Xela had its birthday this week and turned 490!

Hola Familia!

Wow this week has flown by! I am finally getting the hang of being in the city! This week was actually a lot of fun!

This week all of the stakes in Central America held a semana de la familia, or family week. So every night there was a certain activity for the families. One night it would be like a game night and the other would be talks on how to strengthen your family. A lot of our investigators went to these activities and had a great time, and some of the members even brought families of their own who were interested in the gospel! It was super fun. Then on Saturday they had a stake talent show. Of course our zone had to particpate in it! We did a funny skit about having members give away Book of Mormons and we included some crazy things that alway happens to the missionaries in Guatemala. It went really well! I have it on video so you will all have to wait to see it when I get home.

Sunday we had stake conference, and got a new stake presidency. Two elders from the seventy came and gave talks that were really good!

Also since the heart of Xela is in our area,(including the central park) we found out that Xela had its birthday this week and turned 490! Like I've said in my emails before, The people here just love to celebrate! They closed the streets and had parades with marching bands. Apparently the president of Guatemala even came and spoke. They had live concerts in the park, fairs and everything! This made it so nobody was in their house! So this week we are hoping that the people are tired from partying and stay inside their houses so we can teach them.

Well I hope you guys have a great week!

Tortilla Total: 1045

And now because I have McDonalds in my area - Big Mac Count: 8

The zone dressed up for a skit

Xela's 490 year birthday celebration

Celebration

A street in Xela

Bagels, Donuts and Root Beer

Hola Familia!

This past week has been a great week! I have been getting used to living the life in Xela. I have found bagels, donuts, and even root beer. The place where I got root beer is getting me caffeine free Dr. Pepper, so that will be great!

Besides all the extra things, that Xela has compared to Huehue, Elder Rodas and I have been working really hard on finding investigators who are willing to progress and accept the gospel. We actually found like 4 or 5 people who are coming to church and listening to us which is great! One of our investigators is named Carlos, and he has a baptism date for the 24th which is also his birthday. So, if all works out, that will be a great day! Also, there is a mom named Sandra whose husband is already a member and she is working on being baptized. She is expected to give birth to her first child today! Then hopefully she will be able to be baptized.

One crazy thing that I have learned about living in Xela Central, is that when Xela Ju (the soccer team) plays the whole city is watching! And I thought dad was the craziest Utah State fan, but he doesn't even compare to these people. Everyone leaves the streets, bars and restaurants to watch the game. The day of the game they are all decked out in red and blue colors! It's crazy! And when the team scores a goal, the city literally shakes! haha I hope that someday I can come back and be a part of that crowd. But for now, I love the opportunity I have to share the gospel! I can't believe how fast the time goes by and that we only have 2 years to share the gospel. That is nothing, compared to what the Savior did for us! I hope you guys all have a great week! And, it was fun skyping on Mother's Day. We'll be able to do it again in December haha! Nos vemos les amo.

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Dressed as a Chapin

Big Macs

A catholic church

An indoor and outdoor restaurant

Xela

Buenos Días Familia!

All went well with changes! I am now in Xela Central which is the city of the city of the mission! It's actually really cool. All of the buildings are more European style. They even have cobblestone roads. It's actually really weird because I run into like 20 gringos everyday who are from all over!

My new companion is named Elder Rodas, and he is from here in Guatemala. I am really excited to learn from him, because he has 23 months of experience. Our area is supposed to be difficult, but we are working really hard and finding a lot of people. We have a baptism date with a kid named Carlos the 23rd of this month so we are working hard to prepare him.

Today was a super fun p-day. First I had to go take pictures of all the cool buildings in Xela, and right by our house we have McDonalds so we hit that up almost everyday. After that we went to this restaurant that is up on the hill, where you can see all of Xela! Because there are so many gringos here, you can find some good places to eat that sell hamburgers, and this restaurant was one of them! We took the whole zone there and it was super fun!

Well that's all that has happened this week! I pretty much just spent my time learning the area, and learning about the zone! I hope you guys have a good week! Les amo y les quiero!

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Elder Corbett and Elder Rodas with another missionary

Xela

Xela Parque Central

Elder Corbett's new house

Elder Corbett's bedroom

McDonalds

Lunch with the zone

Ordering a hamburger

Multi-zone conference and transfers

Buenos Dias familia!

This week I am writing to you on Tuesday, because yesterday, we had a multi-zone conference with Elder Clarke. He is an area seventy and is involved with missionary work. He even told us that he meets in a special room with the prophet and apostles to talk about missionary work! I learned a lot of things, while being at this conference, that I hope I can put into practice! One thing he said, is to focus on the temple with investigators, and not just baptisms. Another thing he told us, is that we should study the Book of Mormon and Preach My Gospel every single day! He also said that those who are preparing to serve missions should be studying them as well.

This week I found out that I have changes, which is really strange after being in my area for only one change. As we were getting done with the multi-zone conference, one of the assitants pulled me aside and told me that I'm going to be a zone leader. I'm kind of nervous for that, but also excited at the same time! I love President Bautista, and he will be leaving soon, so it will be cool to get the chance to work closer with him.

Elder Darrow and I have set more dates with this family that we have been working with, so we decided that it would be better to put off the baptism for two weeks and baptize the whole family together. They are really progressing and I'm going to really miss that family for sure. When they get baptized, I will get to come back and help baptize them, so that will be cool!

