3 am

Lake Amatitlan

My week as the nurse sidekick...Well nothing happened this week...Until 3 am this morning!  Hna N got a call from a girl in our district and it turns out she needed to go to the hospital.  So at 4 am the assistants came and got us (the assistants have seen me in my pajamas way too many times this change.) I went to be the healthy sisters companion and had a sleepover at her house.  Luckily she lives close.  and hna N went off with the sick sister to the hospital.  They're still there now and the sisters in surgery and things are okay.  We just don't know when they'll be back.  But sometimes you've got to ask yourself, where was my kid at 3 am this morning.  If you're my parents I was in the car in Guatemala in my jammies with my companion an Elder from Utah and another from the Dominican Republic.  Woo!!! Nursing never gets boring!  Oh and the sisters with lice haven't called back so it's safe to assume that I cured em.

This week was Stake Conference.  I've had stake conference in every one of my areas.  It's weird to have 4 stake conferences in less than 18 months.  But I like it!  It's cool too see how the church is growing in each stake and they are really pushing missionary work.  It's like a giant pep talk every time.  Especially here because this stake is flourishing.  They split 2 wards last year and are splitting another one (and maybe even the stake) this year.  Miracles!

We also had a baptism!  It was such a miracle.  We found her 3 weeks ago.  She came every Sunday, read everything we left with her, Prayed everyday and was able to make this promise.  I really have seen the healing power of the atonement with her.  She has been through a lot in her life and had a lot of trials that weren't her fault. She received the sisters 2 years ago but they didn't keep teaching her. But since we knocked her door she realized that now is her time to take this step.  I am always amazed by the examples these people give to me.  They turn around their lives completely.  And I know it's not because of me.  No one would believe a 20 year old chanchita running around Guatemala.  But they believe in who I represent. And He is the one who helps people turn their lives around.

Love you all!!

Hna H

A!!!!

Hey.  Look for your old investigators in your binders.  That's how we found her.  Her registro said she was kind of positive but wasn't ready then.  Now we found her two years later she got baptized in 3 weeks!!!

also I french braided my hair for the first time.  No one even taught me.  We were just reading the Book of Mormon and I just did it out of no where!  There is power in the Book of Mormon! ;)

Another mini road trip with the O's!!!!!!!!!  They seriously are like our parents.  They call us their hijas.  They just took us to the Lake Amatitlan  yesterday for a few hours.  They're the greatest.

It's just SO pretty.   You can see the volcan.

Look how cute they are!

We went to this little look out with a  little park.

Us and E

Amatitlan

The green squareish spots are sugar cane fields

Our Zone

Our lunch yesterday.  When ya don't have an oven you fry the pizza on the stove.  It actually turned out way good.

I Cure Lice

This email might not be that long because this computer is really good at sending pictures.  Y pues, hay que aprovechar.

Week as the nurses sidekick...bought the medicine for and made 98 first aid kits to give to each companionship.  Went to the capital for 4 doctors appointments yesterday.  Started labeling the first aid kits with instructions.  Took a nursing phone call about how to get rid of lice.  I'm a pro at that one.  That's all I will say about that!.

We went to Antigua last week and it was awesome as always!  It was just good to go one last time.  We left early as a zone and got back really early so we had time to nap and rest a little bit.  Which was so nice!

Its starting to get more and more real that the mission is ending.  It's awful.  And I'm trying so hard to accept it because I've just been in denial for so long about it. I'm just trying to enjoy every second.  It's just funny though because everyone is baggy BUT me.  Baggy is like trunky.  Like thinking about going home.  But all the elders and members are talking about how many days I have til I go home and what I'll do and how fast time is going.  But I just don't think about that at all.  It's just funny como molestan.

So sorry for the lame email.  I love you all so much!  Keep praying for me and for all the sickly missionaries!

Love you!!!!!!

This family is amazing.  They're not members but they are so pilas.  They need to get married and baptized.  But he just went to the US and wont be home for a while.  Hopefully he'll get back while I'm here. But if you see him tell him to get married and baptized!

Our sketchy bags full of medicine to make first aid kits

The only missionary house in the world that has a first aid kit room.

This is what the trash looks like of two American sister missionaries.

This is us very early in the morning in the moment that we reached the
half way mark in the Book of Mormon.

My nose is sun burnt

we celebrated.

PDAY IN ANTIGUA!!!

The girls in our district

So... sometimes we hang out with the elders. We happened to go to the same place for lunch in Antigua as ALL the elders in our zone.  They're great. The place is called Monoloco

We love chips and cream cheese.  Thanks to a sister that started the trend a while ago.
We put cream cheese on everything.  pancakes.  eggs.  oatmeal.  chips.  fruit.
It's not a Guatemala thing.  just us.

Dirty Clothes

My week as the nurses sidekick...We had 2 weeks in a row without going to the hospital!!  We didn't get as many phone calls because now everyone has their health cards to figure out to take care of themselves.  But we didn't go to Relief Society because we got a ton of phone calls de repente.  Went to the pharmancy once.  Started making first aid kits for all the companionships.  She had me put together the exit kits with pills to kill all the bugs and weird things inside of you at the end of your mission.  I thought that was kinda cruel.  Like  making me plan my own funeral.

