Hey Family, Friends, and Future Missionaries,
Guatemala is beautiful, the weather is beautiful (although it rains at least once a day now), and the souls of the people are beautiful. It surprises me how fast and easy it is to fall in love with the people here in Guatemala. Their way of life is VERY different than ours in the States, their food is more simple and in smaller protions than in the States, but the personalities and the spirits of the people here are the same. I´m catching myself being reminded of certain people as I continue to meet and teach more members and investigators in my area and it is fun to see how similar we all are in very simple and sometimes barely noticeable ways. So that´s the big news this week: I love it here, but I haven´t and am not going to forget my home and every single one of you, my Family.
First, Mom and Dad, there are just a couple things that I have been forgetting to include in my emails for the last few weeks that I need you to find out for me. First, I have both my Debit and Credit Cards here, but am not allowed to use the internet to check their balances. So first, please find out what my debit balance is and make sure that my credit card is at even zero. Then, in your next email, just include a note about how much I have in my debit account. Next, we didn´t thing about this before, but both of my cards expire before my mission ends. Dad, I need you to find out if it is possible to extend their expiration dates until April of 2011 and then see if you can send me new cards (with the same pictures) with the new expirations dates. If you cant or if the bank wont allow that, I guess you´ll just have to wait until they expire and then renew them for me and send me the new cards at that time. Thanks! We get a debit card out in the field to manage and withdraw funds and it is refilled each month with about $190 (not much per month huh?). I feel confindent that I will be able to live within my assigned amount, but if I ever need any help from home, I might have to ask for it...Is that okay? Thanks for taking such good care of me in the past and teaching me to be a good saver. And that Thanks goes to you too Grandma Welling! You taught your grandson well. =)
Today I got a letter from a few of my friends from our home ward in Syracuse! I was way surprised and way excited to see what you all had done for me. Sending a letter with a bunch of letters from a bunch of different people is a cool idea and it really made me smile huge! Almost as huge as I smiled when I found out that we might be able to have four baptisms this month in our ward! To the Sucese Family: I miss you all SO much! Taylor, you´re crazy cool and I´m so glad that You made sure I knew you sent your greetings and love. And yes, Mama Sucese, I DO miss chocolate chip cookie nights! Be sure to have a batch ready for me in about 22 months okay? I´m totally gunna want some right about then. ;P McCalle, thanks for keeping an eye on my family for me, although I´m not sure if Taylor will appreciate that. =P To the Beeston Family: Thank you so much for your support. I just hope that I can set a good example for others and do the best that I can for the Lord. You are right Carolyn, the MTC was full of the spirit, but so is the field. The only difference is the work that it takes to create the same environment outside in the world. Thanks for your thoughts and prayers. And to Ashley Ashby: Thanks so much for sending your hopes for me out here to Guatemala. I miss the nights that I used to hang out at your house too. Maybe someday after my mission we´ll get to hang out like that again. But for right now I´ve got a few other people that need that comfortable spirit from me and I´m ready to make new memories so that I can share them when I get back, okay? =) Do your best in school, support your family, and we´ll have lots to talk about in about 22 months.
Now, to my Family and Future Missionary Friends! Sounds like Mom, Dad, and Hope have been really busy playing and working hard. Mom! How does it feel to be done with your first year as a Syracuse Titan?! I´m sure your happy for the rest and the opportunity to set yourself up with goals (metas) for the summer and the coming year. I know that the Lord is opening the windows of Heaven and pouring out His blessings on you, my family, becuase of your love and obedience...and maybe a little bit because I´m out here trying to do the same. =) I´m trying to share my heart, love, and gifts with the people here and I can tell that parts of my Patriarchal Blessing are becoming familiar. My Mission President believes that our missions are Spiritual Rendezvous and that every person that we teach and love here, we knew in the Pre-Existence and we were meant for this Time, and this Season, and this Harvest of the Lord. I believe the same as each and every day there are moments where my soul seems to transcend the veil and recognize the spirit of a brother or sister that I knew before and that it is now my work to bring them back Home. How Great is My Calling!
Hope, hold on, Summer is coming. I know that sometimes its hard not to be impatient, but all blessings come with time. =) I miss you and love you and hope and pray for all the best things for you every day. Try your very hardest to do well in school, swim hard and fast, and be obedient at home and I PROMISE that you will receive blessings! Okay? =D Love you!
I´m glad to hear that the procedure went well with Grandma. Thank you Mom, for keeping me up to date on stuff like that. It may seem little, but its very important to me.
To answer your questions in your DearElder that I received today, Mom: The climate is temperate here in the Capital. Usually a little warm and cool, lots of sun, until the rain for the day comes. The food that our neighbor cooks for us every lunch and dinner is great so far. We spend about $2 on each meal, which is not much considering Hermana Chacon´s generousity. Be comforted Mom, I´m getting fed well, but I am getting more fit every day. =) I think I´ll probably come home a little thin, but definately in good shape. =D For that I am extremely happy and thankful for my blessings. I believe We are in the same season, although the natives call this Winter (I think because of the rains). My new study goal is to read the Bible in English and study the Book of Mormon in Spanish. Thanks for your praise Mom, it was a big accomplishment for me too to read the Book of Mormon all the way through in the CCM. I DO listen to my music. I got it out yesteday and have listened to it a lot since then. I think even my companion likes some of it. Hermana Chacon does our laundry each week too, so that´s going to be fine. And I´m learning the mail system here and will get letters mailed soon.
Josh, keep working hard and get prepared. Travis, I´m so excited for your call! Learn Spanish well and we´ll have a lot to talk about after, OK?
Love you all, my time is up. Until next Week!
Always,
-Elder Preston William Tucker
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