I'm so excited, because the rainy season is moving in, and that means the heat will be leaving! Well, next week I'll have to let you guys know where I've been transferred. I might actually be leaving Huehue! The rumor is that im going to Quiche which would be awesome! Well Les Amo y Les querio! Tengan una buena semana!

Tortilla Total 998

Saying goodbye to Aracely

Saying goodbye to one of my favorite families

Saying goodbye to Elder Keele, one of the zone leaders, who will be going home on Thursday

Hanging out with Elder Perry at the multi-zone conference

Scorpion

Semana Santa

Hola Familia!

All I have to say, is that this week Semana Santa (holy week) was sooooo strange! Instead of just celebrating Easter morning, and everyone going to church, the people had a week long celebration. They carried people tied to crosses and for some reason, they went around to people's houses asking for bread. Oh well, it was a good excuse for us to invite people to come to church!

This week we have been working hard with this really humble family. They are from a village way up in the mountains so it's hard to teach them! We found out that the best way to work with them, was to serve them. We did a lot of things for them, one including Elder Darrow getting down on his hands and knees and me standing on top of him to change a light bulb! We found out that by doing this, that we gained their confidence and showed them how much we love them.

This Sunday, the mom of the family and her oldest daughter came to church for their third time, which in our mission is a requirement to be baptized! So this Saturday they will be baptized! And we have a baptismal date with one of her sons in 2 weeks! Also, on Sunday after visiting them, we saw 4 of her other children looking at the church, so hopefully that means that they will want to come to church this next Sunday!!

Other than that, we haven't done too much. We just keep working on helping this family. Also, I am not sure when p day is next week, because on Monday Elder Clark, a seventy, will be coming to a multi-zone conference! And, If I stay in this same area for another change, I will have the opportunity to see Elder Packer come and divide the stake! So there are some cool things happening here in Guatemala! I hope you have a great week! Les Queiro y Les amo!

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Elder Corbett and Elder Darrow

Hammocks to sleep on when it gets hot at night

A dove that lives in the roof of our home

The best part of this week, was definitely the temple!

Hola Familia!

I can't believe how fast the time is going by since this last change! Elder Darrow and I have been working very hard! He is super cool and we are like the same person. A lot of people say that when you and your companion are friends, that the time just flies by! Like seriously, I can't even believe that I just completed 9 months in the mission field! I feel like the time needs to slow down a bit!

This week we tried some new ways to work and have fun in this area, like I have done before in my previous area. And as you guys know, everyone here loves to play futbol and they have these really nice stadiums to play in. So we rented one out and told all the young men to come on over and bring a non member to come play. Wow!! We now have so many new investigators this week! We share an area with 2 other elders and we are making this a permanent thing every Tuesday!

Also this week two of our investigators came to church for their second time! After walking them home, which took a while, we plainly asked them if they wanted to be baptized next Sunday after church.......... and they were down for it! So we will have to see what happens there. They also have a huge family so after we baptized the two, one being the mom, maybe we can baptize the rest of the family!

The best part of this week, was definitely the temple! After being out here for so long, I couldn't even remember what it was like to be in the temple! All I have to say, is that the Quetzaltenango temple is the most beautiful temple I have ever been in! I can't even describe it! And being a missionary, wow!! The spirit was soooo strong! It's crazy how enlightened your mind is in the temple. We even did the session in spanish, and wow that was super neat! But to end off a great day we ate at Subway. And, they had ranch dressing there! I told them to drown my sandwich in ranch! It's kind of funny the things I crave here that I would have never craved in the states!

Well I hope you guys have a great week! les amo mucho y les quiero!

Tortilla Total 941

Elder Corbett and Elder Darrow at the Quetzaltenango Temple

El Templo

Proof that Elder Corbett has been doing a lot of walking!

Baptisms and General Conference

Hola Familia!

This week has been like the fastest week on my mission!! We not only had a baptism, but we also spent all weekend watching general conference and we got to watch it in english.

The baptism went great with Aracely. And through much prayer and fasting, we found someone to join Aracely in the font! Her name is Niely. She decided that she wanted to be baptized the day before the baptism was to happen. Her mom who is an inactive member, said sure why not! After hours of teaching her everything, she passed her interview and was able to be baptized! Also Elder Darrow and I found out that both of our dads (Mine being Elder Zambrano) were companions together! So to make things even better, we had them come up to the baptism. So not only were we blessed with 2 baptisms, but we also had a family reunion!

After the baptism, we celebrated with 10 hours of general conference. I'm not going to lie. I think it is so funny how general conference before my mission was just like a Sunday to stay all day in pajamas and not have to go to church. Now after being on a mission and at a spiritual high, nothing in the world beats general conference, and knowing and having a testimony of the Lord's servants! All the talks were great! I really liked Elder Bednar's talk about the truck story and how burdens can really help us! I loved Elder Oaks talk on how the priesthood is a blessing to both men and women! Also, you can't forget about our relative Elder Ballard. After being a missionary I can testify to everything he said about following up and the importance of members being missionarys! The story about getting his wife cracked me up.

Also this week our zone found out that because we met our goal for baptisms, we will now get the chance to go to the temple this Wednesday! And not only a chance to go visit the temple but to actually be able to do a session! I am so stoked! Also, hopefully we have time to stop at Subway on the way back. Haha Well, I hope you guys all have a great week! And remember to act on and apply the talks of general conference in your lives! I know I'm going to try! Les amo y les quiero bastante!

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Bautismo!

Elder Corbett with Elder Zambrano

Elder Corbett and Elder Darrow at the Laguna Magdalena in their Todos Santos jackets

Elder Corbett in his hammock