Well I do not have much to say today as I said it all yesterday. Things are doing great and I am having the best day of my life!
-- Having the best day of his life, Elder Gruber
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Well this week was a really full week. On Tuesday we had changes and in the morning I went to Sanarate to stay with Elder Mattiaccio while we waited for our companions. My new comp is really nice and we get along really well as we have a lot in common. My new companion is Elder Mendoza and he is from El Salvador. He has 15 months in the mission.
Friday we had mission council which is always a lot of fun especially because Sister Caffaro brings breakfast and they order lunch for everyone which is always really good. Sunday was stake conference and after stake conference we had interviews with President Caffaro. Other than that nothing much happened this week. I do not understand how I can be getting 8 hours of sleep but yet I am more tired than ever; it just does not make any sense to me. I am still enjoying it here in Guatemala and can not believe how fast time is going. -- Having the best day of his life, Elder Gruber Well this week was a really great week. Last Monday we took a 30 minute bus ride up a mountain and then had a 10 minute walk down to a waterfall and we made sure to take some pretty awesome photos! On Friday we helped at mutual teaching the youth how to contact and then doing practices with them. Saturday the stake had a mini EFY and they also invited us to go and teach the youth of the stake (ages 14-18) how to contact and then we split up into groups and went out contacting with them for an hour. Yesterday we found out changes and I will be staying in my area as Zone Leader again and will receive my new companion Elder Mendoza. Elder Clarke will stay in the zone too just in a different area.
Today we woke up at 4 a.m., ate breakfast, and left our house at 5 a.m. to go hike a water volcano (Jumay [hum-i]) in our zone. It was a 30 minute walk to start of the trail and then another 3 hours up. Not anything like a hike in the northwest but it reminded me how much I love hiking and how out of shape I am. I fear I will not be able to walk tomorrow. Other than that not much is new. Loving the work and enjoying every moment. -- Having the best day of his life, Elder Gruber Well this week went crazy fast, AGAIN! On Monday we went to Jutiapa to stay the night there with the Zone Leaders so we could get to the multi-zone conference on time the next day and let me tell you I am so glad I am not in Jutiapa... it is SO hot! Tuesday we woke up at 3:30 a.m. and went to the multi-zone conference in Don Justo which went really well and then went with the assistants to have divisions with them in Santa Fe. On Thursday I stayed in my area on divisions with Elder Cornejo (elder rabbit) and on Saturday we had a baptism! I am loving it here in Jalapa and things are doing great and we are seeing a lot of success. Things with Elder Clarke are going great too and I am truly loving and enjoying every moment that I have because the time is going so fast too, I can not believe it.
-- Having the best day of his life, Elder Gruber Well this week was a crazy week and it seemed to go by so fast. My new comp, Elder Clarke, knows how to make ties so we picked up some fabric last Monday and he is going to teach me how to make some (will finish it today).
All week I have been sick. I have had horrible headaches everyday this week (up until Sunday), have been dead tired, and my body has just been sore/ached all week too. It was no fun to work this week but went out and pushed through it and now I am all better. We also finished moving houses and they closed the old house I was living in and took all the furniture out. We gave some of the furniture away to a single mom here in the ward too who does not have a lot (of course after asking for permission from president) and she was so happy to receive it all; she had tears in her eyes. Things with Elder Clarke are doing great. I love being with another American, it is just so much better. This Thursday also started "Semana Santa" or "Holy week." Everyone left for vacations and all the stores and restaurants shut down until Sunday afternoon or today. It was like a ghost town and made it a little hard to work because no one was home so we taught some cows. The Catholics made a lot of cool sand designs in the streets using large stencils and had their processions carrying their saints and idols and even Jesus through the streets. Other than that and the fire we had in the house (see attached photos) not much is new. Tomorrow we will have a multi-zone conference and then divisions with the assistants and hopefully a baptism this Saturday. I am loving every moment and having the best day of my life! -- Having the best day of his life, Elder Gruber Well this week started off normal and then turned into the craziest week of my mission. On Tuesday I went on divisions to Sanarte which is very hot and humid like Taxisco but not quite as hot and had a great day. Wednesday I stayed in my area for divisions and Thursday was just a normal day and we gave service taking the paint off of a car. On Friday we had Interviews with President Caffaro and that is when he informed me that my companion was being sent home for disobedience (something he did last change). After interviews we went home, my companion packed his bags, and we left for the white house (mission house). I then left with the assistants and stayed with them for the night and helped them paint and move into their new house. That night President informed us that Elder Clarke would be my new companion in the same area. That he will still be District Leader but will help me out too as a Zone Leader. So on Saturday morning Elder Clarke came into the mission offices and we went back to our area. Elder Clarke´s old companion also had changes but just went to a new area. Our area is now twice the size but all is doing well. We should have some more baptisms here at the end of the month too if all goes as planned. It is crazy how fast time is going but I am enjoying every moment.
-- Having the best day of his life, Elder Gruber Well this week went crazy fast. Monday to Thursday night was just normal but on Thursday night we had an fellow shipping night as a ward in the house of a member and had a bonfire with a small spiritual message. We brought a lot of Investigators and recent converts and it went really well.