It was another really good week.  We are teaching a lot of progressing people which is a blessing.  But now we've just got to help them have the desire to be baptized.  They're getting close though!

Oh PS I'm writing today because we're going to Antigua tomorrow.  PRAY THAT NO ONE HAS TO GO TO THE HOSPITAL TOMORROW:  Hna N deserves a good pday in Antigua.

So in our mission there are traveling assistants to the president.  They don't have an area.  They just travel around doing divisions with everyone.  So all of a sudden last week they called us and asked if we knew anyone who could wash their clothes that same day. Because they don't have time or anywhere to do it.  So they awkwardly dropped off their dirty clothes at 6am.  The whole time we were studying we couldn't stop thinking about how weird it was that the elder's clothes were in our house.  But the sister that washes our clothes is awesome and willing to do it.  But she could not stop talking about how dirty their clothes are.  She talked about every article of clothing and all she had to do to clean it. It was just a funny conversation to walk away from.  Luckily being the nurses companion you hear a lot weirder things about missionaries, so it didn't get to us too much.  But the good news is that the elders have clean clothes.

Time is flying by.  And as it flies by realize that I love these people more and more every day.  In every lesson I just have a moment where it hits me how much I love the people we're teaching.  Even if we've known them for like 5 minutes they become really important to me really fast.  It's incredible.  Heavenly Father has some amazing children.  And it's the greatest experience ever to meet so many of them.  The members here are so amazing.  I think I feel more part of this ward than any other ward I've been in here, even though they're all great.  The contacts, even though they don't even know us really, are so cool.  And the investigators are just so special.  I'm never sad.  But whenever I just feel out of it or kinda off, I always feel better in a lesson or talking to the people.  It just feels right to talk to them and love them. They are incredible.  And the more I love them the harder and harder it gets to think about leaving them.  But I know there are lots of people I love in other parts of the world too.  Thinking about how much I love these people just makes me try to understand a little of what Christ feels for us. I can't even imagine it.  But I hope I help the people I talk to feel just a tiny bit of that love.  And I hope He can feel my love too.

I love you all!! Thanks for your prayers!!

Hna Haymond

2015!

My week as the nurses sidekick...We didn't have to go to the hospital!!!  Spent 5 hours in the Internet cafe on New Years Eve making a medical guide card to help the missionaries take care of their own illnesses so they don't have to bug my companion as much.  Spent 2 hours cutting and folding them.  Went to a mission counseling at the presidents house to present the new cards.  No crazy trips, but crazy none the less.

Hna N and I have the goal to read the whole Libro de Mormon in spanish this change.  We started on the second day of changes but we've gotten way behind because of all our crazy adventures.  We now need to read 15 pages every day for the rest of the change to meet the goal.  We have started reading while we do exercises in the mornings.  We are determined to do it!  But pray for us because it's a tricky goal.

New Years was normal.  The only thing that felt new yearsy was that I woke up to the sound of fireworks at 12.  But that's it.  This year my resolutions are different.  Last year I wanted to be a good missionary and stuff like that.  But this year my goals are to help me take home all this awesome habits I've formed on the mission.  Things like reading the Ensign every month, studying more spanish, doing my visiting teaching, going to the temple and going out with the missionaries on a regular basis.  Things like that.  Not going to lie.  I'm not excited at all that my mission is ending.  But I'm so excited for the kind of person I'll be when I get back, and I'm excited to keep getting better.

Sunday was a day of miracles.  We had a lot of investigators in church!  We now have 3 families progressing!  It's so amazing.  Sometimes I get so caught up about not being able to work as much when we have to do nursing stuff, but I am grateful I get to support my companion in her calling.  And Heavenly Father understands.  He blesses us so much even when things don't go our way lesson wise during the week.  He is just so merciful.  I love this work and I'm so thankful it doesn't all depend on me.  I'm thankful for His help.

Love you all!!!

Hna Haymond

Oh and I gave the toys you sent me for Christmas to the primary presidente.  She says she loves you and is so thankful for them!  I was thinking she could give them out for b-days.  And the familia O says hi and they love you all.  They're the ones who took us on the trip and sent pics.

editors note: I forgot to post these pictures a member sent to me of the road trip they took Alexis and her companion on last week.  

Road Trip!

I live is the most amazing place!

This has been another crazy week as the nurses sidekick.  I’m thinking I’ll have to do a segment in my emails every week where I just sum up the craziness in a few sentences.  So here it goes… Visited 8 of the 10 zones in 1 day (NEW RECORD).  She only went to the hospital once (but stayed there for 2 nights) and I worked with another companion.  I had to do a quick pharmacy run while Hna N was in the hospital.  The assistants had to come to our house twice this week.  And today there's someone else in the hospital  Woohoo!!  But everyone's fine.   

I have no idea why this email is centered.  Guatemala computers always keep things interesting.

It's been an awesome, but crazy, week.  I have tons of pictures.  But this computer is really slow (surprise surprise) so we'll see how many I get sent off.

