The book of Life

ALASKA!

2011-10-19T21:42:00.000-06:00

we made to to AK! and we are already right where we belong! We bought a book- 50 hikes on the Kenai. And we are already knockin em off. This was a beautiful day on Skyline, near Cooper Landing.
(you can see this bigger- just click on it!)

2011-07-08T09:45:00.000-06:00

so, if you were wondering why i never post here anymore, its because i am writing on my other blog, the bike adventure one. If you want to keep up with our happenings, its www.canada2ak.blogspot.com
love you all.

The beginning

2011-05-07T10:24:00.001-06:00

Well, we began our bike trip yesterday after a long and annoying airport experience, and after only 1 day and 40 miles, i already love it :) here are a few pics.

putting the bikes together on the hotel lawn :) the lawnmowers were flabbergasted at our trip plans.

the first group shot! keith, michaela, mary and brad

Keith and Micheala gave me pinwheels for my birthday! AWESOME~

looking cool

my sweet ride

b-rads setup is a little more hardcore than mine :)

our biker buddies!

Homeless and FUNemployed....

2011-05-03T20:47:00.001-06:00

Well, b-rad and i just finished our last week of work with Aspiro for a while. We are headed out on our bike trip this thursday and will move to Alaska once we finally get there! We had a good winter, full of challenges and adventure, and our last week was no different! We will miss it around here... enjoy a few fotos from the week :)

swimming with tommy and michelle and the girls

making lists- we are doing that alot lately

making mud masks at work, right before we jumped in the lake! POLAR PLUNGE!

Will we ever see spring?

2011-04-29T18:42:00.001-06:00

Last week of work and its still snowing...

Moving on

2011-04-23T23:08:00.000-06:00

Well, once again its time to move on. We spent the week moving out of our apartment in sunny st george :( and packed up to head out on one last week of work, and then..... BIKE TOUR!!!! thats right, less than 2 weeks till take-off. Our car is loaded and our minds are racing. I am so excited/nervous. We shipped out bikes to Maine, monday we head out for our last week of work and then we say our goodbyes and fly out on the 5th of may. Here are a few pics of our last days in Dixie.

our little home :)

Loading the rodeo to the BRIM!

We'll miss our fun family down here!

And of course we took a climbing break... sorry there are not more pictures of that- it was the fun part!

Thanks for the camera mom!! turns out i really LIKE the pictures it takes! and Thanks a TON to the Lee's for helping us move out and clean and taking LOADS of crap to the D.I.
ADIOS!

mmmmm MOAB!

2011-02-27T22:38:00.000-07:00

hiking to some indian ruin in canyonlands... with Candlestick in the background.

Is this legit for a baby trailer...?

Brad, Mary, Angela, Jo, Leisel

seven mile canyon

i rode this sweet beachcruiser we found in angela's garage... not made for bumpy roads...

We finally made it to moab on an OFF week, which meant we could go and visit the Hays, our park ranger buddies, and see the newest little Hays. She hasnt slowed Angela down; we took her hiking and mountain biking :) A little more mellow, but still lost of fun :)

a bike adventure, eh?

2011-02-23T22:37:00.000-07:00

hey guys check out our new blog, the one we will be updating about our canada trip... be a follower!
canada2ak.blogspot.com
m-rad.

Poop with a view

2011-02-21T17:31:00.001-07:00

We have a great view from our basecamp outhouse :)

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Hard at work...

2011-02-09T19:16:00.003-07:00

a few shots from work this week!it was COLD in arches!!!

-love, mary b-rad

Our Summer Plans

2011-01-29T15:05:00.002-07:00

i know you have all been wondering, what could top a summer rafting and living in a tree house? Well, we found somthing that might. We decided to BIKE ACROSS CANADA!!! we will start in maine and head north and then west. wish us luck!! (we will probably start a bike blog, details later)

our route is marked in yellow. :)

Honey, I'm home!!

2011-01-29T14:48:00.003-07:00

At almost 82 years old, after 15+ years away from her husband, Grandma Florence finally made it back home!! She died about 5:50 pm on friday, January 28, 2011. We love you gram!!! We will miss you!

Anytime i eat KFC or a frosty, i'll remember you!!

"Now concerning the soul between the state of death and the resurrection- behold it has been made known unto me by an angel, that the spirits of all men, as soon as they are departed from this mortal body, ... are taken home to that God who gave them life.

And then shall it come to pass, that the spirits of those who are righteous are recieved into a state of happiness, which is called paradise, a state of rest, a state of peace, where they shall rest from all their toubles and from all care, and sorrow."

Alma 40:11-12

Nine months already!

2011-01-10T16:38:00.001-07:00

Our second christmas :)

2010-12-29T13:43:00.005-07:00

On the actual Christmas, B-rad and I were on trail in arches national park. It was, well, interesting :) We had a few special things for the kiddies- a decorated juniper, stockings around the fire pit, dutch oven christmas dinner, wrestling matches, games and a few great hikes!! Mix that in with a few fights, refusals, and shutdowns, and it made for a very merry christmas :) Just your average dysfunctional family of 6 teenage boys and 'parents' who dont quite know what to do with them :) I cant put pictures of students up on here, so it will just be some random guide shots, but enjoy!

Our first Christmas :)

2010-12-29T13:34:00.005-07:00

Hey all!! thanks for the christmas cards, wishes, and gift!!! i cant beleive the year is almost over!!! I thought i would just post a few pictures from our christmas this year! It was an interesting one- Brad and I celebrated our own christmas on the 18th, because we were on trail working for the 'real' holiday. things went well, i made a christmas ham, potato cheese caserole, puhla (finnish christmas bread), and had grandma florence over for a visit. we wont mention all the great christmas presents i tried to get brad that came in wrong sizes or styles... i guess buying gifts for a husband is an art i am still learning :) He scored though, knew the way into my heart with a sweet patagonia softshell! :)

here are a few pics of our holiday!

christmas eve cookies!

b-rad kneading the puhla...

Have a delicate christmas!

2010-12-25T16:44:00.001-07:00

Christmas on trail :)

Beautiful girls all over the world...

2010-12-14T09:04:00.001-07:00

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Mary christmas!

2010-11-27T21:06:00.001-07:00

Decorating for our first christmas! :)

Hats off to the halls!

2010-11-27T21:03:00.001-07:00

Dirk loved it :) thanks family!

dragonfly canyon

2010-11-23T16:05:00.005-07:00

Well, i keep meaning to update this, but i am just plain lazy and busy. so i will just throw a couple pics up to let you know i am still alive :) we recently went to Moab and arches to visit brian and angela, our park ranger friends, because angela is about to pop out a little betty, and while we were there we did a little slot canyon called dragonfly, with a couple rappels and a couple cold swims thru pot holes. it was an amazing fall adventure; courthouse wash is so pretty this time of year!
looking down into courthouse wash, arches natl park
brad on the last rappel

brad on the first rappel :)

trying to avoid potholes- impassable if you want to stay dry :)

even the pregnant lady angela hiked PART of it with us- she opted out of the slot and rappels... on account of the betty.

Trophy husband

2010-10-07T17:33:00.001-06:00

Making cookies :)

Workout

2010-10-06T13:27:00.001-06:00

Cassies new car had troubles so we had to push it to the shop...

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me fish with hands

2010-10-05T15:56:00.008-06:00

hey here are a couple pics i snagged from our fishing trip with my dad in prince william sound this summer. thanks kori! we had an overcast day of catching salmon with our bare hands :)

Veggie no more

2010-09-13T20:51:00.001-06:00

Real men eat meat :)

here's to you, Pop pop

2010-09-09T21:06:00.008-06:00

So- i posted these pics and the explanation got deleted. here's my second try. I dont blog much anymore, but here is a rundown of the last little while- we rafted our summer away in jackson, which was awesome :) i even got arm muscles to prove it. and we had a too short but nice vacation to alaska :) and then the water level went down, we stopped running the river, moved out of our tent (sigh) and into an APARTMENT! in st. george. WHEW! and hopefully will start working at aspiro once again this fall. but here are a few snippets of our life.
on the way down from disappointment peak with the Grand in the background. we hiked with angela and brian and b-rad brought his gorilla suit..

we found a GORILLA!

Keyhole canyon- a short but SUPER fun slot canyon in Zion. let the southern utah fun begin :)

we are posing as superheroes in Zion - at least thats what we told ourselves as we walked back to our car past dozens of confused tourists- wetsuits in the desert?
Then we mountain biked. its not as dangerous as it looks Olivia- we wear helmets!

biking Bear claw poppy trail in st george
the best single track roller coaster EVER!

our apartment...

Mustaches in Prince WIlliam Sound - our camera died so we didnt get too many shots in alaska but here is one from when my dad took us fishing.

Traffic jam

2010-08-30T19:24:00.001-06:00

Packin on back to jackson

Moving on...

2010-08-27T21:38:00.000-06:00

summers Almost over.

Four months and still going strong

2010-08-10T12:54:00.001-06:00

Happy after all :)

Teewinot

2010-07-27T20:46:00.005-06:00

Yesterday we hiked the many pinnacled mountain of teewinot, which is about 12,346 feet. its about 5,500 above jenny lake. anyhoo it was a pretty steep climb, from the trailhead it just goes straight up. my quads are nice and sore but it was mos def worth it :)

taking a dip on the way down

teewinot is the left one, the grand is the middle one

summit!

some nice exposed scramblage

pura mountaineer

Teewinot summit

2010-07-26T10:28:00.001-06:00

We made it!

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summertime in jackson finally came!!!

2010-07-09T11:44:00.003-06:00

PUES.... sorry i am terrible at blogging. but these pictures should explain why. as soon as the sun came out, so did we, and i havent been online much since. Here is proof that we are alive and kicking though.

beerad surfing taco hole on the snake river.. he's PRITTY GUD

Here is a shot of our home...bikes, boats, and a tent. LOVE IT

biking on the teton pass

trying to kayak the hoback river. dont you love the pink helmet???

rain rain go away

2010-06-09T20:45:00.005-06:00

so one of the boy scout rafts flipped their boat and lost an oar; b-rad saved them and ended up having to paddle through lunch counter with only one oar...and had the best line of the day. what a champ :)

(b-rad kayaking sheep falls in ID)

Well, i guess its time for an update, live from rainy and chill Jackson, WY. For those who are worried, interested, nosy, curious, or just plain bored, mary and b-rad are still alive, and hitting the two month mark TOMORROW!

The river just quadroupled in size in the last week, making 13 year records for high water and great waves for the whitewater. unfortunately, this also brought water to our tent door. With a little emergency evacuation, nothing was lost, but construction on the tree home was pushed into high gear. Mary is getting pretty darn good with a hammer and a circular hand saw, and b-rad is working overtime to provide a 'home' :)

B-rads dad came up and we played with the scouts for a couple days. i hope i never get that calling. we took them down the river, which was my first time guiding the whole whitewater section without another guide in the boat. Even though i was positive we would flip the thing in lunch counter, i made it through, and i dont think the ride was half bad! teh second run down they flipped a boat, but it wasnt mine thankfully :) those crazy boys.

