Friday, April 29, 2011

Easter

Hey! this is just a quick shout out to the fam and everyone at home! how are you! I hope you enjoyed the week of remembering th final steps of our Savior and what he did for us.

This was quite the week! Semana Santa here in Antigua is unlike anything you have ever seen! There were people everywhere in the street, with their processions of Christ and the Virgin and the whole bit. I think the pictures will be able to explain better. We had a ton of success this week and I actually wish every week was Semana Santa because the whole country has practically the whole week off and the dads are actually in the house! Families are spending time together and we got to contact a ton of pilas families in the street.

We had an awesome Zone Conference this week too. I love Zone Conference!! It´s like Thanksgiving for a missionary. We got to see a talk E holland had just given in the MTC and when I heard his words my heart was on fire!!! I felt the whole time like he was talking just to me and I received so many answers to questions I had. To Dan Johnson or anyone else teaching at the MTC, Im sure you know the talk im talking about, its incredible and I hope you can all see it! Im going to attach a picture for Dan too, tell me if you recognize this companion....

Some interesting events from this week were, on Saturday night, we had thought the processions were over because they celebrate Friday as the big day because Jesus has died. We find it ironic that they do nothing to celebrate on sunday or the resurrection, which is sad but true. So we walked through the center to get back to our bus stop. It was crazy!!! there were still processions going on and we were right in the middle of it! It was nuts. WE made it back to the bus station just fine and were waiting for the bus to leave for about 15 minutes. It finally left, only to break down when we had just pulled out of the bus stop place!!! So we sat and waited while some guy, by himself pushed the bus to the side and we ended up having to walk home!!! I know I dont do these stories justice, but ill retell them when i get home. just know that there arent many dull moments! also, a dead spider came pouring out of our water pitcher this morning into my cup. I didnt do anything, i just looked at it, thought to myself, ït´s Guatemala¨and went and got another cup. I scare myself sometimes at how calm i guess you could say that Iñve become. You see so much in the mish that you just kind of get to the point where nothin really phases you anymore....haha life is great on this side of the world. I´d love for you all to check out Alma 13 27-29.

Hope you have a great week! Keep praying hard, know that Im praying for all of you. Love you and love this work!

Love,
Hermana Peach Wetzel

Sunday, April 10, 2011

Conference

Hello family!!!!!

We haven´t had changes yet, but tonight they let us know where the Lord wants us. I have a feeling I´m leaving and everyone else does too, but its been an emotional week! but none the less, Wow, this week was a blast.

Getting everyone ready for conference was so great! To invite people to come listen to a prophets voice is truly a remarkable experience. Sometimes we watched the video clip of President Monson and some of the other living apostles from the movie ¨Special Witnesses of Christ¨so that our investigators would be familiar with their faces and voices and then we would bare our testimonies that these men were called of God. Then to have nine investigators hear the real voice of the prophet, live was quite the incredible testimony builder. One of our most pilas investigtors said last night that¨I didn´t even have to question if President Monson was the prophet, I could just tell and I could feel that He was a man of God.¨ Then Franciso Obregon and his wife proceeded to tell us that they both want to be baptized! I truly was so happy for them that they had obtained their own testimonies strong enough about the prophet and the gospel of Jesus Christ to take this step. I know that Conference was the extra push that they needed.( I´m cnvinced more people always get baptized around conference time, its great). I know that they simply can´t deny what they felt or comply with some of the things they said before like, ¨We´d like to know more, we want to wait, we want to be able to explain everything when our friends ask us¨, things like that and we just keep re-emphazising faith, conversion, prayer, answers to prayer everything. But now, through the prophet and Apostle´s messages and testimonies, we have a family getting baptized. They are praying about their date for this month and we will check with them tonight. But this week turned out to be a great one and we are on the uphill climd t ohaving many baptisms this month.

I loved General Conference! One of my favorite quotes was one that somebody quoted president Benson saying, ¨I love this work, and it IS work!¨ That´s exactly how I feel! Elder Christofferson and Elder Grow´s talks were excellent for me. I have been trying to study the Atonement and repentance more lately and these two talks were answers to my prayers. I also received another big answer to prayer through President Monson´s talk. I wondered what we needed to do in my area to motivate the members and our investigators and prayed to know what they needed. The answer came in the form of temples. We are going to encourage everyone to go to the temple as often as they can and teach more of our recent converts about temple work, so they too can take part in the rich temple blessings. I am always impressed by Elder Bednar´s talks. At least in my experience, he has always hit it right on they money for our investigators. I feel like he is speaking directly to them! We also are going to focus on helping the people here in Amatitlan, or whereever I am serving, to establish ¨celstial traditions¨. These are the special things that we as members of the Church do, like FHE, family scripture study and prayer, to strengthen home and family. And can we please just talk about Elder Scott´s talk??? How cute is he!! I would someday like to meet his wife, but I know that I too have great examples of incredible women that are the best wives, mothers, grandmothers, friends and relatives. We definitely have a new and redediacted sense of enthusiasm for the work and I know this will be another great week, wherever I am.

Did you not all just love conference???? Im so excited to hear your insights. I can´t believe another six months have passed, but I sure am grateful for general conference. I know without a doubt that this is the true church of Christ. Thomas S. Msonson is the prophet of God and he is the person, who if we look to him and abide by the words he and the other apostles and leaders of the church have just spoken to us, we will be able to gain eternal life. After all, that´s what it´s all about right? Remember to keep the end goal in mind and that ÿour future is as bright as your faith.¨ah! there were so many good quotes from this conference, i cant wait to get the liahona. I love you and leave you with my testimony that this gospel is true and we are numbered among the most highly blessed of God´s children to have it. Go share it with everyone!!!!

I´ll let you know where the heck I am next week! Pray for me! Love you all, you´re in my prayers!


have a great week, love you all like I love guatemala.

con amor,
Hermana Wetzel