Eating Ants

Last week we did not receive pictures...this week no letter. It is my opinion that she's spending much of her media hour writing individual emails. I've included a few comments she sent me. And the pictures!

Regarding her blog:  I think the majority of people who don't know me who will read it will be girls who have received their calls to this mission and want to find out what it's like before coming. Thank you for putting in the effort! Actually, the other day I was thinking that I don't write everything in my journal that I write here in my emails. And not everything in my journal is in my emails. So, I'll be relying on a good record of my emails for when I get back! (after a short period of time of finishing the mission, the email account is deleted!)
I mentioned that I WAS going to go on vacation but it got cancelled:  A vacation sounds reeeeeeally nice. Just a day to sleep and not worry about getting up. Do whatever I want and not stress about meeting the goals, paying the bills and cleaning the house. Yeah, I get you. Let's do a vacation together. That sounds good.
I told her that sometimes her words were judgemental & tough while other times they were strong & uplifting. We had been talking about holding to standards: I try to help. Sometimes you want my advice, sometimes you don't. But you already know that I'm always going to chew you out for not obeying the commandments. [I didn't honor the Sabbath, it wasn't murder or using the Lord's name in vane, honest] And likewise, you do the same for me! To chew me out when I need to learn to have a little bit more love for my friends and companions. But that's why we always need to remember that there's always room to grow. And saying that we'll just be okay with not changing for the better for a bit is a sin in itself. [I told her that I appreciated her bluntness...as usual. It was a great reminder]
And....I sent her a picture of Tillamook Ice Cream: Oregon Hazelnut and Salted Caramel. I hope it's not a temporary flavor! I want to eat like 3 containers right now! I told the missionaries in my district and now we're all drooling. I honestly think that it torture. It's all frosty and everything! ugh. just a few more months.

eating sompopos de mayo! big flying ants. and pretty tasty too!



my comp and i last week trying on corte, the traditional clothes here :)

Sorry for not writing last week.... And sorry for no pictures..​.

So, I'm kind of slacking off. Sorry. Next week there'll be pictures!

Yesterday my companion and I went to take pictures of us in traditional Guatemalan style of clothing! They turned out pretty cute! Next week.

This week the rain started! Here in Guatemala, there are only 2 seasons, Summer and Winter. Winter means that it rains. A lot. And it started a few days ago. It's been raining on and off since then and they say it's going to keep going for the whole week. And there's a myth in missionary work: they say that when it's raining, it's good, because more people accept you! FALSE. This week we literally had a conversation with a man, that went like this.

My comp: We're looking for Carolina. Can we talk to her please?

Man: She's not here.
My comp: Oh okay, but this message is for everyone, can we share something quick with you?
Man: Umm, i don't have much time.
My comp: just something really quick! can we come in for a second?
Man: it's raining.
My comp: That's why we want to come in.
Man: ... no. better another day *closes door*

haha, so that was a fun experience...

Also, my district found out what my name is and had a fun time trying to pronounce it. haha and I'm with one of my best friends from the CCM and a girl here read my blog before she came on the mission. And I'm going to complete 10 months this weekend! wooh. Pura viejita ;)

But something else happened this week! We put a baptismal date with an eternal investigator! She's been a bit of a slacker, but she likes us enough that she's decided that we're the missionaries that she wants to get baptized with! Woohoo! this June 14th we're gonna baptize her!

Next Tuesday we're going to Solola to have our zone conference and will take some buses to get there! Instead of just getting up and shouting a contact at the bus, my companion and I made up a song to singcontact all the people! So, I'm going to try and get a video, or maybe a few pictures of that. We'll see how it goes!

Love you all so much! Stay strong and enjoy the sun for me!

Love,

Hermana Weatherford

Hanging out in the jungle!

Well, this Sunday was Mother's Day (happy Mother's day to all of you hardworking ladies out there!) and I got to talk to my mother! Pretty fun. First time in the history of our mission that we can talk by Skype! Only 40 minutes still, but that was enough :)

 

Yesterday we went as a zone to check out a wildlife reserve! We're in the mountains, and so there's some really cool stuff here! We went on a bunch of bridges, took lots of pictures and had a lot of fun! Then we went to the market in Panajachel and saw a LOT of white people! It was soooooo weird. And where there's white people, there are American products! My friend Hermana Kilifi and I had a lot of fun buying root beer and capri suns and everything American we could get our hands on!

This week is pretty good so far! It's starting to rain. And HARD. Yesterday we saw fireflies!! That was my first time :) and then we got rained on. But a lot of members are really nice and gave us atol and bread! Woohoo!!

