Dear Mom,
First of all, I want you to know that I am completely fine right now before I tell you how this week went. (Don't you love it when they start a letter like that? It's like saying...you better sit down...)
Tuesday we had the interviews and it was quite refreshing. I found out later that the package hadn´t gotten here yet but I was already expecting that. It was too soon after you mentioned it so don´t worry about it. I asked president who I was to him and he told me that I´m a good missionary and that he hopes that I have a son like me one day. Then he told me my problem was I let others decide my happiness for me and that´s my major downfall. Then he told me I needed to be more like my Dad and be more sure of myself and my convictions.
Wednesday was a normal contacting day.
Thursday we had planning in the morning and I always have a lot of extra nervous energy that day. So, I don´t want to get into details but I was pacing and jumping around as I do when I get to that point, and in the process jumped off a wall and hit my head on a low hanging door frame. Of course I didn´t hit THAT hard but our house is made completely out of rough cement which I´ve found it isn´t very forgiving. It didn´t hurt that bad so I just decided to lay down for a sec in case it was worse than I thought. The pain didn´t grow at all, I actually didn´t feel any at all other than the initial hit so I thought I was fine until I looked at my hand and realized I probably needed stitches. So I waited patiently for my companion who was going to the bathroom and had no idea of what happened. He came out and saw me laying down on the exercise mat and said "let´s go". Then I told him that we had a problem and we decided to go to the hospital (which is not like a hospital in the states, more like just a regular doctors office in the states) and got stitches and then I was back to work that afternoon :). It was very quick and anticlimactic and now I´ve got a bald spot on my head. I get the stitches taken out next Thursday.
The next three days stuff started to happen. We started working a lot with a few members and positive people started to come out of nowhere and now we have 21 new people to teach this week and we´re going to see if they´re positive or not. We´re super excited this time to have so many people that seem like they might get baptized. We´re hoping at least one of these families comes through. Too bad changes are next week and we might not be there for it. We´re hoping we don´t have any changes.
So that was my week. Good luck with your tests and graduation stuff Nick. I´ll talk to you next week.
Love,
Elder Landon James Crapo
Counters
Monday, May 30, 2011
Monday, May 23, 2011
May 23, 2011
Dear Mom,
I am feeling much better today after a strange week. I continued to have all sorts of abdominal pain and all that stuff until about Friday. Then, Saturday my comp was feeling queezie and I was fine. Then... yesterday I randomly broke out in hives all over my body and had to deal with that all day. So we were working around all of that all week long.
Despite all that, we´ve been working the best we can. Contacting mostly, but also teaching some references. None of them came to church though... Actually the meetings in church have become extremely pathetic and don´t bring the spirit. Nobody prepares talks, they are just asked on the spot. (usually the branch president, his counselors or us) We give Sunday school and then Elders quorum doesn´t even happen half the time because all the priesthood goes home after sacrament meeting. So finally, yesterday, we sat down with the branch president and had a little talk about what he could do to make the meetings better and make things a little easier on himself. We promised him that the attendance would go up if he made a greater effort to make the meetings on time and more prepared and spiritual.
There are three families that we have scheduled to meet this week that are references from some of the members. We´re hoping at least one of them is positive.
So that´s how things are going here in Joyabaj. I´ll write you next week. Thanks for the letters every week.
Love,
Elder Landon James Crapo
I am feeling much better today after a strange week. I continued to have all sorts of abdominal pain and all that stuff until about Friday. Then, Saturday my comp was feeling queezie and I was fine. Then... yesterday I randomly broke out in hives all over my body and had to deal with that all day. So we were working around all of that all week long.
Despite all that, we´ve been working the best we can. Contacting mostly, but also teaching some references. None of them came to church though... Actually the meetings in church have become extremely pathetic and don´t bring the spirit. Nobody prepares talks, they are just asked on the spot. (usually the branch president, his counselors or us) We give Sunday school and then Elders quorum doesn´t even happen half the time because all the priesthood goes home after sacrament meeting. So finally, yesterday, we sat down with the branch president and had a little talk about what he could do to make the meetings better and make things a little easier on himself. We promised him that the attendance would go up if he made a greater effort to make the meetings on time and more prepared and spiritual.
There are three families that we have scheduled to meet this week that are references from some of the members. We´re hoping at least one of them is positive.
