April 22, 2013

Sorry I didnt get to email this last week. Things have been kind of crazy. I have lots to tell you guys. Well lets just start with this last Tuesday. I left the CCM at around 7 am to my mission home. It was about 20 minutes away only because the North Mission was very close to where we were at the CCM. So I got there and went through a giant orientation and got to know where everything was and learned about each zone. There are 10 zones in total, 5 in the capital and 5 outside of it.

That night after the orientation I went to this zone called Alameda, my first day in the actual field. It was amazing. It is in Zone 18. So I started with a guy that had been out for 16 months already and he told me a lot about Guatemala ( he was a norte) It was pretty awesome. We went to teach some members and he made me start teaching in Spanish and just kind of sat back and watched. I didnt really understand anything they said they talked so fast and slurred words together haha. It was a huge eye opener. There are dogs EVERYWHERE. Haha, dogs literally just shower the streets. It is insane. They mostly arent too dangerous though so that is good. 

Well after we went teaching for about 4 hours we came back to the Zone Leaders house and ordered 16 pizzas for 18 people. It was awesome. We all ate pizza and talked and had fun that night. The next morning we left to a transfer meeting and found out where we were going to go. It was nice to see people I could actually talk to haha. I found out my area and straight away met my companions and went in a taxi to our house.

I am in the zone Esperanza, which is the opposite side of Zone 18. I am in the area called Santa Elena, it actually is a nicer area of Zone 18. We live in a giant gated community. It is huge. The Hermanas in our district only tract in there because it is super safe. There are guards everywhere! Also I have probably J-walked here more times in 1 week than I have my entire life before the mission. It is pretty insane haha. Not complaining though its pretty sweet. Nothing really super crazy has happened, so its pretty chill.

We live in a small house with no working water, so we have to go to a members house every morning to shower. We also have a giant leak in our roof so everytime it rains we have like a flood in the house. We are trying to find somewhere new to live but it is a difficult process here. 

I am excited to keep going, I am not really worried about where I am. Its going to be awesome. The first two days I was definitely a little culture shocked, the first night was the hardest. I am good now though. It is just amazing to see how little these people have but they are so happy in their lives. My companions are awesome.

Love you guys! Hope everyone is doing great!