Tommy came up and went down the river with us today, that was a pretty good time- rode the bull (right up front) the whole time, guaranteed plenty facefulls of the snake river. Thanks for playing tom!

Well, all this talking is making my sore throat hurt even more. No, i dont know WHAT is making it hurt more, but its annoying all the same.

I am still hopeful that the sun will come out in jackson and that we will actually get a few kickball games in. Maybe next week.

Rainy day rides are muddy

2010-06-03T18:52:00.001-06:00

I always forget how much i love biking until i go again. :)

what not to do

2010-06-01T14:15:00.000-06:00

good thing they dont know whats going on behind the scenes... oh the joys of learning to guide...

Wilson adventures

2010-05-18T21:03:00.001-06:00

I am afraid of goats i guess.

Finally warm

2010-05-16T18:32:00.001-06:00

life is in tents.

2010-05-11T20:59:00.005-06:00

the kitchen. this is where the magic happens folks. since then we have however, moved storage out of the kitchen and into the new bigger tent. so it looks a little more organized. you get the picture though right? extra points if you can find the cowbell and the triangle bell in this shot, courtesy of the ricks clan.

check out this hawaiian lady- she was loving life even though it was freezing... she hugged us when it was all over. the guy behind her didnt seem as jazzed- you just cant impress people from wisconsin.

just a night out on the porch.

Pues... i went rafting today. it was not even 40 degrees. I am finally starting to do what i came here to do. but its way to cold for this. luckily b-rad gets paid for it :) tomorrow we'll do it again! they let me row, and we got a nice big tent to live in while we sort out our treehome issues. Thanks tommy! anyhoo, here are a few shots of life on the river with the Burtons.

FWD:

2010-05-07T13:31:00.001-06:00

Happy Birthday.

Happy birthday to me :)

2010-05-07T13:29:00.001-06:00

Kayak cakes! Thanks michelle!

jackson in may...

2010-05-05T14:40:00.000-06:00

Oh how i love thee. Let me count the layers...

Living the dream in wyoming

2010-05-04T16:59:00.001-06:00

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pictureless post

2010-05-04T15:52:00.003-06:00

pues.... i decided maybe now is a good time to start blogging again. and not just posting pictures, but really blogging you know? Mostly this stems from the fact that me journal is highly neglected and i feel guilty for not recording my life. That and here i am in jackson but its not the kind of weather that makes me want to be out there. It actually makes me want to be INSIDE. yes, this may, i think i will be an indoor cat. it would be way more productive if i had money for a climbing gym pass, then i could workout and be inside at the same time.
but i have a list of things i can do indoors that because of my constant outside-ness, i havent ever gotten around to.
-learn to play my guitar
-learn all the plants and wildlife on the snake, so as to woo all my future rafting clients...
-learn to sew, or crotchet, or somthing along those lines
-get back into reading. and writing. two neglected loves.
-come up with a really intense ab workout that will make me better at EVERYTHING

okay thats enough- may isnt THAT long, and i am sure i can get a couple ski days in up on the pass. if only i could just get out of the box with WIND.
love you long time.

Pearls and the snake

2010-05-03T13:04:00.001-06:00

Just making lunch in the kitchen

tree hugging for dad.

2010-04-21T20:10:00.002-06:00

this is for you pop. we did this right after eating hummus and granola...

life with the burtons- pretty much happily ever after, ALREADY!

2010-04-21T19:30:00.008-06:00

THE WEDDING

As you might guess from the date, i got married and am still officially on a honeymoon. And officially a happy mrs. burton :)i may or may not have thrown my wedding cake at brad, accidentally hitting a great uncle i dont even know. whoops. the makings of a real party.... We started the whole adventure with a white wedding in st george, utah, where we had a smashing turnout. thanks to everyone who made the trip! Honestly, my wedding and reception turned out exactly how i wanted- fun, relaxed, and worth the trip. Even if my hair didnt cooperate...

THE HONEYMOON

We are honeymooning doing what we do best- road tripping without a plan, armed with tent, food box and climbing gear. We started with a couple nights in Zion, then headed west to climb red rocks in vegas and hit up the temple while there. After that, Joshua tree to lost our fingertips on the not so gniess rock there. Then south to san diego temple and beach, and north again thru bakersfield where we discovered some sweet camping and hot springs, followed by breatht aking Sequoia national park. How come i have never heard of that one? it doesnt get near as much credit as it deserves. up next? YOSEMITE!

alright, well i am exhausted from blogging and thats a lot to look at for now. So enjoy my travels until next time!!!

love mary beerad.

Jammin

2010-04-03T15:31:00.001-06:00

On the white rim

Hard at work

2010-03-29T20:13:00.001-06:00

table master

Color me krishna!

2010-03-27T18:30:00.001-06:00

Hare krishna!!

2010-03-25T12:45:00.001-06:00

Groom suit- check !

yeah im on ma way

2010-03-25T12:17:00.001-06:00

temple clothes- check. Marriage license- check.

Better call better homes and gardens

2010-03-23T18:30:00.005-06:00

Well, took a little trip to idaho falls and saw the Halls, good times, hit up the ghee, and well, it was good to be back. i feel a little piece of me in idaho forever.

But in other news, we swung by jackson and got some shots of the treehouse. for those of you who dont know, brad and i are building on the snake river. right now its just the platform. but we have a killer view of the snake river, since we are building on the banks. No worries about flooding though, the water levels are low this year, AND we are 20 feet up in a tree!!!!!

Back at the ghee...

2010-03-20T16:12:00.001-06:00

I love you tetons

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Yes i ran in green today

2010-03-17T23:59:00.001-06:00

St pattys day run :) for one...

Happy st pattys day!

2010-03-17T09:23:00.001-06:00

Green eggs and ham... Mmmm

A bicycle built for two

2010-03-11T16:17:00.001-07:00

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upon the seat

2010-03-11T16:15:00.001-07:00

Me and b

Alyeska

2010-03-09T23:19:00.001-07:00

I heart winter. And brad.

Lets go rodeo!

2010-03-06T15:35:00.001-07:00

Its in both our names... The burtons got a rodeo...

2010-02-18T11:39:00.002-07:00

well, we just booked the temple. i guess this thing is really gonna happen!!! april 10th at 10 am. easy to remember right?

sorry i am lame blogger lately. For some reason, i just lost interest in blogging. Its not that there isnt a lot of interesting things going on, theres lots i could blog about. Just lost the fire i guess. so sorry the book of life just became lame. Gimmie a little time, i am sure i will get back on my feet. but for all you curious little cats, heres a pic of the ring i picked out...

http://www.simplywoodrings.com/ring_shop/product_info.php?products_id=124

2010-02-16T11:42:00.000-07:00

I'M GONNA MARRY HIM!!!!!

2010-02-16T11:36:00.002-07:00

okay, i guess i will give you details. SO brad and i hooked up before my mission and he wrote me all the way through, worlds best pen pal. he really is the best guy i know. obviously, since i am marrying him.

anyhoo then i got home from my mission and we were back together in person. and we always knew we wanted to get married (pretty much) and so he had all kinds of fun things planned but then i ended up in alaska and foiled all his plans. ever since i got home, he kept pretending to ask me, getting down on one knee in public places to ask random things. so then, saturday night when we were out, we went down to kenai beach and were playing in icebergs that had washed up on the beach, and he says 'this is the real thing' and then asks me, and i just say- wait are you being serious this time? cause you are the boy who cries will you'....and then i realized he WAS. so i said yes, and now we are engaged. :) and i am STOKED!!!!!!! we are picking out rings (he wouldnt buy one without m opinion and i wouldnt go look at them, so now we have THAT task) and planning a wedding for mid april. we will let you know the date when we solidify it, but looks like things will go down in shakey town. i mean st george utah. anyhoo

i guess thats all the details i am going to write now. if you want an invite (and you WILL, because our afterparty is going to be rockstar) then leave your address here or on facebook :)

jump right in

2010-02-16T02:08:00.000-07:00

i said yes.

hey

2010-02-04T16:39:00.002-07:00

alright, well, i am home. not really sure what else to say here. it was real. it was fun. and now i am back to what they call real life... not as great as i thought it would be...but i am confident things will get better. got some prety great plans for the future...anyhoo i am back, and will be blogging in person...

eye of the tiger

2009-11-30T13:17:00.001-07:00

ma sa leechool? thanks for all the letters and glad everything went well for thanksgiving. i am loving how positive and thankful everyone turns out to be this time of year. i am just smiling ear to ear. we taught a family the other day that had a christmas tree!! ahhh if that didn’t put me in the christmas spirit, i dont know what does!!! Let’s see, this week has been good, we are trying really hard to find people for december, we want to have a big baptism the 25th and celebrate with a white christmas!!! we have like 3 or 4 possibilities, but i am really trying to have the faith to find another family. i know God will lead us to them if we are just worthy to find them. anyhoo, yesterday was great, we saw the 4 boy sof the coc chub family receive the priesthood, and they were all in white shirts and ties and man i was just overflowing with joy. its really something i can’t explain, to feel so happy for the happiness of someone else. And, great news, in place of having a branch christmas party, the branch is taking all the money and going to the temple!!!!!! they want all the recent converts to go and do baptisms. man i am so stoked. i know if we can just get the newbies to the temple, they will have that seed that can sustain them. its so much more probable that they remain active if they make it to the temple. get them to the garners, as alma says. anyhoo, so i am pretty excited about that. this will be one of the only chances they have because it’s pretty far and everyone is pretty poor, they really can’t pay to go very often.
we have also been blessed to find a couple promising new investigators and the Lord is just answering our prayers.
friday night we had a special dinner with our recent converts and our mission president and the area 70 came to speak to them. all the way from the capital, that’s like 10 hours driving. anyhoo, lets see, well, i am doing well, we find out changes this week, that’s right, this change is already over an we will find out of castro and i stay here for my last change....
well, love you all, hope you are all happy and healthy and strong in the faith!!! if youre going to finsish the BOM this year, you should be finishing alma. i am right now and holy moroni and helaman, and those 2000, man its powerhouse in the scriptures!!!!
LOVE YOU ALL!!!!
hna hall

