Antigua! Antigua!

This change has had the best p-days!  Yesterday we went to Antigua.  It brought back so many memories.  I was hoping so bad that I'd seen some of my converts from San Pedro or something.  But I didn't see anyone.  We went to some ruins that were pretty cool.  Not Mayan ruins.  But like old cathedrals that fell during earthquakes a long time ago.  Then we went to Luna de Miel the delicious crepe place!  AH!  I can't explain how good it is!  I had a pesto crepe and a caramel crepe with ice cream on top.  Yum!  Then we went to the market.  The Antigua market is expensive with all the tourists but I found a cool backpack.  It just stresses me out because you can bargain the prices and I'm not very good at it.  But It was a good day! I love working all week, but by Sunday night P-day feels good.

My companion is from Costa Rica and has a funny accent.  She's lost some of it by now, but people still comment about it a lot.  Costa Ricans don't roll their r's so people always think she's from the States.  They'll ask what state she's from or how long she's known Spanish and just funny comments like that.  She tries so had to talk like a Chapina but it just doesn't work sometimes.  One lesson the investigator looked at me a few times to figure out what my companion was saying.  My Spanish is sooo not perfect, but it was just funny trying to explain Costa Rican Spanish to a Guatemalan.

Yesterday my stomach was hurting and we were at a members house. Getting the members involved in health problems always turns into way more of an adventure than it needs to be.  The members told me that this tree in their yard is el arbol de la vida.  It has cured elders and hermanas for year with all their stomach problems.  So she sent two neighbor boys to climb the tree to get leaves.  She brewed up the leaves and had me drink this arbol de la vida concoction.  It didn't taste bad or make me sick or anything.  It was just a funny remedy.  I just had to see what this whole arbol de la vida cure was all about.

Things a good.  It hasn't been the best change yet but it's gone by way too fast.  We find out Monday who stays and who goes.  I really love this area and things are starting to pick up.  I hope I stay!

Saturday we got permission from a parent to let her kids be baptized!  It was one of many miracles that we've seen lately.  But right after that all of our lessons were horrible.  We had people really angry with us, contacts weren't receptive.  People wouldn't let us talk in lessons.  The people we called to invite to church said that they were done listening to us.  People were praying that we would come to the truth.  It was a rough day.  But I just can't even get down.  We are going to have 2 baptisms on Sunday of 2 really awesome kids!  Satan can't let us get away with that easy.  It's so cool how every convert is worth all the hard stuff.  And getting rejected and suffering is just good for ya.  My testimony grows so much more on hard days.  I'm thankful for my leaders and companions who have helped me realize that.

Love you all!

Yay! Ruins!  

G cooling down the brew from the leafs of the tree of life.

Its funny because they're like a modern hip family.  Its not like she's an old grandma who lives in the forest and doesn't know anything about sicknesses.  The tree is in the background with the sun shining through it

 

It's a Girl! (Again!)

Last night I found out I'm going to train again next change.  I'm excited!  My lil hija is in the CCM as we speak! Training is fun. I'll learn a lot.

I've had the best Pdays in this area!  Yesterday we went to this big park that the church owns.  It's like for youth camps and stuff.  But it was like a hike with a ropes course!  It was good to go outside and exercise a little and just have fun. 

We had divisions last week and I went with a sister that entered with me.  It was so fun to teach with her! It was fun to talk about memories form the CCM.  It's such a privilege to have new missionaries as companions.  But it was so refreshing to work with Hna R.

So Thursday I will complete one year as a missionary.  It's really hard to accept that.  I have so much to do and so little time.  I love this work so much.  I love this country.  I love these people.  I love these missionaries.  It's hard to think of very many things that I love more.  I can't think about the time too much.  Nothing is over yet.  I've gotta work harder.  Today in our meeting we talked about how after his life Christ went to preach to the spirit world.  He didn't even rest after Atoning for our sins!  I can't rest.

Thanks for your love and prays and emails!

Love you!

Hna Haymond

Yesterday we went to this super cool camp park thing that the church owns. 
It has a hike that has a ropes course on it.

