Thanksgiving Weekend 2013

This past Wednesday Elder Lovett left the CCM to go to his Mission field of Retalhuleu.  So unfortunately, he wasn't able to write us an email.  But we did find a couple of pictures of him and his companions, Elder Jensen (his companion) and Elder Salcedo (one of the two week Hispano companions) in his email account.  So for any real information, his new city, his new companion, etc. we will have to wait for the update until Monday (fingers crossed).

Elder Lovett, Elder Salcedo & Elder Jensen 

 

 

 

Elder Salcedo & Elder Lovett

Wednesday, November 20, 2013

 

We have had some really good success with the language this week!!! Our roomates are all Hispanos, which makes it us two Gringos, and four native spanish speakers!! That is sooooo awesome! We spend every meal with the Hispanos, and there are quite a few people noticing our efforts at Hablo su Idioma, and even our teacher told us how well we have improved from when we first got her as our teacher, about three and a half weeks ago.

We have now been in the CCM longer than all the other missionaries here! We are the Viejos! It sort of feels like that last year of high school where you can´t exactly place yourself, in your mind, that you have had the most experience. The world is just around the block, and I can´t wait for it!!!

Last week, right after the old Viejos left the CCM, a rather emotional goodbye, because we practically knew them for a whole month.  We got to do the greatest thing a missionary at the CCM could do. It was fantastc!  It was incredible.  It was even better than going to Wal-Mart. Enserio (seriously), this was really cool, we went to the market in Guatemala City! I would imagine it was like the feeling that you guys, mom and dad, got when you first got out to Italy. A serious, amazing culture shock! It was like a three story mall that went down into the ground. You could bargin with the shop owner to lower the price of any item, but then you have to buy it.  So worth it. The shops maybe were 10ft by 10ft, packed with authentic Guatemalan designs, and crafts, and clothing that were distinctly Guatemalan.

Before we even went to the market we visited a little park with a gigantic realistic 3D map of guatemala. It was made by a man who decided that he would travel all over Guatemala and take notes, and I don´t even know what, to show exactly what Guatemala, and a little bit of the surrounding countries, looked like. The map was over an acre large and then it was 99% accurate! How fantastic it that! So while we were there the CCM President told us the theories that say the Book of Mormon happened here. One example is the one story, I don´t know who told it in the Book of Mormon, that there was a small stretch of land that took a day and a half to cross. With oceans, there is no way you can cross from one ocean to another, but if you define a small stretch of land between the ocean and the mountais, then that area that he was talking about is just above my mission!

 

 

 

(I think this is what Elder Lovett is referring to in the Guatemala City Park.  A 3D map of Guatemala)

 

I just want you guys, Mom and Dad, to know how awesome it is to know another language, and I hope that you guys will never, ever, lose it! Read the Book of Mormon in your mission language every once in a while, and you'll remember so much. I would also like advice from you guys, and anyone else who served a mission in a different language. How did you learn your language the best? What would you be searching for in the scriptures, and how would you search for it? And do you have any advice? I would love to hear the respones from you guys , and anyone who can help.

I gave a talk on Sunday all in Spanish. For some reason I just knew that I would be giving a talk, something just told me.  So I prepared it as best as I could. So we taught district meeting in Spanish, no big deal, then I gave the talk, and it was fun. I went up later to thank the Branch President for the opportunity to speak, and he told me that leaders normally don´t give talks, that they normally don´t speak in Sacrament meeting, but the spirit told him during district class that I should speak: So Crazy!

Good times, hope you guys could see it here, love you The Church is true. I might not write next week, because I´m leaving for the FIELD next week!

 

Love you, Bye!

Monday, November 11, 2013

Asembrosa!

Again, a different P-Day!  We can't keep up on Elder Lovett's P-Day, he's been there almost 4 weeks and he's changed his P-Day 3 times!  Is that normal???  It sure makes timing our emails to him tricky!  I've missed him one week, Susan missed him this week.  Luckily, I wrote him early this morning so at least he had one letter waiting for him! 

Hello Family!!

 

Jacob and Tyler are going to be awesome missionaries searving on totally different sides of the country, how awesome is that going to be!!!!!!? Asembrosa!! (Awesome, Amazing, Excellent)

Not a whole lot happened this week.  The last thing I remember was that we had a district meeting that we never thought we could top, becuse it was so asembrosa. Then we totally topped it the next week! We even had the CCM President (President Nicolaysen) come and talk with us for a few minutes to share some of the wisdom he had about charity, and loving the people. I´t lasted a good hour and a half! Wow!

