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!