Rope wall thing that I climbed

Me as I fell off the ropes right during a panoramic picture

My room

Waters of Mormon

Yesterday we had an awesome p-day!  We had a zone activity in Panajatchel.  It's a little city right on Lago Atitlan, supuestamente (supposedly)  The Waters of Mormon.  We were all joking that we should take some water from the lake back to our areas to sprinkle on our investigators.  It's super pretty!  You can see 2 or 3 volcanoes.  The town is really touristy.  It's cool.  It's like Antigua but more laid back.  It took two hours to get there and another two to get back.  We had to wake up super early to do our exercises and studies.  But worth it!  I would totally go back and hang out for a few days after the mission.  Now I'm hoping that they take out the Elders they have serving there right now and put in sisters (aka..me).  I'm sending some cool pictures we took on the water.  No one fell in.  But someones name tag dropped in which turned out to be an adventure.  We had the whole zone on the dock looking for it.  We got a rake and the Zone leaders were holding each other off the dock to look for it., Finally the little guys on the boats around us called for help and a guy in his underwear came and saved it with his snorkel gear.

I don't know if the lessons have turned out like this at church back home, but we've touched on some really interesting topics in sacrament meeting, principles of the gospel, and relief society lately.  I've heard about parasites (how everyone needs to cleanse the parasites out of their systems every 6 months), dating, how Sisters can't build houses and do service as good as the elders, and why we should eat soy.  Church is always way interesting.

This week I also saw the Patriarch from Antigua.  He's from the Branch in San Pedro, my first area.  It was way cool to see him after so long!  He was happy to see me too.  It was weird because back then I could hardly understand or speak anything.  But this time I was able to communicate way better.  I'm sure that's super weird for him to see me 7 months later and I can finally talk to him.  It's fun to see people like that, that know you and are happy to see you.

Time is FLYING by.  I was sitting in sacrament meeting on Sunday and I realized that I gave my farewell talk 1 year ago.  How weird is that!  I have changed so much and I had no idea what I was doing.  But it feels like it couldn't have been more than a month ago. Crazy.

In our area people have chompipis as pets.  They're like turkeys but with a trunk.  Google them. They're hands down one of the weirdest animals I've ever seen.  But one lives in an alley where we have some investigators and it always puffs out its feathers and comes after us.  It's terrifying.

We needed lots of miracles this week to baptize.  But we ended the month without baptisms, which is rough.   I have been so blessed on my mission and seen so many people be converted.  I know that Heavenly Father needs me to learn something from the month of July.  I need to remember that I'm nothing.  That all my success isn't actually mine.  It's because of Him.  I know we're working hard and finding super pilas people.  I know we're going to baptized in August.

I really love this area.  We are finding a lot of new investigators and the members are really supportive, which is such a blessing.  I'm happy and healthy.

Thanks for all the love and prayers and support!

Hna Haymond

You can see the Volcanos behind me!

big Guatemalan boats :) haaha

Me and hna Z on a little sketchy dock

left to right... hna M (from colorado!!!)

hna R (from my district in the mtc.  shes super awesome) me hna Zeledon

chompipes (editor: I found this pic on the internet)

Week 2 in Chimal

Things are going good.  The people in my area are super cool.  Everyone in Guatemala is super cool, but I just feel good here.  Last week I felt like I put myself pretty quiet.  I wasn't talking much and I was just trying to figure out the new area and companionship.  But I feel way more comfortable now.  We're working hard.  I've had more new investigators and lessons in this area than ever before.  It's way cool!  We've just gotta get baptizing and get people to church.  I know  Heavenly Father sees our hard work and will bless us.  But we need to work harder.

Yesterday was a pretty cool p-day.  We live by this really big family who are members of the church.  So we just went over there to hung out all day.  It was nice and laid back.  I taught everyone how to make rice krispie treats.  That one just never gets old here.  They loved it just as much.  And seeing me make it magically in the microwave right before their eyes just added to the amazement.  But it was nice and they're a really cool family.

