Adventures of Alma and Amulek...Change #3!

First things first.  Yesterday we found out the Hna E and I don't have changes!  This will be my 4th change here and our 3rd change together!  Woo!  We're super pumped and we are so determined to baptize and help the ward.

I've been reading in Alma lately and I've decided that Hna E and I are like Alma and Amulek.  She's a cute little pilas convert and I trained her and now we're ready to go out and work miracles!  Just like Alma and Amulek (mas o menos).

Last Thursday we got up on the wrong side of the bed.  Actually, We woke up LATE!  It was horrible.  I opened my eyes and Hna E had just popped up to tell me 'It's really late!'  It was 6:57!!!  And we have to be out of bed by 6:30.  We always wake up at 5:30 but neither one of us heard the alarm or saw the light come in the window or anything!  It was awful. So we called president and repented really fast and forgave ourselves so we could go on with our day without feeling like losers.  Waking up late is basically one of the worst missionary sins to me.  That morning I opened my eyes and I had already sinned!!!! I hadn't even gotten out of bed and I had messed up!  What a great start to your day.  But it's funny to think about.  I'm pretty sure that only as a missionary you could wake up and already have sinned.  

So the reason Hna E woke up´was because she felt a super sharp pain in her neck.  We joked and said that Heavenly Father punched her in the neck just so we would finally get out of bed.  But the greatest part was...karma.  She made fun of me SO much 2 weeks ago when I couldn't look left because my neck hurt so bad.  And this time she couldn't look right.  She kept saying 'This is all for laughing at you, I just know it.'  She's fine now. But she learned her lesson.  Don't make fun of your trainers!  :)

Things aren't getting easier in the area but we're not losing the faith!  I really feel that we get this one more change together to work lots of miracles!  We have lots of ideas to work better with the members and to get people to church.  We have lots of really positive investigators.  Now is the time!  We just know it!  As a mission we have the goal of 400 baptisms again in November.  And I just know its going to happen!

Thanks for all your prayers!  We sure need them.

Love you!

Hna Haymond

This family is way cool.  the younger ladies in this picture are less active.  but the old grandma is so PILAS!!!  Her whole family got baptized but her and her husband.  Her husband said he was going to kill her if she got baptized.  But she kept going to church.  She told me she was SO HAPPY when he died because she could finally get baptized.  She is so shakey and fragile.  But she is always the first one in church on sundays.  she walks like 40 minutes to get to church and never misses.  so next time you think you should stay home in your jammies and not go to church, think of this little abuelita pilisimas.

So one of the Sisters who does divisions with us got addicted to this candy that comes with these little soccer player figures.  So she started giving them to us with little quotes to motivate us during our studies.  we've made a few more too.  

these ones say... 

i love how you recieve inpriation during your personal study.

 You look good when you make lesson plans.

and....

I will wait for you!!

Chicote quita el Bigote

It was another week with miracles and lots of chances to learn.  Last Wednesday we thought we had 0 candidates for baptism for this month.  But on Thursday we were knocking doors.  It was like 20 minutes before lunch and I wanted to leave to eat.  But I felt like we needed to keep knocking.  We found a girl who has lived in our area for 2 months.  But before she was going to church and listening to Elders in the capital! She has like a million assistances at church!  It was crazy!  It got us so pumped.  Then later that night Hna E contacted this guy on the bus  Who had just moved here from the States.  He also has gone to church forever!  When I called him that night he said 'me quede con ganas de bautizarme.' Which basically means when the Elders stopped coming he felt like getting baptized!  His name is Samuel. We call him Samuel el Lamanita.  By the end of the day we had 2 new candidates to be baptized!  There's still lots of work to do with them.  But it was awesome.

Saturday the stake did a mini MTC with the young men and young women.  They had training Saturday morning.  Then each companionship in the stake received a group of jovenes (umm...the only word that comes to mind to explain that word is youngsters.).  We received 9 girls!!!  We were like holy cow no one is going to want to receive 12 of us.  So we did divisions.  Hna E had 3 of them and I had 6.  It was so crazy!  And so fun!  I felt like all of a sudden I had 6 daughters.  They were so brave and contacted and taught and did awesome.  We didn't teach anything I had planned, but that's okay.  It was fun to see them get to teach. At the end of the day they slept at a members house and couldn't use their cell phones or anything so it was just a real mission experience (kinda.).  How cool is that activity!  They all bore their testimonies in church and want to go one missions.  But I wish someone would have taken a picture of me and 6 little jovencitas trotting through the rain filled streets.  I'm sure it was a great sight.