Happy Thanksgiving

2009-11-26T14:56:00.000-07:00

hey family and friends!! this week’s been adventure filled. We went down to the valley in the back of a truck and saw amazing mountain sunrise and had amazing zone conference with pres. Torres, it’s always refreshing to go to those. the only down side was that the {hotel} had a monkey who attacked me...hehe it was pulling my hair and lifting up my skirt and just nuts. i wish this computer was faster because my comp got some funny pics. it was intense.
then this week we had this crazy activity friday night where we invited the whole town, and had a message about mormons and my comp and i taught lesson one to a LOT of people---heheh then it turned into a talent show, it was fun. then the missionaries decided we wanted to have thanksgiving dinner today so we searched for a turkey and miraculously found one in one day. usually you can only find them market days. but anyhoo, we had to do a bit of prep work first, which meant we had to kill it, clean it, THEN stuff and cook it. and don’t worry that i have never cooked turkey and neither had anyone else, so i called presidents wife to get a recipe and a kekchi woman to show us how to kill it. it was, well, an adventure. we had to tie it up and cut its throat and i had to hold the wing cause it was going nuts. then it was the blind leading the blind trying to get all the feathers off, and get all the guts out and keep it looking like the turkeys you find in the store...it was nuts. then we filled it with veggies and sewed it up and stuck it in the oven with lots of butter. and miraculously, it turned out PRITTY GUUUD. we made mashed potatoes, and a fruit salad and lots of veggies and rolls and oatmeal cookies. we didn’t have time for pie, but...oh well. it was a pretty cool thanksgiving dinner, seeing as how i LOVE this day as much as 4th of july.- so i have officially made a thanksgiving dinner for the first time. and it was delicious, even though we had to guess with a lot and didn’t have a ton of ingredients here in the mountains...
let’s see, what else....well, that kind of took up my time for writing today. i wish i could send photos but it’s just rediculous. soon billy.
oh, also, if you want to send christmas packages, they need to be here by the 15th in order to get to me by christmas. otherwise i will get them in mid january. just a heads up.
i hope you all have a great thanksgiving this week and remember all that there is to be thankful for!!
love you!
killer hermana hall

2009-11-16T15:02:00.001-07:00

hey family and friends!!!! How’s life in the states!!! this week has been good, we have been working with a few people but we are in the process of looking for prospective baptisms. we are working with a really cool couple who lost their baby in march to some strange sickness and we have been having some really powerful lessons with them. Sometimes, i am amazed at peoples humble testimonies and i am never tired of seeing just how amazing is the plan of salvation. Man, it’s just such a powerful doctrine of you think about it!! i love being a missionary. they say if you like being a missionary, you’ll like the celestial kingdom, but if you don’t, then don’t bother shooting for it. well, luckily i LOVE this work and i can really see how it makes me happy. i have a different love in my heart than i have ever had, and it’s a cool feeling. just seeing others happy literally makes me heart swell. i guess i was pretty selfish bofore this, and i am glad i have seen a little light. i will keep working on that part of me...hehe
so this week we are also starting choir practice for the christmas choir!! if singing christmas songs doesn’t make you baggy i don’t know WHAT will. but i am excited to spend christmas in senahu, because the people there are gold and i really want to spend it with them. pray that i don’t get a change for my last six weeks.
so we are planning a really big activity on the 20th, where we are having a big cultural night in the city hall, the branch is putting it on, with traditional dances, choir singing, and all kinds of presentations. and the missionaries are putting on the first vision. we are doing it like two missionaries and telling the story of joseph smith and the others are acting it all out on the side. and guess who gets to teach... ahhh me and my comp!! yeah, so i will be teaching the restoration to the whole town pretty much. if i ever had desires to be like alma or amulek or ammon teaching an entire city, this is it!! heheh wish me luck because believe it or not i am KINDA nervous....but that’s exciting this week. and tomorrow is zone conference, which i love because it like, always gets me jazzed up and enthused about the work. ahhh i love it here. so just so you all know i am well, and i am happy. AND i am still eating lots of caldo. the other day we were looking for a few references and we got kinda lost on this muddy path in the jungle pretty much, and then we suddenly came out and saw a house, so we went to ask them if they knew the people we were looking for and they were all in there having a caldo party to celebrate the harvest. so without even knowing their names, they invited us in and insisted that we eat caldo with them. ahhh gold. it was like the kings feast, and totally by accident. they gave us caldo, we gave them a message about a living prophet. too bad i think they were more interested in the caldo...oh well. it was an interesting day anyhoo.
well i love you all.
hermana hall

2009-10-19T20:52:00.003-06:00

Things are rocking here in senahu, we are rigth now blessed with 7 fechas and some pretty good possibilities for november. the fam cucul will get baptized in the beginning of november...they are doing well thanks to some pretty amazing members. i am realizing something...i somehow thought that when i ended my mission i would get to go home and rest...heheh thats funny. i then started thinking, and its not going to happen. because as a missionary, i have seen and realized the importance of members and all the things i wish or love that they do. and i know know the things i need to do as a member. i have been very impressed with people. i was talking with some norte elders and we were talking about how everyone in the states has this great LDS image, they all go to church, meetings and dress great and do their callings, on the outside they are pilas. but they seem to see the church as an organization, a resposibility, another TO DO list. and really its not about that. its about helping those who need help to make it to the celestial kingom. james says it straight out- pure religion is helping widows and orphans. the poeple here are impressive. they dont look impressive, and even in meetings and things they dont seem like they have much faith. and they all admire the nortes who ´know´how the church is. but really, if you're around them long enough, you see that although they dont always do things right, they do it with heart. they see needs and try to help. they are more pilas on the inside, while we are only the outside. and really what matters? are we doing visiting teaching because its required and because its what we are supposed to, or are we doing it because we know that someone needs help? i was thinking a lot about this, and its one thing i want to be better at- being a member who understands the purpose rather than just the organization. anyhoo, lets see, more good times in senahu, always are stories but they all fly out of my head when its email time. we are in el estor today which makes me happy and makes me feel at home again...hehe
well love you all hope you're well. sorry for the preaching, but i love being here and only having to worry about the gospel....its chaabil.
love hna hall

a couple pics you might like to see. i am working hard...hehe

se´nauq´news

2009-08-31T16:40:00.003-06:00

its strange to think that its fall there, colors and cool weather and school days...its been summer since i left the states....i havent really had a season change. well, except rain and sun. but those arent really seasons, since we have them both all the time.

hehethe third language is, well, hard. i have been working on teaching lesson one, which is the joseph smith story. and i can tell the most simplified, outlineish version of it. hehe i taught a lady the joseph smith story in about 6 sentences yesterday...hehe its moving along though...spanish was SOO much easier to learn!! and so, the work goes on. its been a little slow here lately, but i think we have some possibilities for bap...we are teaching a couple families, i love teaching families. i just teach them while imagining them all in white and its a pretty cool thing to see, even in my mind.

i have been finding some pretty great runs here in senahu, always either uphill or downhill, and full of junlge views and foggy mountain tops. i really want to show you all this place. YOWSERS!!! well, i better go, i am going to run outta time!

love you all, thanks for everything you do!!!!

hermana hall

2009-08-24T15:36:00.002-06:00

The internet is ridiculously slow today so I am hoping I can at least get this sent off…anyhoo, things are going well here, lets see… not too many adventures going on this week. The work is a little slow, we have had some fechas fall and its getting a little frustrating. But I know if we just step it up with a little more faith then we can pull through. Anyhoo, so i guess that’s the price we pay for living in the most beautiful area in the mission. So this week we headed down the mountain for zone conference, and that was fun. We got ICE CREAM!!! They don’t have that really here in senahu, but it is down in the valley. And it was my companions birthday, on the 21st, and dads as well. And if I did the math right, HAPPY 60TH BIRTHDAY DAD!! Holy cowser! And Audrey, happy birthday on the 24th!!! I hope you have a great day. I am not really exactly sure how old you are, and you probably don’t want to think about it anyway, because I am younger and already don’t like to think about my age… but HAPPY B DAY ANYWAY!
Lets see, oh, so zone conference, we went down, had a great time, interviews went well, president said most likely I will end my mission out in polochic which makes me pretty excited….then we ended late and had to stay the night in Teleman, because there are no trucks that go up the mountain at night. Then the next morning in the same foggy contacts and skirt, we headed up the muddy slide they call a road. We hopped in the back of a truck, followed by three really really gay men that were stylists, they said… I find it strange to still run into weirdos like that. They told us we were beautiful and we told them about the book of mormon. It was funny. Oh man, we were up in the mounaint the other day and we decided to eat lunch up there. As we were eating our PB and Hs at the lookout, all these qeqchis came out to watch us. They loved watching us, so we went to talk to them. They wanted to know all about the book we carried, and they wanted us to take pictures of them "reading" it…they can't read but they liked it. So we made an appt and came back to teach them. I might have told you about them last week. But anyhoo, the cool thing is we came back and they were all gathered around to listen, and even though they can't read, they wanted the book, and they were going to have their kids who CAN read, read it to them. And they they sent us to all their neighbors' houses. Its just proof that the book or mormon is powerful. It seems simple to write it out, but really to be here and see the desire they had about it, because they recognize who we represent and the people here have a faith I don’t pretend to understand. They are tough. But, its good. Anyhoo I am getting windy and I am not even sure I will be able to send this. Stupid slow email. Love you all. Have a great week!!!
hermana mary

yo heart senahu

2009-08-17T13:46:00.001-06:00

So they say every good Polochic missionary has a good story about entering the Polochic. I hope mine is good enough… So i was so excited about how much i loved senahu that i forgot to tell you. Anywho, SO the day i came, we were stuck in Coban because there were no buses leaving to the Chic because of a landslide in the road. We finally found one that said they were going to try, so we hopped on and i was glad i had my osprey backpack to pack instead of silly old suitcases…. We got about to where the pavement ends from coban and they stopped and told us they counldnt go farther, so, we got our bags and had to hike up and over the mountain to catch a bus on the other side. Thats when the backpack came in Handy. So then, a mountain later and 3 qeqchis carrying suitcases on their heads later, we got the other bus. Then we headed basically without problems up to senahu and when we got there, we met an american lady named lauren who is here doing a health study for the WHO and BYU, and she is documenting malnutrition. Apparently we are in the epicenter of malnutrition for central america. Guatemala is the most malnourished country, and senahu the the worst area of guate. So, here we are, malnourished and all. Dont be suprised if i come home with a pot belly…. But it is sad actually, i do see a lot of people here who only have totillas and chili to eat and i dont mean chilli with beans. I mean just hot sauce to put on the tortillas. Its sad. I dont know how easy it will be to adjust to the fattened lifestyle of the US gain. Man there are just so many heartbreaking stories here. But, i love the people. Oh, so lauren has been running with us every morning and wow i am getting whipped back into shape because well, everything is really big hills. And we hiked up a mountain to explore the area up there, took a lunch, and we were lunching on top, and all these qeqchis came out to watch us eat and then we were contacting them and they wanted us to take pictures of them pretending to read the LDM, because they can't read, but it was really funny. We are teaching lessons here in qeqchi and its really hard. I just have note cards with pictures to show them…it pretty much makes my head hurt, and i am not sure they understand us yet….but its fun. I feel like its my first change all over again. Trying to have the faith to learn another language…anyhoo its pretty fun. Well, life here is good, love you and miss you!! Thanks for all the mail!!!
Lix Hal

hermana mary

2009-08-10T13:45:00.000-06:00

So, i am in hardcore qeqchi land now. its pretty legit. chaabil they would say here. man. i LOVE senahu. its amazing. its beautiful, so far from everything, and the poeple here are just a different class altogether. man. i have got to work on qeqch though, because i can really talk mush to them, but we will get over that. These are my dats so far this week:sunrise runs up mountains: 2Almost getting killed by a pack of dogs: 2People who make jokes about my name being food: 16Number of people who know the game Birdman: 6Number of sacremant talks i have given in espaneqchi: 1Number of times hiking in the dark down mountains in the pouring rain: 3Number of corn tortillas i have made in mountain huts: 20 (mas o menos)number of times falling down muddy hillsides and getting my book of mormon and planner muddy: 1 and 1/2well, thats just a little taste of the week. the area is amazing, the branch is super cool, i am surrounded by green mountains (one of these months i will get a picture sent...) and the pure people who havent been corrupted by the world yet. its pretty cool. we live in a little concrete house with an indoor bathroom, alls well there. its a pretty good place to live. i love my area. we literally hike up mountains to go visit people. AH i cant even get enough of it. i hope that president leaves me here for the rest of my mission. anyhoo, lest see, what else....gawsh i dont know. i just love it. there are so many gret places to run in the mornings, and its always green and foggy in the morning, i feel like i live in a movie.so, i guess in less words, i am doing well.i love you all.
love and tortillas,
hermana hall

Ch Ch Changes!