This Monday we will be watching a newish pioneer video that came out in the states and then we have our last interviews with President Brough! He's leaving the mission in the beginning of July, so we've gotta take advantage of the opportunity before he and his wife go home!

Well,that's it for this week! Love you all and keep going strong ;)

Hermana Weatherford

 

**I normally pick a shade of purple for Teigen's letters...it being her favorite color ever. But  talk of the jungle and rain made me think green was ideal. Forgive me Tiggs!

 

This week in Barrio 1, we have a baptism! *

*Editor’s Note: I miss the Spanish titles! It seemed like every week she was sharing some new phrase or word.

Things are going really well here in Patzicia/Calvario! We're working with the members more and we've started eating at the members houses! (We found out that one of our bishops was suuuuuuper disobedient in his mission! scandal!)

In one of our wards, Barrio 1, they haven't had a baptism in an entire YEAR. That is so much! In Ribera, we had about 15 baptisms for the past year! But we're turning a new leaf and bringing a lot of hope to the members! And tomorrow, we're going to have a baptism!

The story of this baptism is a little rocky. He's a 13 year old kid named Abel. He lives next to some members and has been listening the the missionaries for a little while. He wanted to get baptized but his mom said no. We challenged him for this Sunday and he said yes. Then he LIED TO US and said his mom had given him permission! So we show up to the interview and everything, but halfway through, his mom shows up. FURIOUS. Then he left the chapel running. That was a bit rocky.

Later that day we went by with the mom, talked things out and got the permission! She used to be so closed off against us, but now she's opened up. She plays with my hair when I'm teaching, smiles when she sees us and even has started talking about HER OWN baptism! It's such a miracle!

We had to pass through a hard time when we thought we weren't going to have the baptism and our faith was tried! But I learned a lot about how important hope is. This ward needs a lot of hope and it needs to start with the missionaries who serve in that ward!

It's been a bit hard dividing our time between 2 wards, 2 bishops, 2 correlations, 2 areas, but it's good. We're learning the balance.

I heard that you all liked the funny story I shared last week, so here's this weeks funny story!

We found the mom of Abel washing her laundry and offered the help. So she gave us a huuuuge bucket of clean, wet clothes and told us to take it back to her house! So we did, but because it was heavy, it would cut in into our fingers so we had to take little breaks along the way. One time we were taking a break, and were pretty much in the middle of the street, and my companion saw some guy trying to walk by. So she said "Careful." and I stepped out of his way. He then came up behind me, patted my rear end and started to mumble drunk things in my face!

In that moment my companion clenched her fists and was about to hit him and I just looked the other way and sighed. The guy hobbled along the road and as he left we just broke down into laughter! It could have been a bad experience, but we turned it around and made it into something utterly histerical! I'm so glad that my companion is lightening up, and we've been able to make it through the hard times and plain old gross times together, laughing it up :D

Well,that's all for this week! Next week, we're going to a fun place as a district and tomorrow we have a baptism, so, pictures to come!

These pictures are just so you don't forget what I look like, my shoes that are almost dead and my oh so lovely tan lines!

Love you all!

Hermana Weatherford



These were brand new 8 months ago.



Hermana Weatherford and Hermana Montesino



Not dirty, TANNED.

Welcome to....THE MOUNTAINS!

Well, here I am in Patzicia! It's in the mountains and it is coooooooooooooooold! After just a day or two here, I got a cold! I'm working it off right now and it's almost gone, but it's been a fun experience to remember how great it is to be healthy! haha

 
As many of you have heard, I got bumped up to being senior companion. That basically means that I'm in charge of the diligence and obedience of the companionship. If anything goes wrong, it's my fault. And I carry around the cell phone. Not too big of a deal, but still.

My new companion is Hermana Montesino. She's from Honduras (my first latin companion not from mexico!) She just finished her training, so she only has 3 months in the mission. She's super hard working and received correction really humbly. She's super cool and we get along well! She's a little serious and still doesn't know the rules that well, so I'm helping her cheer up a bit! That usually involves being super goofy, but I can do that!

This week a ward member offered us something called Atol Blanco. It's atol, which is a hot sweet drink made of flour or lima bean flour or rice or corn or really whatever. But this Atol Blanco isn't sweet and has beans in it. It doesn't sound that bad, but it's AWFUL. And my companion is suuuuuper picky. She was getting pretty grossed out and discouraged, so I turned to her and said "Time me! I want to see how fast I can drink this!" So I glugged as much down as I could in 30 seconds until I was on the edge of vomitting. She was laughing so hard! Then I took the cell phone, pretended to take a call as we left outside and poured the rest in the gutter! After that, she livened up a bit and thinks that I'm the silliest person ever! So, we're working on those goals little by little!