So that´s how things are going here in Joyabaj. I´ll write you next week. Thanks for the letters every week.
Love,
Elder Landon James Crapo
Monday, May 16, 2011
May 16, 2011
Dear Mom,
I apologize right now if my letter is really short. I´m fighting off an illness right now. Nothing too serious. I think it´s just food poisoning. It´s bound to happen at least once during the whole two years here in Guatemala. I´ve just had water diarrhea for two and a half days. I´m taking pills and stuff just waiting for it to course through my body.
As far as the one family is going, we haven´t had a good chance to actually get a lesson in or progress at all. He´s trying to get work off for at least one hour. He works all day every day selling shoes and his boss won´t give him even one hour off. They live with her parents and the dad always tells us when they´re not home that we´re wasting our time. Their names are Fransisco and Marilena. I haven´t gotten TOO excited about them yet because we haven´t had the chance to explain to them well what a baptism means. I think they might be able to pull through. We´re hoping.
Thanks for all your support. I look forward to hearing from you next week.
Love,
Elder Landon James Crapo
I apologize right now if my letter is really short. I´m fighting off an illness right now. Nothing too serious. I think it´s just food poisoning. It´s bound to happen at least once during the whole two years here in Guatemala. I´ve just had water diarrhea for two and a half days. I´m taking pills and stuff just waiting for it to course through my body.
As far as the one family is going, we haven´t had a good chance to actually get a lesson in or progress at all. He´s trying to get work off for at least one hour. He works all day every day selling shoes and his boss won´t give him even one hour off. They live with her parents and the dad always tells us when they´re not home that we´re wasting our time. Their names are Fransisco and Marilena. I haven´t gotten TOO excited about them yet because we haven´t had the chance to explain to them well what a baptism means. I think they might be able to pull through. We´re hoping.
Thanks for all your support. I look forward to hearing from you next week.
Love,
Elder Landon James Crapo
Wednesday, May 11, 2011
May 8, 2011 The phone call!!!
Talking to Landon on Mother's Day was such a highlight! He seems to be doing well and his Spanish is great! He talked to his Dad in Spanish for a few minutes while we listened. It was fun to hear. He referred to his lovely living accomadations as "The Bat Cave". It's an unfinished cement hut that they have plastered the walls with a sandpaper consitancy that he frequently scrapes against leaving him a bit scratched up. He always did take corners too fast at home... :) Anyway, he loves his companion and said he is a hard worker and they get along great! He wishes they could find people who would truly listen to the message they have to share. Most people won't listen and many are afraid of them because of the preaching at other churches that tell thier congregation to fear them. They do service when they can but he wishes that they could have more of an impact. He misses spending time with family but is enjoying the mission experience. He loves learning and teaching the Gospel! He wants more than anything to feel that he has done the work the Lord sent him there to do. We pray for that as well. He feels there is much to do in the short time he has left. Only 9 more months!!!!! He has gotten so used to the size of the people there, that when they do occasionally run into some North Americans, it feels strange to be around them. It was great to hear his voice and laugh again. Only one more phone call and then he will be back with us again!
May 10, 2011
Dear Mother,
Don´t worry about the phone call. It actually made me feel really refreshed and ready to work whereas after the one for Christmas, I just was super tired and wanted to sleep.
Yesterday was not P-day apparently. They didn´t really let us know why but they told us that we needed to stay home in our house until 12. So we did until the assistants showed up to take away our phone and then told us we could go to work now. So we just tried coming up with stuff to do seeing as we hadn´t planned anything to do. Anyway, so now nobody has phones again. I´m hoping it´s because they´re trying to get cell phones to all the areas. It´s something president told us he was trying to do when I first got into Momos... So maybe now they´re actually doing it.
We´re still finding lots of people. A few people seem like they might become positive but we really can´t tell right now. We found a family last night that said they were willing to accept a baptism and they seemed pretty exciting. The only thing is we haven´t really taught them anything other than baptism and it´s going to take a while to get them all ready seeing as they aren´t married. But, I have hopes for them. They are poor and don´t go to any church so their minds are open to learn more about Jesus Christ. The hard thing is they don´t understand that much of Spanish, especially our church vocabulary, so we´re having to try and simplify it a lot. Even more than normal. I think I´m going to try and learn a little bit more of the dialect here again. It might help and it´ll give me something entertaining to do.
