Hey Family!
I love you! =)
So this week was slow...not alot to report, sorry. The thing is that here in the city of Momostenango, every year there is a festival that comes to town called the "Feria." Schools shut down, the already narrow streets become clogged with venders` stands, carnival games, pizza sellers, and a whole other list of weird and interesting things to see and buy. The crappy part is that it lasts for 15 DAYS! So...all this week the streets have been full of people from all over Guatemala selling, buying, walking VERY slowly, and not being interested in learning about the Gospel because we can never get them to stay in their houses long enough to listen to a lesson. We had a whole MOUNTAIN of contacting opportunities, but the ones that were positive either did not live anywhere close to here, or they aren`t going to be in their houses to receive us until the Festival goes away. Hopefully it will be gone by the end of this week...hopefully. haha I`m just excited to get into making all of our plans work for us. We have a whole bunch of villages in our area and we need to start working there a lot more in order to find people to baptize. The people that live in the villages speak mostly Quiche, the local dialect, and hardly any of them can read, write, or have even gotten a more than 3 years of formal schooling. It presents both a challenge and a great opportunity. Teaching these people will be a good training for me to learn how to teach my future children I think...who knows what lessons I`ll take away from this area. One thing is for sure...if I had not sufficiently humbled myself before in my mission, these people will teach me how to be truely humble in every sense of the word.
Anyways, I`ll get right to answering questions this week! =) Happy day, right?! Right.
Mom, Dad, and Hope...I`m doin just fine! =) I like my area, even though it`s tough to find and teach and baptize here. I like my companion; he teaches me new things every day by his example. The only thing that we lack is a little communication and sharing of responsibilities. I guess I just keep expecting him to do the normal things that zone leaders do without asking, and then things fall through. I`m also, at the same time, trying not to micro-manage him OR the zone. I`m just trying to be good at my job without being a tyrant I guess. hahaha
Unfortunately, we haven`t had baptisms this week or last week. It`s because when I got here, we baptized the only two positive investigators in the area and now our investigator pools are almost dry. The responsibilities of a zone leader have NOT been making it easy to strengthen my area or my ward lately, but once the Festival goes away, things will get easier to plan and manage. I`ll let you know when we start finding more investigators so you can pray for them by name. One person that you CAN pray for is a 15 year old boy named Egil Ixtocayac (Eh-hill Ish-co-tah-yac). My companion and I have both given him blessings people his family came on their own to the Church to ask for one. He has some form of epilepsy. In the blessings I was inspired to give him the promise of complete healing for some reason, of course as he and his family show faith in the Lord by keeping his commandments. Pray for him...if our blessing works, that could be a whole family baptized very soon! =)
My next change date will be in two weeks, around the 16th of August. Yes, the change cycle is still a 6 week change cycle. The transitions that we`ve had to make in the zone have all gone smoothly and we`ve been struggling to find new investigators, but things are getting better. The Festival effects ALL the areas because everyone has come to Momos to sell their good and make money for their families, so once that goes away, things will calm down everywhere I think. And right now, due to the Festival...we`ve been teaching around 10 to 15 lessons a week. But soon we will be able to dig in and maybe get up to 25 - 35 lessons a week with a few baptisms mixed inbetween. =P
Okay, this letter has a lot of information in it for everyone to enjoy, so I`m going to end a little early. I hope everyone enjoys the picture I`m trying to paint of my mountainous, humble, VERY traditional area. I enjoy it here, and I`m learning a little more every day. I`m trying to come closer to my Savior and I think my efforts are being noticed on High. =) I`m happy and I`m not counting down the days. I know how much work I have left to do, and I`m willing to do it. I do it happily, and I`m trying to do what my Patriarchal Blessing tells me to. I`m trying to be grateful in all that I do and say and to always be happy with a joyful heart. I know that it`s been reflecting in my latest letters and emails, so I hope everyone at home is content as well. I love you all.
Love Always,
-Elder Preston William Tucker
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