Here in our area, the baptisms are slow, so we have 2 wards! we're in church from 8 to 1 pm. so, that¿s fun! but we're working hard to baptize like crazy!

That's all for this week! love you all!

Hermana Weatherford

Atol: The drink typically includes masa (corn hominy flour), water, piloncillo (unrefined cane sugar), cinnamon, vanilla and optional chocolate or fruit. The mixture is blended and heated before serving. Atole is made by toasting masa on a comal (griddle), then adding water that was boiled with cinnamon sticks. The resulting blends vary in texture, ranging from a porridge to a very thin liquid consistency. Atole can also be prepared with rice, flour, or oatmeal in place of masa.

Here's a cute article: http://antiguadailyphoto.com/2008/04/06/guatemalan-cuisine-atol-blanco-anyone/ It says atol defines your "guatemalaness"

 


 with hermana sol, a week ago. she's so short she had to stand on a box! ha!



Before changes, with Hermana Sol, outside of Ribera, heading to an area called Paraje Concepcion:



At the changes meeting with my new companion and on her left side, her trainer (Hermana Parker, my friend from Oregon!)

 



Saying goodbye to some of my converts (on the left, Marlon, on the right, Yanira):



It's pretty cold, so this is how I study! Skirt, sweater and pajamas!!

Goodbye Ribera del Rio, Hello...

In my mission I've had 5 changes or transfers (a period of 6 weeks) here in the field (one in the CCM). 1 of them was in Amatitlan, and the other 4 have been here in Ribera del Rio. It's a tiny area, and everyone knows me, even if they can't pronounce my last name... But after about 6 months, I'm leaving!

Yesterday morning we got the call. Tomorrow morning all of the missionaries in the mission will join together in a huge chapel and we'll find out where we go. I've spent ALL of my mission here in the Capitol, so I'll probably go to the

This week has been pretty good, but super hot! The week before Easter is called Semana Santa and is a Catholic holiday (even bigger than Christmas for them!). The have some strange activities, like doing a portrayal of the death of Christ. They beat and whip some poor volunteer and then they crucify him with rope. He doesn't die, but he's left in pretty bad shape. So, that's a fun catholic tradition.

Hermana Sol and I have had a good run together. We've worked hard and I really love this girl! She's taught me a ton of mexican slang and taught me to love chile! But she's going to get another companion now who needs her smile and positivity!

with much love,
hermana waetherford

 

[note: I did not alter her signature! Apparently the locals are the only ones having trouble with her name!]

General Conference was so great! 4/8

This weekend was FANTASTIC! I loved the messages that we heard and thought of specific people as each message was given! It was a truly inspired conference and I loved it.

We went to the stake center to watch it, so many of our investigators didn't make it, which really made me sad. A few little girls came and they were bugging poor Hermana Sol the entire time! Afterwards I heard about it and chewed them out HARDCORE. They were pretty quiet and just kept asking me "are you angry with us?". haha it was pretty fun and i think they learned a little bit about paying attention in church!

This week has been hot and it's about to get hotter Semana Santa is coming, it starts this Friday I think. It's a week that's pretty big around here and there are a lot of traditional foods! But it also gets pretty darn hot. So, my companion and I are going to turn into human raisins :)

Yesterday we had a zone pday! It was pretty great! We gathered together, played soccer (i hurt my ankle, but it was well worth it!) and then went to buy taco bell! Afterwards my companion and i went to a grocery store with a lot of things from the states! We bought a lot of gringo things (i got her hooked on the cereal Life!) and then went home to clean and get ready for the day.

I've started the project of reading Doctrine and Covenants! I have everything planned out to read 2 sections a day and i'm going to finish on June 11th! whoohoo!

Well that's all I have to share today! Don't forget the invitation made to all members to invite 4 people every year to listen to the missionaries! It's ALL about the members! They're the ones with the friends :)

Love you all!
Hermana Weatherford

pictures...
[they didn't come through this week]

Parental Note: I think I said this in October but it's no less true in April: I love that we all watch conference at the same time. It's like a connection over long distance, we listen to the same speakers, sing the same songs and raise our hands at the same time to sustain our leaders. I wasn't aware that my missionary did this in English! That's pretty awesome as well!