Thank you so much for all your prayers and love. I´m really going to need them these next few months. Pray that I may be able to endure to the end.
Love,
Elder Landon James Crapo
Don´t worry about the phone call. It actually made me feel really refreshed and ready to work whereas after the one for Christmas, I just was super tired and wanted to sleep.
Yesterday was not P-day apparently. They didn´t really let us know why but they told us that we needed to stay home in our house until 12. So we did until the assistants showed up to take away our phone and then told us we could go to work now. So we just tried coming up with stuff to do seeing as we hadn´t planned anything to do. Anyway, so now nobody has phones again. I´m hoping it´s because they´re trying to get cell phones to all the areas. It´s something president told us he was trying to do when I first got into Momos... So maybe now they´re actually doing it.
We´re still finding lots of people. A few people seem like they might become positive but we really can´t tell right now. We found a family last night that said they were willing to accept a baptism and they seemed pretty exciting. The only thing is we haven´t really taught them anything other than baptism and it´s going to take a while to get them all ready seeing as they aren´t married. But, I have hopes for them. They are poor and don´t go to any church so their minds are open to learn more about Jesus Christ. The hard thing is they don´t understand that much of Spanish, especially our church vocabulary, so we´re having to try and simplify it a lot. Even more than normal. I think I´m going to try and learn a little bit more of the dialect here again. It might help and it´ll give me something entertaining to do.
Thank you so much for all your prayers and love. I´m really going to need them these next few months. Pray that I may be able to endure to the end.
Love,
Elder Landon James Crapo
Monday, May 2, 2011
May 2, 2011
(The beginning of this letter needs a little explanation. Zac is my daughters husband and they are expecting a baby. After discussing children being named after dead people, he said they should name their baby Osama bin Laden as a joke. That night, it was announced that Osama bin Laden was killed. Freaky, huh?)
Well! Zac is the amazing hypothetical master it seems. He better be careful with that kind of power. If he can assassinate someone with that power it´s got to be dangerous.
I hope the operation goes well. I pray for your health every night. As for the washing machine... I´ll be so happy when I will be able to use stuff like that again.
Missionary work has gone very slow. We´re still just mostly contacting and although we´ve got a lot of new investigators... none of them are progressing at all. Nobody is doing what we ask them to. Nobody wants to change... yet. We´re doing the best we can but the people here in Joyabaj are just a little too relaxed. They don´t understand and they don´t feel the responsibility or the eternal consequences of what they do. I´m trying to find a way to get these people to take this seriously but... it´s a struggle. So, no positive people yet but I´m trying really hard this change. I feel I have slacked off a little bit the past couple of changes because of discouragement and it´s time I refocused.
For Mother´s Day, I haven´t heard anything yet, no rules no anything, so I´m planning on just doing it the way we did it for Christmas. I´ll just call you on Mother´s Day sometime in the afternoon, probably more sooner than later, like in between 12:00 and 3:00.
I will talk to you Sunday. Thanks for all your prayers and love. I really appreciate it. It really makes all the difference in times of discouragement, and this mission brings a lot of it.
Love,
Elder Landon James Crapo
Well! Zac is the amazing hypothetical master it seems. He better be careful with that kind of power. If he can assassinate someone with that power it´s got to be dangerous.
I hope the operation goes well. I pray for your health every night. As for the washing machine... I´ll be so happy when I will be able to use stuff like that again.
Missionary work has gone very slow. We´re still just mostly contacting and although we´ve got a lot of new investigators... none of them are progressing at all. Nobody is doing what we ask them to. Nobody wants to change... yet. We´re doing the best we can but the people here in Joyabaj are just a little too relaxed. They don´t understand and they don´t feel the responsibility or the eternal consequences of what they do. I´m trying to find a way to get these people to take this seriously but... it´s a struggle. So, no positive people yet but I´m trying really hard this change. I feel I have slacked off a little bit the past couple of changes because of discouragement and it´s time I refocused.
For Mother´s Day, I haven´t heard anything yet, no rules no anything, so I´m planning on just doing it the way we did it for Christmas. I´ll just call you on Mother´s Day sometime in the afternoon, probably more sooner than later, like in between 12:00 and 3:00.
I will talk to you Sunday. Thanks for all your prayers and love. I really appreciate it. It really makes all the difference in times of discouragement, and this mission brings a lot of it.
Love,
Elder Landon James Crapo
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