I went proselyting for the first time!

Dear Family, Friends, Relatives, etc...             EMAIL from Guatemala MTC   8/18/12

To answer your questions mom, yes I have been getting letters from you, grandma cindy, camilla, and britney so far while I have been here.

I will be leaving in about three weeks from this Tuesday for the mission field.

Never heard anything about Permetherin yet. We haven}t really had any health training, but I think we are getting a lecture tomorrow about that stuff. We are going to become the Viejos of the CCM, and so we will be getting more and more instruction about the field in the comming weeks.

I am getting along fine with Elder Stuart. Our teacher, Hermano Vasquez has said that we teach with really good unity and we make a great team. So I guess that speaks for itself! Ha ha ha. We like to toss around a hackey-sack that I bought at the weekly store, and we try to have as much fun as we can, while striving to stay on topic as well.  He is a great guy!

I think I am a terrible district leader. Ha ha ha. But seriously. It almost seems impossible for me to find the balance to helping others stay on task, and yet at the same time not come across as annoying. I could be a better example myself, and I feel that overall, I am somehow missing something really important. I talked to President Nicolayson about it, and he said that sometimes the best leaders don{t get chosen, and that this must be my time to learn, to gain experience, and to learn to love others. I guess I just need to learn to love more. He shared with me his philosophy, 'Why use a sledgehammer when a tac hammer would work just fine.' Sometimes, I feel that the tac hammer doesn{t really work, but I don{t think upgrading the hammer will necessarily be the best. I have one week left, and I really hope I figure something out by then.

We have been getting thunderstorms, and they are AWESOME!!!! Just yesterday, we had the thickest rain that I think I{ve ever seen, and it was so cool. Some missionaries from my district went out in it, and they said it was like a shower, and that the rain came in sheets! Super cool stuff. Don{t worry, the rain comes every day, the thunder weekly, but it never actually touches us here in the CCM. Except at Gym, and then it{s awesome!!!!

Some other cool things about my life here:

I discovered that I will most likely be speaking Quechi rather than Quiche on my mission, so I bought a Quechi Book of Mormon and have been trying to study and translate it. I got a few words: yuwa=father laj=of li/lix = book, stuff like that!

What else? Ummm, oh!! I went proselyting for the first time this last Monday! And it was so much fun!!!!!!!!!!! Seriously! We went around in a part of Guatemala City, Elder Stuart, Elder Rodriguez, and I, and went around inviting others to learn more about the gospel. Most everyone we met was really friendly, and if they didn{t want to take a moment to listen to our message at first, they would when we said it would only be about five minutes of their time. They ALL love Jesus Christ here. I think everyone we asked all said that they believe in Jesus Christ as their Savior. Most wanted to learn more about us. There was one lady in particular that didn{t, and she exclaimed, Oh no, you guys worship Joseph Smith, and don{t believe in the Bible. Well, we obviously replied that these statements were not true, but she still didn{t want to hear from us. So we kindly left her and kept going.

From that experience, I learned that the most important thing about being a missionary is being enthusiastic about the work, and being animated about our message, because it is important!!!! I got along pretty well with my Spanish, so I did a lot of the talking. Elder Rodriguez was a big help though!

I want you to know that despite all the challenges I am having out here, I am seriously having a great time. I love it here, and I wouldn}t rather be anywhere else, with any other challenges. I am learning in ways that I never really understood before, and I feel great!

Well, I gotta go, but first send me on Dear Elder my friends addresses. Amber, Lacey, Alyssa, etc....

Gotta go, love you°

Elder Welker