2009-08-03T14:02:00.000-06:00

well, CH CH CHANGES! otra vez!!!!!! things are crazy!!! i got the call sat night that some hermanans didnt come in that were supposed to (newbies) and so i have changes. i spent all day sunday saying bye to loads of cool poeple that i thought i would see and be with longer. it was sad. i prayed and prayed and prayed that this one family we found recently would come to church. and THEY DID!! it was great. like my last greast wish. and they invited us over for lunch. and they are really rich and it felt weird like i was in the states. they dont have a guate style house. but they begged to take me around guatemala, so if you guys come in jan, we have guides. they are excited about it. anyhoo, lets see, so then sunday night packed all night and loaded my beloved orange backpack ready for the jungle. we got the change conference and everyone told me i was going to Senahu, which is way up in the mountains of polochic! WAHOo!!!! i was super excited. so they rounded up a sweet corte and i was looking like a qeqchi. hehehe. anyhoo now we are just emailing real quick before we head out on the bus to go to coban and then to senahu. its going to be pretty intense. the internet out there is super slow and sketchy, so communication will be less from this end...sorry. and they have cut off pouch from the states, so you all have to send mail through the regualr mail system, with international stamps. make sure and take the pouch addy off my blog. anyhoo, i am off to the mountains and i feel blessed really. thanks for that story about prayer mom, i really liked it and i am glad you are safe!!! its cool how it really works!! if we have faith, things happen. i am just full of loving the gospel right now. i hope you all know how important it is and that you take advantage of all you have. study it every day. love it. read the scriptures. >AHHHH i just cannot get enough of mission right now. its so cool to see people get baptized and find whole new lives full of hope. and to hear from all the other missionaries how all my other converts and members are in my old areas. its really cool. man, the gospel really is a miracle. like you said mom, its all about obedience. make it your friend and the blessings will pour out.
oh, my new comp is ANOTHER gringa!! nuts eh? shes from montana, a red head horse girl.
well, i am off to qeqchi land. gotta catch a bus!!
LOVE YOU ALL!!
mary

2009-07-27T14:02:00.000-06:00

Well helloooo fambly!!!! Another week and july is almost over!!! That’s so nuts!!! We are starting the last week of the change and next week is a new greenie. Yowsers lets just start the craziness all over again…. Lets see, OH I went to the foto place here and asked them to look at my card, and guess what? It just had a virus but he was able to save all the pictures and re format the card to use it again!!!! Sweet eh?? Thanks for being so prompt on sending a new one!! I will just save it I guess. And I probably wont be sending many moer pics homein email because I have lost trust of public Guatemalan computers….. yowsers. Well this week was good, we had another baptism, a girl named Maria that was so funny. She was soooo nervous to get baptized, it was so cute. And we didn’t flood the church this time! Kinda cool that the work is paying off. Now I am still on the lookout for a really great family. We have a few potentials but ire ally want to find a family to baptize again. Its such a happier picture to see them all go in together. I love this gospel. Being here in the capital, people have a bit more knowledge about the bible and its been making me study harder and really rely on the spirit to deal with doubts and questions but I love it because it makes me study the gospel a lot more in depth. I am loving the books of peter and john in the new testament. They really know Christ. Wow. Lets see what else…. Ummmm yeah I don’t know. This weeks just been more of the same old same old, finding, teaching, combating apostacy…. Its so crazy how dead on nephi is in the 2 nephi 27, 28, 29, chapters. I don’t know why I never really got into them before, but I see them so clearly now. I LOVE the book of mormon….
LOVE YOU ALL!!!!
Hna hall

2009-07-20T14:01:00.000-06:00

today we had a great pioneer day activity with all the missionaries in the capital. we played pioneer games like potato sack races and throwing wooden pegs at wooden pegs...and me and my comp showed up in pioneer outfits with bonnets. it was really great. and we grilled hamburgers!! so its kinda like i didnt even miss the 4th. it was just late...
also, yesterday we had a baptism, and it was scheduled before chruch at 8 am. we got there are 730 to find the bishop sweeping an inch of water out of the entire church. luckily its all tile here, but an inch of water in the chruch with only like 5 sweepers was a little intense, especially with a baptism and church on teh agenda. out baptism and his family showed up and began helping us. they will never forget that day!! heheh it was nuts, we got the essential parts swept jsut before sac. meeting, and everyone showed up and was like what the heck.....so we had a really fast baptism and then went to sacrament. but by some miracle the chruch dried enough to have the meetings. it was pretty crazy day...hehehe
i guess the bishop only left the pila running for an hour and it was enough to fill the entire church. YOWSA!! i got pics. but i am not sending them. because last week i tried to send pics, and i plugged my camera in to download and some virus in the comp erased 6 months worth of pics and ruined my 2 G card....so now i am a little bummed about that. if you guys can find one quick that would be cool. i am going to look today to see if i can buy another one here, but yeah...suuuuper bummed about the whole picture loss. all my coban pics, half my el estor pics, and my cap pics from this change......GRRRRRRR.....
anyhoo the work is great, we are finding lots, just pray that they progess.... i still LOVE this work, love this mission, love the gospel, and like you say mom, its a good time. not an easy time, but a good time. keep on praying, love you all!!
hermana mary hall

2009-07-13T14:00:00.000-06:00

lets see, this week has been a little nuts, we had interviews with pres. on wed, and he told me that i am going to train one more and then head up to polochis to open some sisters areas and end the mish there. i was so excited!!! and as i was missing the Chik, i tracted into a lady that was making tortillas and got to help her. i felt right at home!! i am stoked about the next changes because yes the city life is, well, city life. i cant find a good place to run, and the fumes from all the busses are killing my lungs. and its just so full of creepy guys that whistle and holler and try to speak english to me, eww. its lame. my area is literall like miles of highway and all the colonies on the sides of the highway. yuck. i cant wait to head to the jungle, even if i cant really speak their language....
then friday we had zone conference, and it was amazing as ususal. we watched this really cool film, an ensign to the nations, where it talks about all the countries of the world and how they recived the gospel. its cool. find it and have an FHE with it. anyhoo, it was all about the book of mormon too, which i love. those conferences always get me fired up to work harder and be better. i wish they were more than once a change!!!
then saturday we went to help with the open house of a new chapel that opened near my area- it was so beautiful!!! like one of those nice ones fromt he states. and everyone was so excited because they didnt have a chapel in that area and had been having church in a house. i got to hang out with all the senior couple missionaries all day and they were all talking about how they have fished in my town..hehe they are cool. anyhoo, then sunday gave a talk and preached some more gospel. anyhoo, well, today we are in palencia and i climbed a concrete wall to cut down a bushel of bananas with a machete... it was sweet. anyhoo, i miss you all, i love you all, and keep on keeping on till next week!!!!
hope you are reading the BOM.
love hna hall

monday news

2009-06-29T22:57:00.000-06:00

p day fiascos today and i dont have time to write a lot, but i will let you know things are going better!! i was super stressed last week about being in the cap and training and all that stuff....but yes we got to go to the temple which is a huge source or strength, and i did a lot of praying to be able to be up to the task, and i just realized i need to relax and take it easy. having a kid is fun to do, fun to do fun to do...... and it IS. we moved houses, around the corner. we still have no furniture, but at least we have tile floors and a bathroom with a door. hehe and good locks. its not so bad. and my comp is really cool. she loves mountain biking, and has even biked all my favorite trails in moab!! she is from Logan utah, and we get along. she even is willing to run with me. the only problem is in my area there is nowhere to run...its dangerous for 2 while girls at 6 am and all the dogs want to eat us, and the highway is no good to run on. my new area is HUGE, it used to be two areas, and its like, this stretch of highway and everything on both sides pretty much as far as i can see...there are mountains, city, and everything in bewtween. but our ward is amazing. they have a huge chapel, padded benches, and hymn books in the pews. i have NEVER seen that in guate. its like an american chapel and ward. there are like tons of people and they are all super willing to help and excited to finally have sister missionaries. so i am going to take advantage of that. and my spanish is improving.... i am really suprised, because right now i have to basically do most of the teaching and she is working really hard, but. i am being blessed with the gift of tongues. anyhoo, things are really great, i am really being blessed and i feel it. i have felt a lot of burdens become lighter than i expected.the elders didnt leave any info on who they were teaching and i get the feeling they werent the best elders, one of them took off for his house....so we have been knocking a LOT of doors and looking for people to teach. we are having a little success, i think things will work out well here. i just am always thinking and being reminded of my first few months and how hard they were. training is way easier than going through that...heheh but things are well. we bought a shower curtain and hung it up with rope because the rod didnt work...its a little ghetto, but its fun. anyhoo, i just want you all to know that i have crazy blessings and things are well. i miss the mountians but my area is really pretty despite the highway that ruins it...heheh. have a great fourth of july, and have a sweet barbque for me. i will miss that this weekend......
LOVE YOU ALL!!
till next week!
hermana hall

chch changes otra vez

2009-06-22T22:35:00.000-06:00

so this weekend was a little wild for me. i am still trying to figure out my life. saturday we put a baptism date with the cutest old lady ever, and then we got home and got a call telling us that this weekend (changes) we BOTH were leaving the area!! apparently that happened in about 80 percent of the mission. president loves throwing crazy curve balls. so they told me i was headed to the capital. i thought to myself...what have i done wrong. why am i being punished, i am trying to hard to be obedient and work hard. i was really bummed out. we spent sunday saying good bye to everyone and packing up all our stuff, and then at 2 am left for the cap on a bus. got to the cap at 7 am, and went in to talk to president. where he informed us that he is setting up a system for training new missionaries. he is setting up 3 official zones where the newbies will always go to be trained. and then, he told us that to start out, we were picked out of all the missionaries to start the program. i will be training a gringa, and after 6 weeks, i will let her go and get another one for 6 weeks. thats a guaranteed 3 months in the CAPITAL!!! ahhh!! yowers. and i am in a new area that i know nothing about. i feel bad, my little gringa is going to be terrified and i am going to be a blind guide. i am having flashbacks of when I was being trained and my poor companions pretty much had to teach and do everything because i was languagely handicapped. that will be me know. pretty much teaching solo with the occasionally awkward testimony bearing of the greenie, yikes. my spanish isnt that good, i am a little worried. i hope we dont lose baptisms in translation. i have gotten used to having a latina to make sure things are all okay. oh man. i am more than a little nervous. getting to know a new area, being senior companion, AND training a gringa. in the cap. i think president thinks i am more capable than i am. here come a whole lot of faith trying testimony building and growing experiences ahead. i am bummed that i am stuck in the cp for the next 3 months and its a huge responsiblity to train and make sure the kids have a sound understanding of how to do this work effectively, which is something i am still trying to figure out. on top of that, the elders had to find us a place to live really fast and turns out its a crap hole. honestly, even for guate. iits like the concrete rooms on unfinished houses, before they do the walls or floors, just raw concrete and windows. its sketchy. no more hot water and we dont have any furniture either. man. this is going to be interesting. and i wasnt in the best state to take all this, i havent slept in 2 days and i am a little cranky. but, i am stoked because we ge to go to the TEMPLE tomorrow morning!! that will make things better. that and i am about ready to go home and pray for help. thats all i can think to do,....
well, thats the news from lake woe be gone. hope you guys are all still praying for me because i am going to need it this summer.
love you all!!!
love hermana hall mary

