IN THE FIELD!

HEY! So I made it. I'm here in Reu (Retalhuleu) and I only have a little bit of time to tell you guys that. But I made it, safely. And we are meeting our trainers today, eating lunch, then going to drop off our stuff at our houses, then TRACTING!!!!! YEEEEEEEE! haha, so that's it for now. P-day is on Monday. So talk to you then!!!!! LOVE YOU!!!
> -Elder Darling

Last email from inside the CCM!!

Howdy! This week has gone by crazy fast and we are one week away from el campo. ¡DOPE! Spanish is coming along really well for our whole district and we are all super ready to go out and do the Lord´s work! Yesterday Elder Gessell wasn't feeling good so he laid down for the first part of the day, and i ended up teaching our investigator by myself but another companionship just sat in with me. It went really well. I got her to commit to a lot and she is on her way to baptism! haha if only it were real! But pretty soon it will be! 

Sp Today is P-day and last week our CCM´s schedule changed and now we have 10 hours of p-day and its the same in the field so now we have from lunch to dinner of sports which is so awesome! I have gotten really good at vollyball and bump haha. and I workout sometimes but usually its a quick workout then sports. We also have an hour everyday outside to play and it is super nice to get a break from all of the classes and lessons and stuff. 

Not a lot of anything special happened this week. So there isn't much to talk about. M birthday went well, thank you for all of the Happy birthday wishes! We got to go to the temple one last time this morning before we go into the field and it was really special. AHH! haha I woke up in such a good mood today it has BEEN SUCH A GREAT DAY!!!!!!!! 

OH!!!! Before I forget! Elder Cook is in my District and we are going to the same mission. Anyway. For dinner one night they gave us cupcakes with our food. And I hear laughing coming from behind me so i turned to see what was going on. The cupcakes were chocolate cake with blue frosting. Elder Cook's mouth was blue, not just blue....BLUE. Hahaa he had a chuck of food-coloring inside of his frosting and he was chewing it like gum. He had no idea until he spit. I have never seen such a strong color of blue in my life! AHHHH I died! He was spitting in the sink and brushing his teeth for probably like 20 minutes. barely changed anything. His mouth was blue....BLUE for like 2 whole days. He had also spit into a basura on our floor right next to the water fountian and so there was blue water leaking out the bottom because of all the water cups and the spit was so concentrated, it was AWESOME (Like in the Tommy-Boy voice awesome)

Thats all thats happened this week thats been anything special, it was a rather normal week, just watching the time fly by and prepping for the field. almost there!

Love you all! Keep doing good and pray often!!!

-Elder Darling

First pict of Elder Darling in CCM

The boys' cousin Elder Roberts emailed some pictures home upon his arrival in Honduras.

"I'm like a kid in a candy bar"

So hi:)

This week has been good, guess what?! We got the chance to go to a devotional Where Elder Rasband from the quorum of the 12 and his esposa spoke. It was crazy powerful. When he walked in he walked right passed Elder Gessell and I because we were right in the front and on the side by where the door was. As soon as I saw him and his wife I knew instantly that he was an apostle of the Lord and that he was an extremely spiritually powerful man. My heart was beating so hard it was awesome! His talk was basically about how as missionaries we are literally called by JesuCristo and that we need to be worthy representatives and that we need to represent him our whole life. We need to be "Witnesses in the name of Christ in all the world". It was absolutly beautiful the amount of spirit that was in that meeting. 

Oh! Also, I was called as the new district leader for the district of ISAIAS (Isiah) so that´s pretty cool, and we have had some very spiritual meetings in these past few days, and it´s just us and its awesome. I absolutly love my district, they are all amazing. WHich brings me to something else haha. Elder Hoskinson, from montana, has basically sold me montana since we have been here. He is super awesome and goodness! Montana sounds absolutly amazing!!!!!!! We have also been swapping our songs that we have written and everything he is so coolio! 

Elder Gessell and I are doing good with our "investigators." (members who let us practice teaching them and helping them with their fake issues) although every time we are getting a new one we are told that our last one "died".... huh.  but that´s okay. haha Spanish is coming along for both us us very well we can carry on full conversations and understand almost all the El Libro de Mormón when we read it. 

