A Short One

Hey family!

Okay first thing first.  My hija is awesome.  Her name is Hermana S, she is a cancer surviving chef from Honduras who dyed her hair purple before the mission.  Yeah, she is pretty cool.  We have just been loving it here in Guatemala trying to find more people to baptize here in SE.  I am the only sister in the whole mission who is training right now, which is a huge honor.  I am just grateful that I got to stay here in SE!

Really, I don't have much to say this week.  We have been stuck in  a ton of meetings and haven't been able to work... This makes me crazy.  But this week should be better! I am super excited to hit the ground running and teach some people the gospel. 

My district leader is Elder P again, which is cool.  He is a homie. He got bitten by a street dog this week which means 40 rabies shots in the stomach... poor kid.

I'm sorry this letter is lame... I am really hungry and I have a hard time focusing when I am hungry.

This week I got punched, called a witch, and robbed all in the same moment.... But the guy who attacked me was only 4 years old so, I will probably get over it.

Okay obviously I am just not feeling it this week.  I will repent and do better next week.  Just know that I love you all and I am praying for you every night.

LOVE YOU GUYS!

Hna Wise

OH!!!!

I almost forgot my good news! My very first convert, Jose is preparing to serve a mission!!! What a miracle. 

LOVE YOU!

Voy a dar luz...Otra Vez

Hola Familia!

So.... Changes.....

I AM GOING TO TRAIN AGAIN!!! Whoohoo! Best part is that I get to train here in SE.  Hermana P told me she was almost positive I was going to train and open again, but thank goodness she was wrong and I get to stay here.  That means that Hna S is off to another area, and I will likely finish my mission here.  I couldn't be happier.  Really, I love SE. 

This week was a good one.  The chicken pox cleared up.  Really, it was a pretty light case.  I probably only got 15 pox in total... and only 2 on my face so that is pretty good.   I definitely will have some scars.  But hey! They will just blend in with the scars that I already have from flea bites, so whatever. 

I cannot believe that we are already in June... Really, time absolutely FLIES on the mission.  This time last year I was eating bugs with Hermana Haymond now I am here in SE, same zone. Pretty crazy. 

This week was filled with tender mercies.  Being on the mission has really helped me draw nearer to God and help me understand better His love for His children.  I am going to explain 3 tender mercies that God showed us this week:

1.  This Sunday was fast and testimony meeting.  We ran around like crazy trying to get investigators to church but all of our investigators either disappeared, told us this Sunday no but next Sunday yes, or had dengue.  We went to church with NO ONE.  But by a miracle we had 4 new investigators show up at church.  The members brought friends.  It was a huge miracle.

So we started the meeting feeling content for the miracle of having investigators in church.  Our branch is really small so typically the same people share almost every testimony meeting.  However, as the meeting was closing, the second counselor stood up and asked if anyone else would like to share.  O, our 15 year old convert who changed his studies to go to church, launched out of his chair and walked to the front.  His testimony was powerful.  He said:

"I want to share my testimony and tell everyone that I really do know that the church is true.  The missionaries visited my family before, but I never had real intent.  I just prayed because the missionaries told me to... But I never got an answer because I didn't care.  When the sisters came it was different.  I felt the Spirit.  When they told us about how Joseph Smith saw God I really wanted to know if it was true.  I knelt down and really prayed The Spirit washed over me just like how it was when the sisters visited... I know the church is true.  I got baptized two weeks ago and I know that we are going to stay here forever.  I am excited to be an eternal family in a year and I invite all of you who have not been baptized to pray and ask God like I did, because I know that you can get an answer too."

It was incredible.  He just blew me away.  We as missionaries really don't do anything.  We can't change anyone.  The Spirit makes the difference.

2.  Yesterday for Pday we all went into the capital to eat TGI Fridays as a district (with permission... we aren't chambones).  Well, the rain picked up and all the buses stopped running, leaving us stranded outside our area without a phone and with no way to return to SE.  We didn't know what we were going to do so we hurried and prayed.  Within 5 minutes of ending the prayer, a family of members who is visiting Guatemala drove by, stopped and asked us for if we needed help, and then returned us to our area. 

They told us:

"We just felt like we should pull over."

Huge tender mercy.

3.  Hermana C called me.  She is doing great.  She received the notice that she and Hermana W are staying together, but they will be opening area out there in S.  Giant miracle.  Poor kid was struggling getting any traction in her area out there.  Pray that she will find success!

Well, that is all for this week folks!  I am going to include a picture that we took in Antigua outside of (one of) the giant Catholic churches out there....

I LOVE THE MISSION!  Wow, just can't say it enough.  

Yo les amo! Tengan una feliz semana y lean El Libro de Mormon!!!!

Con amor

Hna Wise

Let's play.... GUESS THAT ENFERMEDAD!!!!

Hey Family,

Currently I am sitting in a sketchy internet cafe in Guatemala listening to very inappropriate American music.... Sigh.... These people can't even understand it.  I am just sitting here humming hymns softly to myself as I try to write my family.

Anyways.  This past week was absolutely nuts.  President Markham decided to have a mission wide competition to try and find "the perfect district."  It was super fun and every day we had a different "challenge" for example, to look for new investigators, to have lessons with members present, lessons taught in the house of a member, etc.  Well our district is only us and the elders of J.  But.... We are all pathologically competitive.  We slayed the whole mission.  Did we wake up at 3 AM to start working? Maybe.  Did we literally sprint to every appointment? Yes.  Did we interrupt soccer games to teach youth the gospel to find 15 new investigators all at once? Shamelessly.  Did Elder L lie to us all week saying we were losing by 60 points so we would work harder? Yes he did.... And we may never forgive him. 

But we won! So tomorrow we get to eat lunch with President and Hermana Markham.  We are pretty excited. 

Well the day after we won, I woke up with a horrible fever.  Let's play everyone's favorite game.... WHAT ILLNESS DID HERMANA WISE PICK UP IN GUATEMALA?!

This week, for 50 points we have three options:

1. Dengue

2. Bird Flu

3. Chicken Pox

Place your guesses people!

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Ready?

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If you guessed C, Chicken Pox, YOU WIN!!!! That is right people.  I HAVE CHICKEN POX!!!! Like, what the heck?! Isn't that an illness for children?! Didn't I get a vaccine for that?! Didn't I sleep in the same bed as my sister when she had it and I never got sick?! Didn't I get a booster vaccine for that before coming on the mission?

But none of that matters apparently, when you are in Guatemala.  I have Chicken Pox.... It is kinda the worst.  But whatever.  We are teaching a family and after being in the house for 20 minutes the Mom announced to us that all the kids have it.... Sure enough 2 days later I woke up with Chicken Pox.  Kinda peeved. 

But it does make for an interesting door approach:

"Hi, we are representatives of Jesus Christ.  We are here to share a message that will change your life.  But before we start, has everyone in your household already had chicken pox?"

"no"

(takes three giant steps backward)

"What day next week can we visit you?"

The funniest part was that after getting completely destroyed by Chicken Pox, Elder L (the district leader) also woke up with a crazy fever... But he doesn't have Chicken Pox just an intense intestinal infection (been there done that).  We quickly went from the perfect district to the district most likely to get hospitalized. ;)

But aside from being sick, this week has been great.  The S family all got confirmed on Sunday (even though they are all sick too... With Dengue).  It was such a special moment to see them all together join the church.  Now if you ask them what their goals are, they all say THE TEMPLE!!!  I better start saving up... Because I promised that I would be there with them. 

Well, that is about it for this week. 

Love you guys! Make good choices and read the Book of Mormon!!!

I am itchy!!!

Hna Wise