Summer News

2009-06-15T22:54:00.004-06:00

Sounds like summer is in full swing and lots of fun. summer is here too. well, actually, i think for me its been summer since, well, more than a year. i got to guate in july and it has been summer everr since. heheh its been kind of hot here lately, not like el elstor, but hot. things are good. we are having a bit of a slow spell. not gonna lie, this areas a little tough and we dont have a lot of prospects right now. but well, at least i am not in europe, working me butt off for, well, no baptisms eh? hehe pobresitas!
lets see, oh, something funny lately, there is this old man, he has this scrunched up old man face, really crusty old guy, and every time i see him he points at me really accusingly and says CANCHE! which is like, white person, basically. and he says it like he is cursing me or somthing, and its really funny. i have actually started laughing at him. because honestly, how can i not? crusty old man, hollering canche canche in my face. ayayay. its an interesting place, coban. what else, ahhh we wasted a lot of time at the place where they take out papers, like the city building, i hate that place. everyone looks at me like, what the heck is the white girl doing here. her birth certificate isnt here!! heheh i really dont belong...
other than that, everyone here is in a frenzied panic over this pork flu or whatever. its rediculous. and funny. they all wear masks and think that if they are sick AT ALL they have the pork flu. and they are all SURE that we are going to get it as well. its rediculous.
uhmmmm yeah not sure what else to say. this is the last week of the change, so i think my comp is going to have a change, and i will be stuck in coban again. i am learning lots here. patience, humility, patience, faith. man. i miss polochic.
well, hope youre all happy and healtyhy and all thats jazz.
love you all!!!!
hna hall

coban-eering

2009-05-18T23:28:00.003-06:00

things are good here. coban is RAINY! it rains here every single day. its sunny in the morning and pours in the afternoon. i am always wet, and i even get cold in the night time. its a little different and lame walking around in the city, my comp keeps coralling me in, because in el estor, we didnt have that many cars, and we could walk in the middle of the road. here i will die if i do that....and i keep almost dying. well not really, but i am trying to break the habit of walking in the middle of the road. its interesting. BUT, the good news is, i get along with my new comp, i think we will be just fine. she is no longer afraid of gringas...hehe and we found some really sweet parts of our area to work in. we have the city, but also quite a bit of the outskirts of coban, and as SOON AS YOU LEAVE coban, there are mountains. like, its just nestled in the mountains anyhoo, so its super pretty. so we have been working out in the mountain outskirts and its sweet! yesterday i helped a lady carry a load of platanos up the mountain to her house and she only spoke qeqchi. so i was happy, throwing in my qeqchi phrases. and we found a lady here that is willing to give us classes in qeqchi as well. so we wont lose it. anyhoo, also we went to church yesterday, and for the first time in my mission, i felt like i got to relax on the sabbath. it was pretty sweet. there were tons of preisthood holders, no problems with passing the sacrament, leaders for all the organizations, and we didnt have to teach anything or get bombarded by needy members. it was amazing. i left feeling spiritually fed. ahhh what a change. i still do miss el estor and polochic, OBVIOUSLY. but i am adjusting here. and i think it will be fine. anyhoo, well, thats waht i got for now. we are doing a cool activity this week with the members, where we are challenging them all to carry a book of mormon with them EVERYWHERE for a solid week. and we are going to train them on how to talk about the book and share it, and hopoefully they have some cool experiences, and better, references!!! its called the libro del mormon marathon. you should all participate as well. its wed to wed. yeah do it and write me about your experiences. open those mouths of yours and SHARE THE GOSPEL!!!
i love you all, keep on doing what youre doing, and remeber what dad always says: its all true.}
love hermana hall
pics: the family that is getting baptized in el estor without me!! lame and another family we were teaching, (their neighbors actaully), and a couple shorts of enjoying my new area, rainy beautiful muddy outskirts of coban. i am a lucky girl.

ch..ch..ch...changes

2009-05-11T23:27:00.000-06:00

so this wekeend, we have changes. it was hard to say good bye ti everyone after 6 months... but it really didnt hit me until the very end. i went and sid bye to lots of people, but the hardeest was walking into the gospel principles class, because all my new converts and investigators that are getting baptized were sitting there, and it was too much. i cried! it was sad. i will be missing their baptisms, and wont get to see them progess and grow in the gospel. i have to leave them in the hands of other hermanas and i hope they take care of them!! ahhh sad day. also sad because i left polochic, which i LOVE and know its GOds tierra, and came to COban, the city. very beautiful, but not the same when there are mcdonalds on the corner and no dirt roads. its a little bit hard to adjust. we traveled for 6 hours in a chicken bus, as jerry called it, and got to coban in the night, and then today played soccer and found out all our new comps. mine is hermana duarte, form el salvador. i was a little bummed, because i have never really heard great things about her. heard she is hard to work with and kind of angry. and she doesnt like gringas. she only has one change before she heads home, and has 9 months in this area already. i am her first gringa comp, so i have to teach her to like us. yikes. but i think with teh right attitude we will be just fine. it will be wierd shopping in a supermarket and knocking doors. they dont really have doors in the chic. just doorways. all i had to do was holler and they come out. here its like, ahh different. but i trust in my president and his inspiration. i am here for a reason. we will see. maybe its to learn patience. i worked so hard last change and the blessings are, well, a sketchy companion, missing my baptisms, and living in the city. ouch. there must be pther blessings i havent seen yet right? hehe anyhoo, thats all for now. i will let you know next week how everything is. pray for me.
love you all!!!
mary

2009-05-04T23:26:00.000-06:00

Birthdays just aren’t the same anymore. i want to cake but not the age, you know? oh well. and just so you know i porbably wont get any mail until like two weeks, because well the mail here is a little struggling right now (not untrustworthy yet, just slow), so even if you sent things on time and all that, it doesnt really matter. but i assume iw ill get things eventually. hehe and no i never got headlamps from michelle. maybe she is jinxed with the mail system....hopefully they get here someday....anyhoo yeah this week has been pretty great. we had a conference in coban with elder cook of the twelve. that was the highlight of course. he spoke about the preach my gospel book and how inspired it is. i love that book. but i love hearing the works of apostles. man it was powerful he spoke of loving the poeple and the work and all the ways we can improve. he gave us an apostolic blessing that our familes would be blessed for our service. i have seen that already!! i sometimes wihs i could listen to him forver. i really can feel that he is called of the Lord and wow i love that we have prophets and apostles. its a powerful thing. then we can back and got back to the grind, working and working. and sunday things started looking up. this family that we have been working with FOREVER finally put a baptismal date. and we didnt even ask!! the dad asked us when there were baptisms and if they could join. left us wide mouthed and giddy. so we have 5 bapstisms scheduled for the 16th if all goes well. i have been able to see here in ym time that the lord is slowly prepareing people and that we WILL find the chosen throught hard work and faith. its pretty cool. please pray for the work, that these people will follwo through. i have seen miracles in people and i know we can have more. also i was so happy, so many people were bearing their testimonies in scarament mtg about reading the book of mormon. our campaign is really working! i KNOW this branch can improve with the book of mormon. its poweful. man i love this work. i was thinking this week, as i hit 10 months, how much i have been blessed abnd how much i have learned. i cant imagine myt life know without all these blessings. and i cant beleive it took me so long to give in to something so wonderful. when i resisted and finally decided to go on a mission, i had no idea what was in store for me. if i have known, i would have left the minute i turned 21. its great. hard, but rewarding. i love this work. i love it.
oh yeah, this sunday is mothiers day. happy mothers day to all you moms. i hope i dont have changes. because may 10 is the last day of changes, and so if i have changes i might have to leave. who knows. the work os progrssing and my testimony is still growing. take advantage of the gospel. in the end its the ONLY way to happiness. !!!!!
love you long time!!!!
hna hall

2009-04-27T23:25:00.000-06:00

Man, i just was writing a pretty long and amazing letter full of inspiración. And we all know waht happens then. The Internet goes down and i lost it. POO!!!anyhoo, so i guess i will Start all over. And say that my typing is horrible and i hope that you can all read this. So el estor has been going and going. Seems that although things are not changing a ton here, the people are still rediculous and hard and its a loto f work, my mood is lifting because well, i jsut have been working so so hard here. My comp and i this week especially are so exhausted. Iw as ready for a Monday. We have been worknig and working and doing everything we can, comino home exhuasted in every sense at the end of the day. And i know that one day this Hill pay off in one way or another. But, i feel honestly a lot closer to the savior when i am working hard, and i feel like he is satisfied with my efforts. And yesteday we had 10 (yeah TEN!) investigators in chruch. Wahoo!!! I was so excited! And a little stressed because Sundays are so hard. All the members are asking a hundred things frmo us and we are trying to care for the new little investigators who are lost and confused and i had to teach gospel doctrine, in spanish, the law of consecration. It was a little rough, seeing as how i am not even sure i can explain it that well in english, let alone my very imperfect spanish. It was a busy day. And the last day of the week. WHEW!
anyhoo, i have a sneaking suspicion that this spell check is throwing in strange words that are maybe in tongan. Who kows. But also, that there are stupid preachers here blaspheming the name of our beloved prophet Joseph. Man i jsut get more and more love for him every day and more and more upset when people teach lies about him. UGH. We have been running into so many people this week who are listening to the message and then ask why Joseph smiths name is not in the bible. And these are people who CANNOT READ. How do they know that? And they dont really know anything thats in to bible resides what their crooked preachers tell them. Its sad really. They have closed their minds and hearts and i hope all their sins fall on the heads of those dang evangelical preachers. We jsut talk over and over about faith and christ and why the jews crucified him. His name wasnt in the old testement. I feel like we are teaching sadduceses and pharisees. Its nuts. Its kind of cool though, to speak with power about the savior and to feel the spirit and to just speak so bluntly to the people. Sometimes thats all we can do. I love this qospel even more every day.
Also we are starting a read the libro de mormon campaign. With activities, noche de hogars, and postres, charts and games and everything we cn think of. If you guys can, locate a place where they make tose rubber braceletseveryone wears, and make some that say Estoy leyendo el libro de mormon. That Would be cool to give for prizes. We have scriptures of the month and much more. its just going to change the Branch. If anything can, its this book. I am reading it again, but this time, in spanish, and i will finsih it in like, july, that will make 3 months. I love it. I am feeling so much more for this book. I feel like its so real and i just feel the urgency the writers had for us to recieve it and learn and love it. I feel that way about the Branch here. If they World jsut do it, they would really take off. Ahh this spell check is driving me nuts. Anyway i am about out of time and i hope you guys are all doing well. I love you all!!! Have a great week and send me mail for my birthday!!!
love you all
mary

