"If you labor all your days and bring one soul unto me, how great shall be your joy" D&C 18:15

Monday, August 25, 2014

The love of a mission president

Hola Familia!

Well this week has actually been a lot more different than the other weeks I've had! It all started Monday night after a family home evening lesson. My companion who has had intestinal problems was in a lot of pain and at 11:30 at night President Smith and his wife came to pick us up to take us to the hospital! Turns out that my companion just had really bad constipation, but it took a little while for him to get feeling better again. So let's just say that I got A LOT of studying in! And even more piano practice!

My companion started feeling better on Friday and we started working again! But... one of my converts, Wicho (Luis) who is 12 years old and has always had seizures, had some really severe ones, and had to go to the hospital. The doctors found out that he has a blood clot in his brain. After our ward mission leader begged the mission president to let us go visit him, President Smith gave us the chance. The hospital we went to is one of the biggest in Xela and is a goverment run facility. But if you guys remember the part in World War Z, where Brad Pitt is running up the stairs, that's exactly what the hospital looked like! There was hardly any lights or organization. We had to go to the children's floor and wow, it was shocking to see all the kids with diseases, burns, and sicknesses. It definitely gave me an even stronger and better desire to become a doctor and to be able to be like a super hero and to cure people from their sicknesses.

It was awesome seeing Wicho and he was able to talk that day and we even got to play with him. We made him a card and brought him treats and I gave him one of my watches. It was super cool, because he asked me to give him a blessing and I could really feel the power of the Lord working through me. At that moment, I knew that the Lord loves all of his children, and that he would also be there for Luis. His mom told us that he has been taking blood thinning pills, and that it has been helping get rid of the blod clot and that his seizures haven't been as rough. So, remember Wicho (Luis) in your prayers!

Also this week, we too had stake conference, and it was also on hastening the work, but we had a member of the seventy come! I believe that his name was Elder Caldon, and he was super cool. He talked about when he received his call and how later when he went on lds.org and read about the duties of a seventy. It said that a seventy, is diligent in missiononary work. He said that he had to repent after reading about his duties, and that he and his family have baptized like 15 people since then! And that every calling in the church, including stake presidents and bishops, are to have their first responsibility to be diligent to missionary work haha!

Also, President Smith gave two talks, one on Saturday, and one on Sunday. Wow, he is very spiritual and a very great example and leader. So this week, I have learned a lot about my mission president! I'm really impressed with the love President and Sister Smith have for each missionary! (You gotta have love, if you are willing to pick up a missionary, and take him to the hospital when you don't get back until 3 in the morning!!!) They are great and I'm so glad that they are here!

Don't forget to share the gospel with someone this week! There are people around us who are ready and have been prepared by the Lord for the gospel! And, if we open our mouths, the Lord will use us as His instruments, and our words will be His words!

Elder Corbett

Ordering lunch with the zone

Teaching Elder Rivera to play the piano

Monday, August 18, 2014

A successful week

Hola Familia!

This week went by fast and was successful as you might be able to see by the photos below! We pretty much spent all of our time working and preparing for the baptisms, and all of them were great!

One of the baptisms was Adolfo, Dylans younger brother! So it was cool, to see Dylan who just got baptized, receive the priesthood and then baptize his younger brother. I have seen a great change in both of them, and that's something that I have seen in everyone of my converts. It's amazing what the Holy Ghost and obedience to the Holy Ghost can do.

Other than that, today we played futbol for p-day like we always do. It was fun and I have learned to love it! When we finished, one of the really good latino players came up to me and told me that I play really well. I was like yeah right, and he was like seriously you are the best gringo soccer player that I have seen haha! I thought it was funny. But this just goes to show, with a little bit of practice and diligence, anyone can be good at anything, whether its playing sports, studying, being a good missionary or whatever!

Well I can't miss out on the Double Big Macs again. McDonalds is celebrating their 40th anniversary of being in Guatemala! So for 40 quetz, or like 5 dollars, they have large Double Big Mac combos. And, I just didn't go with my companion, I had to invite the zone. So we all went and got our Double Big Macs! After eating one of those, I'll have to go read up on the word of wisdom because that was a lot of meat! Haha, missionary joke!......

Elder Corbett

Tortilla Total: 1327

Big Mac Count: 31 (Because it was a Double Big Mac)

Dylan and Adolfo

Elder Corbett and Elder Rivera with Dylan and Adolfo

Elder Corbett and Elder Rivera with Fabiola

Look what I found while I was on divisions

Pizza after divisions

The Double Big Mac is back

Double Big Macs with the zone

Tuesday, August 12, 2014

13 months and the greatest gifts

Hola familia!