So Christmas was awesome.  I seriously love Christmas here.  I'll just start off with this.  In English the song Silent Night pretty much explains Christmas Eve in the states.  Its all quiet and peaceful.  But In Spanish that song is called Noche de Luz, or Night of Light.  Which perfectly explains Navidad in Guate.  It is not a silent night for anything!  Right at midnight there were soooo many fireworks that you couldn't hear anything else.  And we had an awesome view.  A family invited us over and they have a patio on their roof to see all the fireworks in the whole valley.  It was amazing!  We all ate dinner together (at midnight, which is what you do in Guatemala) and they had little presents with candy for us.  Then we went home and opened presents (also something you do on Christmas Eve here) and fell asleep at like 1:30.  We are SO not used to going ot bed that late.  Then Christmas day we talked to our families.  YAY!!  That was fun!  But it always feels so weird.  Like mixing two worlds that are so separate to me.  Then we went to go grocery shopping.  A family invited us over for lunch.  We got there kind of early and we were so tired!  We fell asleep for an hour on their couches.  Now they keep making fun of us and saying that when we come over we're just coming to go to sleep.  But it was worth it.  Then we ate the biggest lunch ever!  They just kept bringing out more and more food!  It was insane!  So between being SO FULL and staying up SO late we were just dead all Christmas Day.  It was really great though.  I'm sad it's my last Christmas here.  Christmas here is like 4th of July and Thanksgiving and a giant birthday party all mixed together.  Put it on your bucket list.

Yesterday was really awesome too.  Since my companion is the nurse she doesn't get a lot of p-days.  So yesterday we made up for it by having the greatest p-day ever.  The same family that gave us lunch on Christmas took us on a really cool mini road trip., We left at 5 am and we went all over the mission.  We went through the coast, Saw like 4 volcanoes, went on some sketchy bridges, ate really good breakfast, and did all kinds of stuff.  We also went to this place that is just mind boggling to me.  It's called the paso misterioso.  It's a tiny hill where if you put your car in neutral it goes up hill instead of downhill.  It's so weird.  And I don't understand it.  All I know is that we were going up on a downward slope.  Please Google it and explain how that works.  But anyway... we did a lot of driving through cool places to get to Lake Atitilan, which I've been to a few times.  But this time we took a super scenic route and went to another pueblo on the other side of the lake.  It was just really pretty and the family we went with is really fun.  It was kinda crazy trying to get back by 5 to start working but it was so worth it.

It's almost 2015.  That's so weird!  My goals for last year were all missionary related, But now I'm trying to think of goals for real life.  I hate thinking about it, but I've learned so much on the mission and I need to set New Years goals to keep applying those things in my life.  This has hands down been the best year of my life.  I'm sure there are many more awesome years to come, but this year has changed my life. And I'm sure it's changed my eternity too.

I love you so much!

Christmas Eve at like 11 pm.  This is us and the other companionship of sisters that came and the mom and her daughter

The family whose home it was

COMPANIONS!

All my Christmas stuff. 
THANKS SO MUCH TO EVERYONE WHO SENT ME STUFF!!!!

Presents!

Christmas lunch!

 Pictures from our awesome Road Trip!!!!!  I love Guatemala!!!!

Feliz Navidad!

This week was crazy.  Being the nurse’s companion never ceases to be an adventure.  Long story short we went to the hospital twice this week, went to two of the zone Christmas parties, had two days where we were not even in our area and had zero lessons, and drove through almost every zone in the mission (and through a few other missions).  But we survived!  Woo!

I really like this area, even though it feels way different.  I noticed I’m more tired in lessons because I’m not used to teaching on a couch.  It’s just too comfy for me.  It's also way hotter too so that feels nice.  But it's not as hot as other areas.  We had our Christmas activity on the coast this week and it was the first time I've gone to the coast.  It was SO hot.  This area I'm in has a good climate.

The Christmas party was fun.  We did all kinds of games and ate a lot and got to see lots of missionaries.  President and Hna Markham had some of us do the nativity as they read the story.  Hna N and I got volunteered to be angels.  So there we were in the nativity, wrapped in white sheet in the burning weather of the coast.  It was a good memory to make.

It’s been fun getting to know the members and converts.  We had a really exciting visit with a convert last week.  He’s a little old man who’s a natural doctor and lives in his karate studio.  He wanted to show us how he gets rid of head aches.  He got out some chop sticks and asked me to give him my left thumb.  Then he proceeded to shove the chop stick into the tip of my thumb as hard as he could.  So that felt awesome.  And he explained that he usually does that for about 2 minutes.  Then he took the chop stick out of my thumb and my arm fell asleep! The members we were with were dying laughing.  My arm was totally limp.  So that was interesting.  

Hna N and I are doing good.  We have a lot of fun together.  We found out that we both have scars on our left elbow because we both had the exact same surgery.  So that's cute.

I hope you all have a great Christmas!  Thanks for always supporting me and praying for me.  We need it.  I'm so thankful to be a missionary this time of year.  It just feels right.  I love the Savior and I'm so thankful for all that He did and does for me.  I'm trying so hard to feel closer to Him and really remember Him more.  

I love you!!!