2009-04-20T23:24:00.000-06:00

my day was good, well, its been good so far anyway. lets see... last week we had a zone conference which was just amazing. i was really feeling bogged down and frustrated with the work and the poeple here. the branch is really crappy right now and lacking in faith more than anything. working with them is like pulling teeth. and the investigators are pretty slow and also frustrating. recieving answers to `prayers and then doing nothing about it...grrr. so i arrived at the conf. a little less animated than usual. but we had a great time, and all the talks and discussions were really just for me. i left feeling energized and full of faityh. we are here to do the Lords work. if we are working hard and searching for people with the sure faith and hope that we WILL find the chosen, then we WILL. i know this. that night we came home and went to visit a less active family,. they are a difficult family because two of the three sons are baptizzed, but they are jsut horrible.they dont listen, they are always talking bad and very disrespectful, always out in the street just frustrating kids. but that night their older brotehr was home, and he was the only one who listened to us, and he actually was VERY interested and we taught him the first lesson, which was really FULL of the spirit. it was the highlight of my week. i just love that feeling of talking and knowing that the spirit is just oozing right out of my words. its really incredible. i felt that so much with him, and i guess he is just fed up with his brothers and says he is really to change his life and wants to know about the gospel. he is reading what we leave for him, he has questions, and he is jus really pilas. i was so suprised because before he has shown NO interest of respect at all. but he was different and is different now. it was a testimony that its true, we WILL find those people who are chosen.
anyhoo, the rest of the week was normal as usual, working and it was super hot once again....we made chocobabanas which are pretty great. and i have been LOVING cocnuts. i will really miss that. just knocking down coconuts and cutting them up to drink and eat. mmm mmm. you cant beat it.
next week we will be in senahu for a zone activity, should be pretty fun, but the internet there sucks so i guess you will be prepared for short and crappy email next week. but thats alright, maybe you can all write me real letters so i actaully get mail once and a while eh?
love you all!
mary

2009-04-13T13:22:00.000-06:00

The last two weeks have been SUPER hard because its been so dang hot. we are in the middle of summer and they had spring break here last week. its like, we just walk and are cooking under this fire of a sun. i am fighting to stay positive in the heat, because i cannot think straight and have sweat in my eyes all the time. i bought tiny little towel things just to have with me to wipe sweat. i thought guate was relatively hot all this time, but the last two weeks have been a little rediculuos. i mena rediculous. and in the heat, everything is worse. the frustrations with members and investigators and all that. man its ben hard. not to mention in el estor we have the biggest lake in guate, so EVERYONE was there with jet skis, swimming and playing all week, and we were just dying watching everyone head to the lake and us head to the streets to try and find someone to teach. yowsers. but things are going relatively good otherwise. i had an easter activity this week and taught them the whole color easter eggs and easter egg hunt tradition that almost every person in the states does. here they dont really celebrate easter, at least not in my town. they catholics have these rediculous processions which are like parades with crosses and dyuing christs. its really disturbing. ahh those catholics. but here even they didnt do much. they were busy playing in the hot sun. so, it didnt really feel like easter. a few people mentioned it in the testimony meeting, but yeah who knows. i missed easter. but we did decorate and hide eggs which they loved!! we are having a zone conference again this week, which i love they are always a spiritual pick me up, which will be nice. anyhoo, other than taht the work moves on. i found a scripture that i love in matthew 10Ñ43 or somewhere around there about giving a cold drink to us. read it love it. i did.so my new comp is great. she thinks i am a hippie. not sure she knows what one is but she likes the style...heheh also she didnt know moose were real. she thought they were just fiarytales or ust in movies or from the ice age. i need you to send me a picture of a moose, to proove it. like, a sweet one you know_ hha also if you send easter packages will you send some dollar bills_ i wanted to give some dollar bills to my favorite family here, they really want to see the money from the states. anyhoo do what you can...hehhe wello, i lov you all. times about up. anyhoo good luck!! thanks for all your prayers!! i miss you all!!!!!LOVE YOU!! hermana hall

2009-04-06T12:06:00.002-06:00

hey all!!! another week, another adventure!! i am offically not a newbie in the mish anymore. hit my 9 month mark. nuts. had a few fun adventures this week. lets start with the fun stuff. WE SAW CONFERENCE this weekend!! wahoo!!! i ddint even care (well maybe a little) that it was only on spansih. and qeqchi. no english. but who cares, i will read it in the liahona. i got mas o menos what was talked about. it was great to just be there and feel the spirit. two days of prophets. we talk and preach of prophets and i was a little disappointed that hardly anyone came to see what they had to say. oh my area of little faith. we are working with them though. gotta say elder holland was my fave as usual. the way he testifies and teaches of the atonement is so powerful, i can just feel that he KNOWS christ. i hope one day to be able to have a n understanding like that.pretty powerful.
Got my new comp this week. she is pretty cool. a honduranian. and she is jsut what this area needed. after almost 5 months here i was getting a little tired and worn out and she brought some new life. she brings the spirit like a powerhouse and thats really nice. and she works hard and is just an example of what i need to step up and be. We went to visit a family that we taught only one time, invited them to pray and dropped off a book of mormon. we returned to see how things went, and the husband (yes they are MARRIED!!!) said he had a strange dream. so he told me that he saw me in his dream and i was telling him that this was the church of Christ and the only (yes ONLY) camino back to heaven. basically he dreamed what i had already told him in the first lesson, but it was cool. i asked him if he had prayed about our message and he said he had. i told him that his dream was an answer to his prayer that the things we taught were true and from God. and when i told him that, i felt that what i said was right. it was a really cool experience. i pray for more like that.
Oh, and more things, lets see. This week we were out running by the lake (yeah my new come is so far willing to run with me) and we heard this screeching and hollering, which i knew to be monkeys. they always gritar from the trees. so i got really excited because i wanted to see them really bad. so we kept running and found them!!! there were three monkeys swinging and playin in the treetops near the lake at the edge of the jungle,. it was really cool. then we got home that morning and knocked some coconuts down to drink and eat. and i shaved mine with the machete all by myself!!! it was a big moment. because i really suck at machete skills. Then, we were out helpnig a less active family and they have like 14 kids or something so we were helping the daughter make allt he tortiallas for the family. the thing is, tortillas are life here. they eat them for every meal of every day. and if you cant make them nice and round by hand, then you are just lame and they laugh at you. so finally, after nine months int he missions, i was just making these beautiful round and perfect tortillas !!! i was pretty happy!!!! so i am finally legit. they say here that once you can tortillar, you are fit to get married. well, there you go. hehehe. anyhoo i guess thats all i got for now.... i hope you are all having a great week, thanks for the emails and letters and have fun out there. remember the church is true and when you bear testimony of it, its just becomes truer!!!!!
LOVE YOU!!!!
hermana hall

2009-03-30T12:35:00.000-06:00

things here are good, we had changes this week. well, i didnt. but i had to say goodbye to hna cordobas and hello to a new comp, hna fajardo from honduras. she seems pretty cool, we will see. its nice to have a change once in a while, even though i will miss the other one. always cruising in chacos together, and her testimony was a powerful one to have in lessons. but i think the nueva will be just fine as well. so one more change at least in el estor. that will make almost 6 months in the same area! wowsers!! but, the work is still progessing here, we had a few set backs with our baptisms and weddings, but i would ratehr that people make those committments when THEY are ready, not when we are. either way, i am loving the people of el elstor more and mroe every day. their problems are my problems, and their happiness is mine as well. strange, how just seeing a family at church can make your day! an inactive family that we have been working with for a long time finally came to chruch yesterday and said they are giong to return. i was so excited! we had some fun activities this week, a primary activity and a giant noche de hogar with teh ward. we want to have more regualr activites, and so you guys should REALLY think of some games and application ideas for me. my creativity with that is gone. i feel so bad, a rec major who cant think of games and applications...what exactly did i do up there at school?! hehe but really, help me.....i love how the people are so hardcore here. we went to visit emma, one of our investigators, and she was just finishing us killing a chicken. she was getting all the feathers off and what not. then she invited us over for dinner. and yes, we most definitely ate chicken. heheh i am so glad i dont have to kill my own food. anyhoo, things are good here. not a whole lot of news. hna cordobas was so sad to leave here, because she had 7 months in el elstor and so she was like cryng and saying goodbye for about 3 days. it was a little rediculous. i am pertty much ready to get back to work and normal life. this week i have nine months in the mission!!!! getting used to things, speaking spanish, mas o menos, and loving the people. mail flow is down to a trickle, which is to be expected at this time of my mish, and i have a feeling the last half will kind of fly by! seeing as how the last 5 months went by so fast. lets see.... wow, well i guess thats about all the news form here. be thankful for the church up there. its really a blessing to have enough people to fill callings, to bless the sacrament, and to support the members...its so frustrating down here sometimes. but poco a poco i think things will build. one day polochic will have stakes and wards, i know it. pray for it. anyhoo, i love you all. glad things are going well, good luck with that volcano up in AK that is so nuts!!!mary

2009-03-23T11:47:00.005-06:00

just a couple pics of playing in gaute, mostly p day stuff, drinking coconuts that we knocked down, hiking, slacklining, wearing cortes and eating soup.....good times in guate, always

things here are going well, we have been consumed these last few weeks with everyones problems, and i find my self wondering how christ took upon himself all the problems and sins of the entire human race, when i feel weighed down with just those few of el elstor, guatemala. but, we will work on and pray harder, to be able to help the people here build more faith and strength to resist the problems that are attacking this world.
today we had a p day in teleman, which is about an hour and a half away, with our zone, it was tons of fun and jsut what i needed, we played a pretty intese game of volleyball, all the people on the streets were stopping to watch, ti was funny. i brought my slackline and we played a bit on that, then we went on a tiny hike to see a really cool view, and ate lunch and ice cream! wahoo!!! anyhoo sorry this is a bit boring. this week we are going to try and have some activities with with branch to try and get people a little more excited and involved, we are having a bit family night thursday and a primary activity saturday. we are going to try and do weekly things, so if anyone has ideas of games and how we can apply them to scriptures, life, etc, please email me all you have,. we are always looking for fun ways to apply the gospel, because these people learn so much faster with hands on things and being able to see concepts. words are a weak point. so think and rack your brains for ideas.
anyhoo, this upcoming week hopefully we have a baptism, if we can swing a wedding as well. pray for that! we need all the faith we can get heading to heaven to get things done down here. anyhoo, thats about all i have for now. i love this work, i love the gospel, and i know that its the only way we can be happy. read the book, pray about it, and even if you have before, you will get an answer again. its a powerful thing to get that witness again and again. i love that th e Lord is always willing to talk to us if we sincerely want to listen. i love you all, and i will talk to you next week!! thanks for all your prayers and support!!!
love mary