Our house is nice too!  It has two floors!  Which is so weird.  I haven't been in a house with 2 floors for a while.  It's kinda scary actually going up and down the stairs.  I fell on the way down this morning.  I'm just not used to it.  It has 2 bathrooms too!  About 3 months ago there were elders living in this area, and the house shows it.  After 2 changes of sisters it's clean and it doesn't have fleas anymore (not a joke...it had fleas.).  But the Elders wrote their names one everything possible.  The windows, the doors, the desks.  There's like a history of every elder that has served there.  Which is kinda cool but sisters just don't do that.

That's all that I can think of right now.  I feel like this email is boring.  But I tried to send lots of pictures to make up for it.

Love you all! Thanks for the support.  Good luck on trek!

Hna Haymond

Editors note: Alexis couldn't get her SD card to work in the computer she was using last week so these are the pictures she had wanted to send last week.

hna W killing the scorpion

I didn't know scorpions were so juicy.  I tried to keep the scorpion in an Easter egg for memories.  But then I opened it up last week and it was all moldy. 

F, P,  Y and their hijo D that didn't get baptized yet

Saying goodbye to hna A.  she was like my mom in Petapa

saying goodbye to J.

saying goodbye to M and M

Failed Scorpion Check

Welp.  I'm in the mountains again!  I really like the area.  We've been having a ton of lessons and finding lots of new investigators.  My companion is from Costa Rica.  She's been here on the mission for 3 months.  She works hard and learned a lot from her training.  It's always a littler weird getting used to new area and companions but we're doing good.  It's a little colder, but not too bad.  It hasn't rained as much.  The people are super cool.  Our house is really big.  There are a lot of things that are way different.  But I like it here!

So on Tuesday night hna W and I has one last crazy adventure before changes.  At like 11 I shifted in my bed a little and all of a sudden I felt a ton of pain in my knee.  Something had bit me.  So I calmly got Hna W to turn on the flashlight to see what it was.  I didn't dare move, but finally I managed my way out of the bed. The pain was shooting up my leg super fast, so we decided it was okay to sin and turn on the lights to see what was wrong.  We gently lift up the covers and...THERE'S A SCORPION IN MY BED!  As always, we just busted up laughing.  The first few days that Hna W got there we found a little teeny scorpion and we did scorpion checks every night for a week, where we would lift up the blankets to make sure there weren't scorpions.  But of course, we should have been doing scorpion checks the whole time.  So anyway, we're freaking out.  And my knee is swelling up and my leg is burning and we're just laughing staring at this terrifying animal in my bed!  So we get ourselves together and called the nurse.  Everything was fine and it was very unlikely that it was poisonous. I could walk so there was nothing to worry about. The challenge was killing the dumb thing!  It would not die! We had no idea how I was ever going to get to bed.  As I was talking to the nurse I kept seeing Hna W coming out of the kitchen with broom sticks and knives and frying pans, whatever weapon she could find!  It took a solid hour to finally kill it.  Then we couldn't fall asleep because we were scared there would be more.  It was just such a typical thing to happen to us.  I have had such an awesome mission with all kinda of adventures.  I love it!

I'm kinda sick and super tired so it's really hard to think of more things to say.  But I'm happy.  I'm not good at adjusting to new areas or new companionship's so everything feels a little different.  But I'm happy!  I know I have a lot to do in this area and I have a lot to learn.  I'm just thankful that I like where I am.

Thanks so much for all the prayers!  Love you!!

Adios Petapa

My birthday was way good!  We met the new mission president in the morning so I got lots of happy birthdays from lots of missionaries.  President Markham and Hna Markham are way nice!  I felt their love right from the start.  They also expect us to be obedient with exactness and I'm so thankful for that.  Anyways...later on Weds night we had a lesson with some members and recent converts.  They all shared little thoughts about why they appreciate me.  It was so cute!  I just don't feel deserving of any of it!  They all work so hard to follow Christ.  They have taught me so much!  It's just such a special friendship.  But one of the sisters in the ward made me a super good cake!  They also tried to get me to smash my face in it.  But I still refused.  Everyone wanted to sing in English. It was so funny.  They sang in English, then counted up to twenty to empathize how old I am.  Then they all demanded cake.  I just love it!