I'm feeling a lot better.  But Monday Tuesday and Wednesday I pretty much didn't have a voice.  I think it was good because Hna E had to take the initiative.  I feel like I'm leaving with changes next week, so it was good for her to take the lead.

Thanks so much for all the love and support!

Hna Haymond

My group of girls from the mini CCM.

Imagine me all alone with these girls in a line behind me running around Guatemala.

Other cute girls.  They were with hna E.

This is an inactive guy.  He's a member of a really pilas family.  We thought he was older than he was because he had a mustache.  So we told him to shave it off and he did.  If only people would accept other commitments like he got rid of his mustache.

This is a recent converts daughter.  SHE IS SO CUTE!

Look where we went yeterday! woo!

After eating crepes.  I still eat a lot.  I finished the elders crepes.  One time my district leader say 'wow you eat like an Elder.  And work like one too.'  I quickly corrected him and told him I work like a SISTER! way harder than the elders.

We went to colinas again last week.

Sufra con una sonrisa

Okay!  Today I have way more time so I will actually get to write a decent email.

Oh by the way I'm writing on a Monday because we have interviews with president this week and it throws everything off.  I'm sure you're confused about that.

First off...I still need to talk about conference.  Conference was way awesome!  We always get to watch in English.  It is so refreshing to hear the gospel in English.  I love teaching in Spanish.  It just feels so right.  But lets be honest.  Hearing the voices of the apostles and prophets is just awesome. (Everyone in the world should learn English just to hear an Elder Holland talk..whoa.)  But I learned a lot about being a team to help rescue people who have fallen away form the church.  I liked what Elder Holland said about taking care of the poor.  Being here made that talk hit me hard.  I also loved Elder Bednar's  talk.  It helped me remember why I'm here and why missionary work is so important.  Ah.  Conference just feels good.  Now we've just got to apply what we learned and felt.  I love the example of the wise man and the foolish man in 3 Nefi 14.  The only difference between the two is that one did the words that he heard.  They both went to conference.  They probably both took notes.  Maybe neither one of them fell asleep during the Sunday afternoon session.  But the foolish man's house fell because he didn't change!  He didn't apply the things he learned.  Don't build your house on the sand!

We also had stake conference this weekend.  That was way cool too.  I liked a talk by a member of the 70 about how our spiritual growth doesn't end like our physical growth does.  Conferences are awesome.

I slept way weird last week or something because my neck has been killing me!  I can't look to the left to save my life.  Its just kept things interesting because in the lessons I want to look at my companion to listen to her.  Or I'll want to turn to see her walking behind me.  But I can't!  And somehow she ALWAYS ends up on the left side of me.  She's always so kind to point it out to the investigators saying 'Don't worry.  She's not giving me dirty looks.  She just can't look to the left.'  It's given everyone a good laugh.  Hna E always puts herself to the left of me and I'm sure it's not a coincidence.

Things have been hard lately.  But I'm  happy. It's been so hard to help investigators progress.  And I have a cold.  And there have been more rejections.  And people aren't coming to church.  And ah!! It's rough.  But I really am so thankful because we always always see miracles.  Even on our hardest days I can be happy because Heavenly Father always puts someone in our path to build our faith.  I know I need to be here and have these little trials because it's just the best way to learn.  Thanks for all your prayers and love!! 

Love you all!
Hna Haymond

Hawaiian Haystacks

Ah!  I have like no time.  This will not be a quality email.  Sorry.

Yesterday I made Hawaiian Haystacks.  Of course we ate them with tortillas.  So good!

I've learned a lot about how Heavenly Father puts the right people in our path.  We were contacting a bus like normal.  Not usually a super spiritual environment.  But this lady started to cry and really wanted us to visit her.  We found her yesterday and she's going through a lot with her family and her faith.  It's so clear that she's prepared for this message.  I also found a teenage girl that was in my first area.  In my first area there were 2 companionships and she was an investigator of the other sisters.  She came to church every week with her sisters and was going to get baptized when I left.  Turns out she never got baptized, But she now lives in my area with her family.  It is such a miracle because she recognized me and still wants to go to church.  I know Heavely Father loves her so much and that she gets another chance to accept the gospel. How great is the worth of souls in the sight of God!

Love you all!  Thanks for the prayers and sorry for the lame email.

Hna Haymond

The gringa can cook!  Me making haystacks

A plan of salvation puzzle I made yesterday.
Things missionaries do when they're bored on p-day.