On Friday we woke up at 3 a.m. to go to mission council and got back around 5 p.m.. Mission council went well but nothing new or interesting. Saturday we watched general conference here in the family history center in English. Had a small pizza party for lunch and in between the afternoon session and the priesthood session we had 3 baptisms. Sunday was more conference and a Family home evening with an investigator family. Once again we have no water in the house so we showered in the house of the elders today who live two blocks from us. All is doing well and things are great. I also want to invite all to post on their facebook page the new video from the church "Prince of Peace" for this easter season. p.s. Please do not forward the email to Em or let her read it from your phone. She has not sent me any emails for the longest time and this is the only way I can "punish her." Same goes for the photos I uploaded. Until she sends me photos, videos, or an email she will be banned from my updates. Love you all and thanks for always writing me. Omi, Marcus, Nate, Matt, and Chance have all written me more than Em. Even some other elders here in the mission. -- Having the best day of his life, Elder Gruber Well this week has been a crazy week. Monday I went around saying goodbye to the members in La Brigada and finished packing which is always the worst part about changes. Tuesday we had to wake up at 4 a.m. and we waited in front of the stake center from 5 - 6am until the bus finally came. It was just a large school bus and everyone with changes piled in and it brought us to Montufar. In Montufar I saw Elder Hansen and he is going to the Florida zone right as I left. From there we took a smaller bus to Centro Norte (1 hour bus ride) which is a large bus station here in Guatemala outside of our mission. We then got on a larger bus for 3 hours that brought us to our area here in Jalapa. Our area is nothing like Taxisco. It is a lot different. In front of our house we have a little shopping center and our area reminds me a lot like Logandale, NV. It is hot but it is a dry heat and is a lot like a desert. We have some little villages too in our area that are 30 minutes away walking and out there there is nothing; it is just like a barren desert with a couple of tin houses. On Wednesday we woke up and our shower was not working so we had to shower using a one gallon jug of water and that was not fun. There was no water in the house either, just 2 gallon jugs of water; one for me and one for my comp. We then had a great Zone Council and got to know the area. We had ward council and the members here seem really awesome. We also share the ward with 2 other missionaries (Elder Clarke and Elder Corrales) which makes it a little weird at times but it is great. Thursday we had a large Family Home Evening in the church but the whole ward and friends were invited and it went really well. The members here are great and it should be an awesome change. On Friday we finally got water back so we could finally take a hot shower and use more than just 1 gallon of water. It was so nice! Overall things are going well and we have already seen a lot of success. We could possibly have 3 baptisms this weekend if all goes well. The members have also given us dinner every night too. It is great but the food is not all that healthy and it makes me worried that I could gain more weight. I am excited to be working here in Minerva Jalapa. The zone, the ward (161 people in church last Sunday), and the area are all fantastic. -- Having the best day of his life, Elder Gruber New Comp
Well this week was a normal week, nothing to special happend. On Tuesday we did a surprise inspection in San Jose and did a study with them too. We then had district councils and had a great week. Had divisions with Elder Clarke and Elder Trochez this week too. We gave service by helping someone move and then invited them to listen to our message. They accepted and were very receptive. It was a very great lesson but too bad they lived in Santa Marta and not in my area.
We found out changes last night and I will be going to Minerva Jalapa outside of the capital as Zone Leader there with Elder Rivas reopening the area. It should be a lot of fun but it should also be really hot and I fear for the food. I have been spoiled in this area with great lunch and breakfast. I am glad to have changes as this has been the hardest change of my mission and I think it has mainly been because of my companion. It has been a rough six weeks but I have learned a lot and it has still been a lot of fun! -- Having the best day of his life, Elder Gruber Well this week went really fast. On Monday we went to San Juan for P-Day and looked through the market there which was full of really cool stuff that I would never use. On Tuesday we had stake correlation where we met with the stake president and discussed how the missionary work is going in the zone/stake and how the stake president can help us keep progressing. On Tuesday we also had another Zone Council and the zone is doing great and I think it has changed a lot since I got here. We have had 5 baptisms in the zone as of right now and that is what we achieved in the entire month of February. I feel great and more comfortable as zone leader now.
Wednesday I was with Elder Clarke in my area and then Thursday I was with Elder Balam in my area again. The time goes twice as fast when we have divisions, it is crazy. On Friday as we got back to the house we noticed our street was taped off with caution tape and there was a police presence in the area and an ambulance in front of our house. As we walked our street to get to our house we saw that someone had been murdered as there was a body bag in front of our house. We learned the next day that he had been shot in front of our house and 2 blocks down 4 others were shot and killed. We were glad we had been working on the other side of the area that day. Saturday as we were walking in the street I saw something that I will only ever see here in Guatemala. There was a women about 50-60 years old who had pulled up her skirt and was pooping in the street!!! I could not believe my eyes. How crazy is that? Overall a great week full of interesting advents. I am doing great! The Elders in La Florida were also robbed 2 times in one day and one of the times the guy had a knife so they took the missionaries out and closed the area as the guy had been following them too (stalking them). I never thought that this zone would be so dangerous... I never feel in danger though and I am never worried. I think it is all over exaggerated at times. -- Having the best day of his life, Elder Gruber |