And of course, after coming to love these `people with all my heart, I'm leaving this area tomorrow.  I just bawled yesterday.  I feel like such a wimp.  But I really do love these people.  I just have to keep reminding myself that this is how I felt when I left Antigua.  I know I will love the people in my next area just as much.  AH.  But this is hands down the worst part of the mission I'd say.

For 4th of July we didn't really do anything.  We wore red white and blue kinda.  And we ate hamburgers.   But it was a good day!  Holidays and birthday on the mission aren't nearly as bad as I thought they would be.

Thanks for much for the birthday wishes and for the prayers!  Love you all!  Next week you'll know where I go!  Ah! How crazy!

Love you all!

Hna Haymond

F's baptism the last Sunday of June!!!  Its him and his little brother and M!!

My favorite part of my birthday package!!!!!
(editors note: When I asked her if she needed/wanted anything for her birthday she asked for one of my missionary name tags from way back when.  The scripture marked is Alma 56:47-48.  Talk about bringing tears to a mothers eyes!)

P-day activity last week!  Me and my cake that I did not get all over my face

This is us, M, F (who just got baptized) and R (our ward mission leader.  Hes super pilas!  He's like a brother to me!  I bawled when I said bye to him.  he has planned so many weddings and does so much for us.)  They left to visit investigators with us last night.  It was so cool they were contacting and teaching just like missionaries.

This is usually a street.

this is what I looked like my last day of being a teenager

This picture is super blurry.  But these are the people from my b-day party family home evening

We saw a rhinasorus beetle.  Natures cool.

Zona El Frutal

districto margarita

Twenty!

Unfortunately this week has not been as crazy as last week.  The owner of the dog is now a progressing investigator.  Which is cool!  And we're still alive after walking through the flooded road.  So that's cool too.

It's been a good birthday so far!    Yesterday we had a district pday activity.  Hna Godfrey brought me a cake and decorated with her smiley face sticky notes.  It was cute!  Our zone leaders came and one of them has a birthday today.  SO they Sang to us.  Then they have this tradition that you have to bite the cake.  But it's a trick because they just shove your face into the cake.  Everyone was trying to get me to bite the cake, but I'm just too chapina to fall for that trick.  So the Zone leader did it and ended up with caramel and chocolate all up his nose.  So that was yesterday. I think Hna W planned something for tomorrow.  When we were doing weekly planning last week I said 'Okay.  Let's have the Bishop come with us on Wednesday to meet some people who will get baptized.'  And Hna W just kinda sat there thinking, and said 'We have plans.'  I freaked out and told her we had to teach!  But apparently she has a family home evening planned with some recent converts. She said 'Well sorrrry for planning a family home evening!'  It was just funny.  You can only be so secretive when you're together 24/7.  It's super weird that I'll be 20.  That just seems way too old and responsible.  But I think being a missionary is a good way to end my teenagehood.

Changes are next week.  I am really pretty sure I'm leaving.  I have 6 months here, which is a lot.  I love this area so so much!  The members are great and we are always having success.  I'd be happy staying here my whole mission.  But we'll see what happens.

The World Cup is still taking over peoples lives.  We just had a meeting at the church and the other ward's bishop had the game on a tv rolled in the door of his office.  It was so funny to see.  We're trying to plan a 'World Cup`' on Saturday with the members.  Each team has to have a nonmember to play.  Then while they're off the field we'll teach them.  I hope it works out!

Tomorrow we meet President Markham for the first time.  I don't really know what to expect.  But President Brough has really helped us prepare to be loving and loyal to President Markham too.

I have lots of pictures of the activity yesterday and the baptism and more flooded roads, but it's not letting me load them.  Hopefully next week.

Sunday was the baptism of the other jovencito who just got permission to be baptized.  He's the brother of the girl who just got baptized.  It was so cool.  He bore his testimony after the baptism and he already has really awesome goals to serve a mission and go to the temple some day.  It's just so amazing to see these little teenagers being so independent and doing what's right.  Even though their parents don't support them 100 percent they know what they have to do.  I know that so many missionaries have worked with them and I am so blessed to be here at this time to see the result.

Thanks for thinking of me and for praying for me!  Thanks for the fun emails and birthday wishes.

Love you all!!

Hna Haymond