So the Headline of this email is a direct quote from our afternoon teacher Hmo Colindres, hahahahahahahahaha I freakin died! Because He was trying to say that he felt like a kid in a candy shop but I like candy bar soo much better hahahaha. ALSO! Last night in class, it was late. we were tired, and we were almost done for the day and he writes a scentence on the board and the last word reads, "apostololes" Then Elder Ricks goes "ApostolOLOLOLOLOLOLOS" hahahahahahahahahaha The entire class (our district) had a laughing fit for like 6 minutes haha it was soooo funny. 

We have gotten to see a little bit of the city when we went to the devotional because it was at a chapel, and OH MY GOODNESS! Guatemala is AMAZING!!!!!!! it is crazy cool! I can't wait to send pictures! Only two more weeks!!!!!!!

Not much else has happened this last week except after all the the "older group" left last week we got a whole new group of new ones so getting to know them has been pretty cool, one is from Utah and played lacrosse so we talked with him for a while. 

Oh! haha before i forget, our District does these sentence things to learn grammar and we started something. So far we have "Tacos de gato" hahaha and "Gato-Bell" hehe, so those make their way onto the whiteboard everyday. Also! Elder Gessell and I started a "CUP-CHALLENGE" hha they have these pyramid water cups here that are paper and we started eating them from drinking position and you can´t use your hands and the other day We saw Elder Whelan´s district doing it too hahaha. So that´s awesome. (Narrator note: we have absolutely no idea what he means here, but we don't think it's too much of a stretch to believe that they are literally eating these cups. Back to the email) We have had so many good ideas here but i think the best so far is a TV show just like the office but it would be "The MTC" and i think you get the idea hahaha because there are so many funny things that happen here. 

Anyway, thanks for the emails! I love yáll and miss you guys muchas. Keep doing good!

Almost forgot, HAPPY VALENTINES DAY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!💚💙💛💜💝💜💙💙❤💓💔💞💞💗💔💓💜💝💞💜💛💛💟💚💝💞💜💛 LOVE YOU ALL!!!!

-Elder Darling

Yo!!

hey yall. this week has been pretty good so far. we just got back from wendeys and it was DOPE!!! haha. nothing really special has happened this week. it has gone pretty well though. We had  an awesome fast sunday and had some super spiritual moments and devotionals. sorry, i am writing like super fast so please look beyond the errors. 

All of the elders and hermamas that were here when we got here left this morning so we got to say good bye to Elder Roberts and visit with him a little bit last night. 

Not much else has really happened, spanish is progressing quickly and my faith is growing even faster. 

I actually have had some of the most spiritual expiriences while i have been on my knees here in the CCM. I have had the opportunity so say some pretty long prayers and i have recieved so many blessings and answers because of it. 

For example, I was presented with the opportunity to go with the latino elders for the last three weeks or so becuse of my spanish and i was all for it! I would have gone with them to their classes and had a latino as a comp. But then I decided to pray and really ask my father in heaven about it. I spent a pretty significant amount of time on my knees, (kneeling on my Nike sliders which are pretty bomb) and through really listening and acting in faith i found that there is a bigger reason that i am with the district and the people that i am with right now. Not totally sure what that purpose is but I know this through truley asking and talking to my Father in Heaven. If there is anything that i have leaned so far it's that we must trust in the Lord and Go forward and do work. 

I have been able to do a LOT of thinking about my life and its rather amazing when i lok back on all of the blessings that i have recieved in these eighteen years. Its rather crazy. And Boy am i grateful. 

Elder Gessell and I are doing great with our "investigators". they have been throwing us curveballs like all week in the lessons, in spanish of course, and we adapt rather easily and with lots of help from the Holy Ghost. Its pretty awesome, The holy ghost and i are like really good friends now and its pretty dope. Usually its a one way conversation where he wispers me something to do then...i do it. then my life changes a litle bit. haha thats a funny way to explain it it but thats basically what happens. 

It's been a pretty chill week besides when we hear gun shots every now and then from down the street. There havent been anymore exploding dirt trucks either which is lame:/  :) 

Love you all! Keep the Lord on your mind and do good!!!

Elder Darling, Out