2009-03-17T11:47:00.000-06:00

heheh here we are this week in coban again we have a zone conf with the area presidency, elder (pres?) christensen. i think it should be pretty cool. i bought a sweet corte today. they are the typical skirts here, you can ask jerry about them. i am excited, i will send pictures!!!! anyhoo so today we too were on the road, got up at 430 am to catch a micro bus to another microbus full of missionaries and we drove through the amazingly beautiful polochic valley along the river and thru the mountains, i was hanging out the window drooling the whole time. i love it here. i always assumed when i gave up 18 months to serve a mission it would be lioke, i would have to give up wilderness and my life would be so boring. but its not that at all. god loves me, i know that even more because he sent me to polochic. its gorgeous and so intersting and fun. i think of it as the alaska of guatemala. its kind of far out there, gorgeous, and the poeple are all a little strange but really cool. its just where i belong i think. this week has been rough with a few investigators and recent converts struggling with committments and testimonies but we are working as hard as we can and praying harder for them. its so heartbreaking to watch people make decisions that ruin lives of them and their families. UGH! i have been almost crying sometimes for the people here. but on the other hand, we had an amazing baptism saturday. it was a surprise. the kid i told you about that had this rockstar testimony but his mom freaked out and wouldnt let him- well this month she finally softened her heart and he got baptized. it was one of the most powerful baptisms that i have seen here because he had such a desire and the faith and it was jsut cool to see that in a 14 year old. he bore his testimony and everyone listened so intenetly and the spirit was so strong. i loved it. that was the highlight of a really rough week. but hopefully this week things will improve. i am doing well. i love it here!!!
i love you alll!!!!!
until next week!!!
mary

2009-03-09T11:46:00.000-06:00

things are good here, we were eating at a members house last night, and we were eating this caldo (soup) with some kind of meat. as we were eating, they informed me that it was cow lung i believe. thats why it was nice and soft and good for eating. lungs. cant say i have ever eaten those before. i just smiled and shoved the rest of it in, washing it down with a tortilla and some nice hot corn water....heheh it was nice. other than that, things are going well, we had interviews with president on friday, and had to travel to the town about 2 hours in a crowded van thing. the bridge was closed for a while, so we had to wait for about 40 minutes, and then they opened it and it was like a mad mad rush to get across, with like 20 trucks and busses full of people. i thought the bridge was going to break with all those people on it, and then the all were racing up the road, and it was SOOO dusty you literally could not see (or breathe) and our driver was rediculous and passing everyone in the dust and couldnt see. i really thought we might die. wowsers. gotta love those drivers in guate. still working with the people that we are hoping to baptize this month, we just need to work on getting them married, which is the hard part. for some reason its just NOT the thing to do here. really annoying. anyhoo, thast the news from lake izabal. hehe. love you guys!! miss you!!! good luck up there!! next week we will be in coban, with a supermarket, and fast food, pizza, everything we could ever want!! WAHOO!! i am excited! anyhoo love you all!!!mary

2009-03-02T11:45:00.000-07:00

one more week, and of course internet problems!!! WAHOO!! we came this morning to do internet, and i was lcukily only 2 lines into my letter when the power went out. and of course, no generators. so, we had to wait a few hours. anyhoo, it was great to get all your letters and hear all thats going on!! thanks for the updates. i am pretty happy today. we had a good week. well it was rough until sunday. sunday we had a great fast sunday, with our investigators in church and loving it, 105 people! and good classes, everything. i was happy. then we went on divisions and i got to go into my favorite area, called barrio nuevo, and its at the foot of the mountains, so we got to do a tiny bit of hiking. we had lots of success, contacted lots and taught a few really good lessons. and my comp had success too. One of our investigators decided she was finally ready to be baptized, after forEVER always visiting and working with her. only she has to get married to her husband first. but where theres a will (finally) theres a way!ª and then in the night we went to a couple that we have been teaching, they went to church yesterday and they liked it. they said they also want to be baptized!! another family!! whaoo!! so if all goes as planned and the stars alight, we will have two weddings and three baptisms this month! so i was in a pretty good mood when we got home last night.
Also, today i complete 8 months in the mission! nuts eh? back in months 3, 4, 5 it was crawling, but since reaching el estor i feel the time slipping by pretty rapidly. maybe its the pressure of having so much more to do. our area is a lot bigger than it was in the cap, and we are working on learning languages and have more challenges with the branch, so there is always a lot of work. and i think that helps the time to fly. anyhoo, eitehr way, 10 more months is not a lot of time to do all the things i feel that i need to.
i am about to finsish john in the new testament, and them hopefully i can get through the rest. i want to read all the standard works, and i feel like there is just not enough time o t really study them the way i want to. but the book jesus the christ is really really amazing. Talmadge was super inspired when he wrote it. i love all the insight it has into the Savior and his ministry and purpose. wow i love this gospel. keep working hard, family! anyhoo, i think thats about all i have for now. things are going well, i still love the mission, things are still always hard, but i guess thats how we know we are still growing and getting better. my goal this week is to be a missionary the lord can trust with his work.
i miss you all!!!
love mary

2009-02-23T07:39:00.001-07:00

this week has been good, no corn water so far. we got a new branch president this sunday. the old one was, well you could say he was struggling. i think the responsibility of the calling was a little heavy for him and he was buckling under temptations. but we have a new one and things should be better. the stake pres. guy is going to be spending more time in our branch to help him out.
anyhoo, we are also working with a family that if we can get them married i think they will really progress. its frustrating that the gospel is so true and needed, but so many people dont even have a desire to find out or know. they just dont care. i hope you all can think about the blessing we have and the real desire you have felt. maybe its a blessing of faith. i hope we can be thank ful for our faith.
sorry i am a bit scatter brained this week and i cant think very well to write. i have felt the guidance of the spirit more this week than in weeks past, and i have been making an effort to notice His hand in the work. its really cool to see all the things he helps us with. and really humbling. i am attempting to do part of my prayers in qeqchi. its work. but getting better. anyhoo, so this week i learned how they take ears of corn, and dry thenm out and take the kernels off them and wash them and grind them into dough and make tortillas, drinks, and tamales and everythign else out of it. i was helping a family with corn stuff. its pretty crazy. corn is a part of almost everything here. and thats why i am proud to say that my name, hal, is a form of corn in qeqchi. hehe so, its like i am going to become a part of everything.
well, i guess thats all i have for this week.
i love you all!!!
love mary

2009-02-16T11:33:00.000-07:00

the heat of the summer has started. i now enter the house at night and jump in a cold shower just to avoid iminent death. and the heat and sun does not stop poeple from making hot drinks for us. there is on,e really gross, its just like, water mixed with ground up granules of corn or somthing, and yeha thats its. corn water., they like to give us hot corn water. yummmm.....
but, other than that, things are good. the ward is still struggling, so we have been trying to work with the members and strenghten them. i gave a talk yesterday on faith and how it requires action. hopefully that will sink in..hahah
but our recent converts, the familia Tiul Caal, is really great. the work here is Pilas. or chaabil. haha they are jsut GOLD . yesterday we got the see the dad and the two sons recive the aaronic preisthood. they are really excited. the dad, domingo, is really taking things seriously. he studied to be a catholic preist for 5 years, so he knows the bible really well, and then he was an alcolhlic, and now he is a mormon. and he has fallen in love with the doctrine and covenants, because we are studying it in sunday school. he doesnt have a triple, which just take forever to get up here in el elstor and polochic, so he is borrowing mine until we get him one. he says it is so cool because it explains things so well and the things in it are really applicable. he thinks really deeply about things, and is always sharing with us his `revelations´` that he writes down when he studies. GOLD! he actaully reminds me a lot of dad. really funny and entertaining, but really intellectual and into the scriptures. i just love seeing this family grow in the gospel. if i never find another family like this in guate, i will leave happy, just for them. hopefully they will be able to go to the temple in a year, that would be jan, the month i go home. and i am PRAYING for you guys to be able to come to guatemala and pick me up, because then maybe you could meet them and see them go through the temple. pray for them to make it by then. and for you to make it by then. yeah? missionary work is so exciting sometimes.! and frustratiing sometimes. yesterday was also frustraing. but we will not focus on that!!!! just know that things down here are great, i cannot believe its already the middle of feb!!! can you believe i almost have 8 mothns in the mission! time is now oficially flying. anyhoo time is up, i love you all!! hope you have a great valentines day!
well, i better run. oh, we had changes, and i am here in el elstor another 6 weeks with same come. we are happy. and blessed!!
have a great week!!!
lix hal

2009-02-09T11:31:00.001-07:00

Zone conf was really really cool. first off is because it was in spanish, and i understood almost everything and really learned things without having to translate to english first. got me thinking about my first few months when i really really struggled with this language. and now that i look back, spanish really isnt all that hard, i was the hard one. i remember doubting my faith, thinking that if i wasnt learning, it was because i lacked the faith. which could be true in some instances, but i realize that in only 7 months, i have been blessed to learn this language. not great, i still have a long way to go, but i just could see my progress and it was refreshing. also the conference was great because we talked about the atonement which is a subject i just LOVE! its so full of hope and love for everyone. the fact that despite all our weaknesses, our selfishness, our faults, Christ is still willing to pay for our sins, if we accept him and work with him through our weaknesses. and not only work with us, but he will make them strenghts. its like, he is the master surgeon, and we are just the scalpel. we see only blood and guts and really no order in the mess, but he sees what he is cutting and fixing and repairing. hhaa that analogy was for dad....kinda gross but i like it. anyhoo it was really cool conference. i also liked that we talked about teaching with power. we have the authority with our calling, but to preach with power, we have to have the spirit. authority is here, but we have to work for the power. i have been focusing on that this week. developing spiritual power, that comes with obedience and study. i love studying. especially because i can always share what i study with someone and we both learn something new. its cool.
this week we have been blessed with guidance we have been trying to obey with exactness and really be conscious of using time, etc. and the lord has blessed us. there are people who are easy to hear the gospel. we just have to be worthy to receive the inspiration to find them. which this week we did. we have a family with a lot of potential, we taught them last night, with the recent convert family we just baptized. it was cool to hear the new convert dad, domingo, share with the investigator his testimony in qeqchi. it is getting better. i am starting to understand a lot more, and praying half qeqchi half spanish prayers. good thing god understands all of it, because i dont always..haha. but i am trying i know i will learn if i lose the fear of speaking. but its geting a little better and i have been studying al ittle harder. so we will just see. plus we are having a qeqchi learning contest with the other hermanas in the polochis. thats hna collette, my old comp. i am still with cordobas, we are doing really well together, getting along and i like her alot. sill havent gotten the shoes, but i have hope. i will pray for it. anyhoo, i guess thats all for now. i love you all and have a great week!!!!!
ADIOS!!! CUAN CHIC!!!!
hermana mary

