange, I was about a foot and a half taller than everyone else. I
felt very intimidating. I was sure to smile at everyone and it was
kind of funny. We got a lot of funny looks.
After the market we went to a modern mall. And it was a nice mall.
Just as nice as any in the US. It had Puma, Nike, Cole Haan, Bath and
Body Works, everything. It was strange to see the contrast of people
and prices. that´s where we ate McDonalds :) There were a lot of
wealthy people, lots of couples making out (Latinos don´t really care
about displaying love in public). There was a museum inside the mall
that had some cool info about Mayan architecture and culture. It was
cool. And that was ALL today! I´m sooo exhausted already!
I´ve been praying for you guys and I think about you a lot. It´s
weird to think about the similarities and differences in experiences
between Brock, Haley, and me, specifically regarding high school. It
sounds like you guys are very busy, but doing some great stuff.
I didn´t think to buy an sd card while I was at the mall, but I think
I´ll be able to get one once I get to Reu. But I have a few cool
pictures to send, and I won´t be needed my camera for anything cool
for awhile.
I have so much to study, but at the same time, I continue to learn so
much! I´m almost halfway through the BoM in spanish, and that´s been
really cool. We just read about Alma and Amulek and tonight about
Ammon. I love the book of Alma, it´s so powerful!
And I´ve been studying a lot about the Spirit lately, Preach My Gospel
has some great study activities and it´s helped sooo much. Although I
am still working on feeling the Spirit more strongly, it´s no longer a
concern for me. I just need to be more attentive, and have the
courage to act on the promptings I receive. That has made all the
difference this week. And the meeting with President Garrett came to
mind this week.
It sounds like you guys are doing great! I love hearing from you
guys. Mom, I loved your email. Thanks for the updates and the
advice. And the rest of yall, sorry I had to email a day early, but I
look forward to double emails next week ;)
Oh and no I don´t get to print out emails, which is a bummer. But
maybe in the field I´ll be able to do that. I don´t have any more
time, so I love you guys! Something that´s been a blessing since I´ve
been here is having the attitude of: Things are better because I was
here. That can apply to people, places, homework, everything. It´s
an awesome attitude that helps me think of ways to improve the things
around me. Love you guys! Good luck with this week!
Love,
Elder Austin Tyler