Well if you guys didn't know, yesterday I completed 13 months of my mission. Wow, I feel old! I feel like I just started my mission and now I have served even more than a year. But the weeks go by so fast, and they all feel like a blur!

This Sunday we had Dylans baptism! He is awesome and already has a strong testimony! He was talking to his step brother who baptized him. We heard him telling him that this church just makes sense, and that everything that our church does isn't to gain profit, but to help people come unto Christ! Wow!

Sunday, Dylan will receive the Holy Ghost and the priesthood. Then he will baptize his younger brother, Adolfo! Also, Fabiola and Sandra, another investigator who finally wants to be baptized to have an eternal family, will be baptized that Sunday!

Last Monday night, as we were walking home, a couple came up to us. Their names are Ugo and Felipa. Ugo said that his wife Felipa wanted to be baptized! Wow, that's like the coolest thing ever! I kind of knew them, but I thought that they were both members, and when we talked to the 1st counselor of the bishopric, he also thought that she was a member. They have already planned the baptism for this Thursday! During one of the lessons, we asked why she wanted to be baptized. She told us that it is because she wants to be sealed with her family so that they can be together for all eternity.

So we will be completing 2 families, who in 1 year will be able to go and get sealed in the temple. For me, that means more than anything, because there is so much more than just a baptism. Going to the temple and having an eternal family is one of the greatest gifts and joys that God can give to his children. And if we keep the covenents while we are here on this earth, we can receive so many blessings, and most importantly have a strong and united family! I love this gospel!

Elder Corbett

Tortilla Total: 1305

Big Mac Count: 29

Dylan and Elder Corbett

Elder Corbett and Elder Rivera with Dylan on his baptism day

Elder Corbett and Elder Rivera with Dylan and Adolfo

Fabiola

Elder Etcheto and Elder Corbett

Monday, August 4, 2014

Wondering where rainy season is and a trip to Walmart

Hola familia,

Wow.....I cannot believe how long it's been since it has last rained here in Guatemala, and they say it's rainy season. Oh well, there are 2 good things that happen when it doesn't rain, it is a lot easier to work, and it gets really cold at night! But during the day it's soooooo hot! So I have been drinking a lot of water!

Our baptism dates are coming along! Dylan and Adolfo are super smart and well prepared so we don't even have to worry about them! Fabiola has also progressed so much from when we very first taught her! You can truly see that when someone has the desire and patience to learn the gospel, that anyone can pick up the truths that it has! But even better she prayed to her Heavenly Father and received an answer that she needs to be in the church. Wow, that was super cool to hear that! She has struggled a little because in the aldea (village) where she lives, called Tuixoquel, by San Marcos, there aren't any churches at all. Her parents don't know anything about the church! She told us that she knows the church is true and that she wants to get baptized. I had the feeling to promise her that when she was in her village, that she would be able to find a church close by, and that some day the gospel will come to her village. I didn't know why I said that, but I felt like it was something I needed to say!

So our mission president changed some rules in our mission this week. One, that we can go to Walmart once a month! And two, that we can eat inside fast food restaurants! So, today with our zone we went to Walmart to buy things and we bought a lot! But while we were there, we ran into one of the counselors of the mission president from the mission Retuleu. He was with his wife and a local future missionary. They ran into us, and we started talking, and I was prompted to ask them if they knew about the village where Fabiola lives, and the future missionary said that he lives in the village next door. He said it was a half hour walking distance from Fabiola's village, and he said that there is a church there! And also they had a reference for two of the missionaries in our zone, for a family who moved and really needed help. They just asked us if we knew which area it was in, but it turned out to be in our zone! So it was pretty cool that the Lord directed all of us on the same path, so that we could help each other out!

Knowing this, will really help Fabiola! The future missionary gave me his number and said he would go pick her up and show her where the chapel is. Wow! A lot of people in her village are interested in what she's doing, but they all speak mam! So we are planning to send her with a box of Books of Mormons in mam, so she can give them out to her village and so the mission work can get started there! I think it's super special to be able to baptize her because she will be the first in her village to become a member of the church! And, I get to check off something on the missionary bucket list! I will finally baptize someone who wears corte!!!!

Elder Corbett

Tortilla Total: 1285

Big Mac Count: 28

Elder Corbett with a member and her granddaughter dressed in corte

Elder Corbett with a coconut

Coconuts