2009-01-26T22:01:00.001-07:00

this week we were teaching the family we have been working with, domingo, julia, and rudy. their son edwin we baptized last month. at chruch last sunday the dad, domingo, told me that he wanted to be baptized. i about peed my pants. but i played it cool. i said, well, if you really want to, we can do that. if you feel sure in your heart. and he gave me this look like, of course i am sure. and smiled. i was so happy. so be were teaching them a lot this week, working with julia and their son rudy, who were still unsure about it. we had a lot of really cool discussions with them, and the spirit was there. we talked of the temple, of eternal families, the family proc, and everything we could think of. they prayed and prayed. and finally, thursday they all committed!!!! it was so exciting! saturday we were able to witness three baptisms,. my first family in the mission. and wow. it was so amazing. the kid who gave us the reference to teach this family was there. he has one of the most amazing testimonies i have seen, but cannot get baptized because his mom is nuts and wont let him. but he still comes and because of him we found this family and baptized them. he bore his testimony at the baptism and it was powerful. the spirit was there. i loved loved loved it more than alma and co, and their thousands of converts. it was a cool feeling to see them get the sprirt in chruch the next day and all show up in white shirts and ties. wow. what a weekend.
so thats waht i have for now. we are now searching for more families, we have a few in mind, but the work may slow down a bit. no worries though, things are great here in guate. love you all. have a great week!!!

hermana mary

2009-01-19T21:59:00.002-07:00

greetings from the jungle town of el estor. i love it still. things just dont get any easier on missions but i dont think thats the point. i didnt come out here for rainbows and butterflies, and its not called missionary WORK for nothing...hehe. the language is killing me. i have not so secret fears of NEVER being able to speak qeqchi....i just listen to people ramble on it in, picking out words here and there and really wondering how this will all work out.... but i have faith. i hope its enough faith.....
things are going well though. the branch is improving a lot, they have called a few new leaders and given them a bit of training. and people are actually coming.
we are teaching a few families which is really fun. i LOVE it. this one family, who is the family of our past baptism, i think will get baptized. the dad said he wants to this saturday. and the rest of them will decide by tuesday. they read. they pray, they understand. just sitting in their home and hearing them learn the commandments and principles that will help them, and hearing them accept these. we walked in the other night to find the dad studying for the strength of youth pamphlet with their 12 year old looking up the scripture references. it was one of the coolest things i have seen. who thought seeing people read would make me this happy. i am a little bit nuts. but i can feel the spirit calmly residing in their homes and i pray that they recognize it. they are just amazing. and i feel why alma and ammon rejoiced and said that this was their joy. i feel it, alma 26 (i THINK...)
anyhoo, also i have been studying the new testament, reading the gospels along with jesus the christ, and i really like it. but it felt a little more like a history lesson and less like scriptures sometimes. but the other day we were teaching a couple who knew a LOT about the bible, and i was able to just bear a really strong and pure testimony about Christ and his purpose on this earth and his life, and that only could have come from my study. i felt the sprit just course through my body so strongly, stronger than i have felt in a really long time, because i feel it often, but this was forceful. i feel like i am really gaining an understanding of Christ and really the love that was his life. people talk about him here like he was a famous rock star or something. and its actually offensive. his life was sacred. and powerful. people, whether they accepted him or not, felt and knew that he taught with power. bearing testimony of that made me feel that all those hours of studying the gospels really helped me. i am gaining an appreciation for the bible. (remember a few months ago when i was fed up with it? yeah thats over)
but anyway, things are going down here. we are on our way to chuulaac to hike and play in the mountains. i am excited. we even get to sleep there in a hut, and someone has an oven, so we will get to make the brownies that you sent!!! thanks!!!
mary

mountains of pics

2009-01-05T21:35:00.005-07:00

pics of christmas tamales, my comp and i, el elstor, jumping for joy, climbing coconut trees and wow, i cant really remember what else...new years eve with sparklers, ummmm yeah oh our baptism, edwin, so cute! and i am pretty sure most of them can explain themselves..... but anyhoo enjoy!

love you all!!!
MARY MISSIONARY

pics of El Estor!

2008-12-01T16:06:00.000-07:00

so here are some pictures of my new area.... slacklining in my front yard, my favorite little boy here, jerson, hiking with me, and reading the kids version of the kekchi BOM with him, i found some rocks to climb on today during my p day explorations, and.... oh the pigs are everywhere... its nuts.... what else. the jungle. my new home. i love it.

the new area is.... AMAZING!!! i love love love it!!!! wow i feel like there is so so so much to tell you all, i cant even do it. the town is on a lake, really big, looks more like an ocean, so it feels like a coastal town. palm trees and other trees and dirt roads, and a market, thank goodness. my new comp is really cool, for p day today we hiked up a mountain. i loved it!!!! well, i kind of ran up, she walked up. but it was steep! we had these hard core little kekchi kids with us, running with me. they are SO cute! i love them to death. this one little boy, jerson, is my favorite. and i think i am his too. he is glued to my side whenever we are around. he hiked with me the whole time and insisted on carrying my water bottle up the mountain. in torn up flip flops. so cute. my comp is cool, i have actually been speaking with her a lot, is tiring but i am getting better. and a lot of the towns people here tell me i am better than the last hermana, who has a change more than me in the mission. so there. its coming. still not great, but i can usually get the message across. kekchi is another story. holy holy crap. i hear them babble on and i feel a little...panicked i guess is the word. i have no idea how i will ever be able to figure this out. i am working on it. poco a poco. but, my house is cool, a little two roomer with a pila out back to do laundry. i mos def washed my own clothes, scrubbing them on the little washboard this morning. wow. i am really growing up. and we squeezed lemons from our front yard and made lemonade. mmm. its pretty legit here. there are possibly more pigs than people here, running all over the streets. not sure why. a rooster next door wakes me up every morning at 3 am. it drives me nuts! its hot here, and i hear its supposed to REALLY ge hot in jan- april. so... i might die of heat. but luckly, even though everything is so hot here, the shower water manages to stay remarkable cold for us. not sure how, but yeah. its nice. most mornings. my comp runs with me. not far, but we are working her into shape...haha.the ward here is cool, the members are gold, always willing to help us tranlslate from spanish to kekchi for people. wow. i love it. i just cant get enough of it. we do a lot of walking. our area is big. all the towns people love my chacos and ask where i get them and how much they cost. i feel bad, i wish they could all have them! they are a hit.we get mail here every saturday night from the office in the cap, but can only send it once or twice a month. so dont expect too many snail mail letters from now on. but KEEP SENDING THEM!" i love mail you have no idea. i will still send you all mail, it will just be really old by the time you get it! no worries. i still love you all.well, i guess thats all for now. one week in the chis so far, and i love it. i hope i am here for the next 13 months. thast right, i cmoplete 5 months in the mission tomorrow. holy guacamole! i would like to say its gone by fast, but actually, i feel like i have been gone for a long time. like a year at least. who knows. but anyhoo, i am doing well, hope you guys are too. i love you long time!!!!!

love mary

Chaabil

2008-10-27T18:25:00.005-06:00

Hey online community- i am still alive in guatemala!!!still in the capital, still straggling along trying to learn spanish. i dont know really whats quite wrong with me but i am not really getting it very well. i pretty much suck at spanish. but thats okay, because i just found out that next change (right before thanksgiving) i am getting sent to the jungle, out in the wilderness, and i have to learn an ancient mayan language called K´ekchi. you should look up on the church website conference talks in that language, because it sounds rediculous. but i hear its easier to learn pronunciation wise than spanish because of all the glottals. whatever those are...hehe.

But here are a few samples of what you could say to get a conversation started:

Lain Lix Mary! (i am mary!)

Cha Cui la Cuit! (watch your butt)

Cuink Laat. (youre a man)

Chaabil! (good, bueno,)

now, those are just for starters. And i am not sure of the spelling. But i do know that the x sounds like an SH. anyhoo, yeah its pretty legit. I mean, yeah it will be a challenge. i cant even learn spanish. but, i am excited to get out of the city and into the wild again. Jungles here i come. i dont mind walking through the mud for miles to get to appointments. its better than breathing smoke from the nacho libre busses and trying to avoid trash and urine in the streets. okay thats harsh. i love my concrete jungle of an area, and my market and my nice amenities in the city, like hot showers and stores if i really need something. There is internet, though, just have to travel to town on mondays for it. But, it will be adventure. and i really feel like its right. So, wish me luck! here are a few pictures as well.

PS i dont blog, i send posts to my sister and she posts them!! just so you know, i am not that girl...

cuan chic!

Lix Mary

pictures: the view of my area from the roof, me and my comp, jumping pictures, and guat.

tres mesas- pilas!

2008-10-06T18:48:00.003-06:00

These are just some pics from by my house.

Well, three months in guatemala. Holy guacamole! literally. There is an avacado tree by my house, and the other day we picked about 50. They are all sitting in my house, waiting to soften up for a kickin guatemalan party...Sorry i dont update often, but hey, i am kind of busy being a missionary, and picking avacados and hauling my butt up and down a million stairs made of rotting concrete on hillsides. i am busy teaching in broken spanish on dirt floors, avoiding amoebas, and letting beautiful brown eyed little chapins play with my blond hair. Its tough to make it to the blog in times like this.The other day we stopped by a family's house and they were hauling cinder blocks up these concrete stairs and then up some rickety wooden stairs to use them to build a wall on their roof i think. who knows what they really build here, but we started hauling them also. we hauled and hauled for like an hour, and got real sweaty and dirty and sore. such a great night. And i saw a huge wierd looking spider, the size of my mano, crawl out from one concrete block i was holding. wow that was fun. Guatemala is so random.But thats all the news i have for you today!just remember, la iglesia es verdadera!!

guatemalan gringa

2008-09-11T11:12:00.003-06:00

me with hermana Collette
me with presidente & hermana Torres
one week in the mission for reals now. Pretty sweet. guatemala is pretty dirty and pretty crazy. My first night we were out in this crazy monsoon downpour and got soaking soaking wet. my poor little patagonia shoes took days to dry out!! But, hey, thats what i bought them for right? you could say i am finally getting my feet wet...haha. things are going well. My apartment is a dirty hole in the wall place which i will probably view as nice in a few months, since i hear its one of the nicer apartments. Bugs everywhere. Fleas actually. yeah really great i know.I see goats in the street everyday, and yesterday i saw a guy pooping in the street. Pretty interesting. There are some sketchy people here. We try to find people to teach all the time, and are teaching one family, and maybe two. its fun to meet all the little kids, they are SOOO cute! ah!But things are great. I have a gringa companion, named Hermana Alyssa Collette,from idaho falls. turns out she is cousins with angela hatch. sweet eh? anyhoo she is awesome, and luckily i get to speak english now and then!! yahoo! But, this is probably why my spanish sucks. I pretty much walk aruond all day having not much of an idea what people are saying to me, and i throw out holas and como estas and gracias´s now and then. its legit. Hopefully i will learn it in a few months. well my time is up. many adventures in only a week, but no time to dive in.Pero, estoy aqui. YAHOO!!!