President and Sister Nicolaysen

So, the story about why the president came and spoke with us during our District meeting is because I asked him to come my second week here. Simple enough right? Well our meeting came and went, and he had meetings and he forgot. So I later reminded him about it, and he felt sooooo guilty that he missed it, and promised me he would be there next time. The next time rolled around and I reminded him aaaaaaaand, he had a meeting, and would be leaving for a week for a Mission Presidency something. When he came back I meerly had to say ¨welcome back¨ and he pointed at me and said, ¨I have been thinking about that meeting all week, I will be there¨ Wow that´s so nice of him, but when I asked him to come talk to us, I did´t mean to mentally torment the man!

He came and talked to us,and you know, that the meeting lasted for about an hour and a half, and when we finally finished we found out, WE Missed Dinner!! Noooooo! However, incredibly, through the miracle of (listening to) the Holy Spirit, I asked if we could get some food, and he said it was no problem. I ran around the CCM like Paul Revere screaming ¨We can eat! We can eat!¨

Tomorrow we can go to the market, and have some fun getting culture shocked! Woo Hoo! It will be asembroso!

La igelsia es verdadero, Soy un misionaro a ayudar las personas a venir a Cristo. El meyor camino a aprender español es lo hablar. Ayer yo notado que tengo solamente dos años aqua en Guatemala, entonses necesito intentar tan mucho como puedo aprender el evangelio,la idioma y AMOR LA GENTE!!!!!

OK, so I jumped the gun a little bit!  We received this letter on Elder Lovett's "new" p-day, Wednesday!  WHEW!!  This is a GOOD pattern so far.  And Susan says he's back on the Christmas gift list!!  Which we will need to send to him in the next week or so.  YIKES, already Christmas shopping!?

Wednesday, November 6, 2013 Part II

Hi Family!

One of the guys in my district became zone leader, so we had to change branches here, which also means that my P-Day changed to today. I´m still ok, doing great and speaking Spanish!

I told you about our fantastically amazing trip to Wal-Mart. It really was all it was cracked up to be, it was amazing, but before we left for Wal-Mart we stoped at the stake Center to play some games and have a little bit of fun. We had a great time with only North Americans that speak only english. Anyone who speaks Spanish only gets two weeks here, just like Jacob will get in Provo. Anyway! On our way out of the Stake Center´s parking lot the bus got STUCK! The edge of the driveway dipped down a little, then sloped back up on the street. The front of the bus got out fine into the middle of the street, then the back tires, I think were lifted off of the ground. The bus was also stuck on the lip on the ground were the gates stop. We stayed in the bus for a few minutes reving the bus' engine, then we heard ¨Alright Elders, get out¨ yep we were going to ask the spirit of God to move this bus.

 

This ISN'T a picture of Elder Lovett's bus, but I found something in Google Images that may have looked like the bus they would've been on.  Just giving you a visual:-)

 

We tried for a few minutes to no avail, then we looked over at all the sisters, and they were huddled together in prayer. BOOM it hit us. It took a while, but we knew we had to do the same. We got into a football-like huddle and offered a prayer. After much faith, a few lines from ¨Put Your Shoulder to the Wheel¨ and we succeded in moving the bus back on to the street, and were on our way to do the Lord´s work, at the store. So cool!

 

My companion is really cool. His dad works as an accountantfor the airforce, so he lived in Japan for five years. For three years he studied spanish in school, so he knows Spanish really well. We HSI ("Hablar Su Idioma" or "Speak Your Language") as much as possible together, so I´ve learned a lot of the language by just talking with him, the teachers, and the Hispanos. He is from Ohio, his granparents on his mom´s side are converts, and this same grandpa will be a Temple President soon. And, Dad, I did it! This past Sunday I bore my tesimony to the world in Spanish. (So proud)

So, yeah, I was totally bumbed that I wouldn´t be celebrating Halloween in our usual, Lovett family style. UNTIL I came down one day to get almuerso (lunch), and just about every single person that worked there was dressed up, with masks, and makup.  They had it all, with the lights up above them and everything!

Only got a minute and twenty seconds, my favorite verse here on the mission field is Mosiah 2:17

 

And behold, I tell you these things that ye may learn wisdom; that ye may learn that when ye are in the service of your fellow beings ye are only in the service of your God.

Wednesday, November 6, 2013 Part I

We were very excited when Tuesday rolled around, anticipating an email from Elder Lovett.  Unfortunately it never arrived.  I'm sure he was super busy with CCM and Temple activities and simply ran out of time.  Hopefully this won't be a pattern! 

So in place of a letter from Joe, I'm including a couple of pictures from his last days in CA.

 At the Los Angeles Temple Visitors Center

 



 

 The night before he left. We're making a life size cut out of this to include in family events and photos, etc...