Dear Mom and Family,
I´m glad to hear that the surgery went well. First I want everyone to make a guess where I am. I´ve been in every city possible to be in our mission now. Where am I? Xela, Momos, Huehue, Nahuala, or Quiché.
.........................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................I am now back in Huehuetenango to spend Christmas once again. The area I´m in now is Brasilia2. There are two companionships in this area: The Zone Leaders and us, and guess who´s the Zone Leader... Elder Fuentes, my companion from Calvario. So now we are here once again to spend Christmas together once again, sort of. My new companion is Elder Chacón and we´re both new in the area. Not very many missionaries like him too much. He´s kind of socially awkward and acts like he knows better than everyone else. From the very beginning, we began the companionship a little off because he began to command me in everything. That being said, I don´t want you to think I´m miserable. It seems that since I hit my six months left mark, it has been my job to be the companion of missionaries that require a lot of patience and, in some ways, a firm hand to get the work done. I have learned a lot this week about trusting in the Lord and looking to him for consolation and peace.
Here we have only been able to find one investigator that the other elders had before, named Gustavo. He´s come to church several times and it seems that they tried to set a goal to baptize him this last week but he says he still feels unprepared. He´s already had an interview with president but still doesn´t want to quite yet. So we´re just trying to get to know him and gain the confidence the other elders had before we got here. He probably will get baptized in a couple of weeks. I´m out of time now but I will explain more details next week.
Love,
Elder Landon James Crapo
Counters
Monday, November 28, 2011
Monday, November 21, 2011
November 21, 2011
Dear Mom and Family,
I´m glad to tell you that this week was a really good week. We went to the temple twice this week. Lino´s family and his teacher, Catarina, could not go to the temple on Friday, so we arranged to go with them on Thursday with another ward in Nahualá. It was great. They loved it. The temple is beautiful. There´s a lot of Guatemalan things there. The murals of the mountains and the lake and quetzal birds are beautiful. The celestial room is different. I like the one in our temple much better but there is always the same spirit there. We´ve continued to teach Lino´s dad and Catarina. We tried committing Catarina to baptism and she said she´d be willing if she felt more prepared. We promised her that we would help prepare her and that through other commitments she´d be able to prepare for that day.
Pedro, Lino´s dad, has been more difficult and slower because he has many ideas from the Pentecostal church, but we´ve enjoyed the lessons and we´ve avoided contention. We will have to wait and see if he reads the book of Mormon. We´ve determined that if he doesn´t do that, he won´t progress.
We´ve received a lot of good reports about the temple and the District leader called us this morning and told us that there´s a reference from the temple for this area.
I´m excited to see how these next few weeks go here, but I no longer will be here in Xolcajá. I don´t know where I´m going but I have changes.
I´ll be writing you next week from my new area and most likely the area where I will be finishing my mission. I love you all. Have a great week.
Love,
Elder Landon James Crapo
I´m glad to tell you that this week was a really good week. We went to the temple twice this week. Lino´s family and his teacher, Catarina, could not go to the temple on Friday, so we arranged to go with them on Thursday with another ward in Nahualá. It was great. They loved it. The temple is beautiful. There´s a lot of Guatemalan things there. The murals of the mountains and the lake and quetzal birds are beautiful. The celestial room is different. I like the one in our temple much better but there is always the same spirit there. We´ve continued to teach Lino´s dad and Catarina. We tried committing Catarina to baptism and she said she´d be willing if she felt more prepared. We promised her that we would help prepare her and that through other commitments she´d be able to prepare for that day.
Pedro, Lino´s dad, has been more difficult and slower because he has many ideas from the Pentecostal church, but we´ve enjoyed the lessons and we´ve avoided contention. We will have to wait and see if he reads the book of Mormon. We´ve determined that if he doesn´t do that, he won´t progress.
We´ve received a lot of good reports about the temple and the District leader called us this morning and told us that there´s a reference from the temple for this area.
I´m excited to see how these next few weeks go here, but I no longer will be here in Xolcajá. I don´t know where I´m going but I have changes.
I´ll be writing you next week from my new area and most likely the area where I will be finishing my mission. I love you all. Have a great week.
Love,
Elder Landon James Crapo
Monday, November 14, 2011
November 14, 2011
First of all about the temple; The open house started on the 11th and will go to the 26th. I hadn´t been able to mention anything about it before getting here to Nahualá because I didn´t know myself. I knew that we were going to be able to enter but I didn´t know when or anything like that. The rule is that we can only go in if we bring 10 investigators with us. But, for every 10 investigators we bring, we can go 1time. We have 50 who are planning on going on Friday so... we´re praying and hoping all of them come. The ward is going on Friday this week and Friday next week.
So, as you know, today they sent me the information for my honorable release so they can reserve flight tickets. It was kind of a shock for me to see that. It looks like I won´t be getting home until the 16th. I don´t know what projects you have planned but, just so you know, you´re only going to write me 13 more times before I get home.
I was thinking about the pants and I still want you to buy them but I think you should save the money in shipping. I have the other suit I had made. They did an OK job. It was a little too big when he made it but now it really is too big. But it still works. I can come home in that and when I get home you can have the pants there ready for me, and maybe you can see if you can fix the other suit I have. Save the money. I can get by with what I have here. I´d rather have new stuff when I get home than have new stuff for only three months. About the measurements, my sewing kit has a measuring tape but I keep forgetting to do the measurements. Sorry...
This week went pretty well. We´ve got quite a few people to bring to the temple on the 18th, as you know already, and we´re doing all we can so that they don´t fall through. Maritza, the lady who owns the tienda that we converted into our office, told us that she wasn´t going to go but she hasn´t explained to us why. It frustrated me a little, but we´ve been praying that when the time comes, she will have changed her mind.
We started teaching someone this week named Pedro, the father of some kids that come to the tienda to talk to us when we eat lunch there. Pedro has lots of doubts though, and I feel it will be very difficult to focus on the spiritual part of the lesson. We´ve doubled our efforts to plan our lessons really well and prepare well to teach our investigators, and even though we haven´t followed a single plan yet because of the questions our investigators have, I feel the spirit guiding us. I have to admit too, I´ve become rusty in my teaching because I´ve gone so long without having a positive investigator.
The K´iché is coming along more or less. I understand a few things when nobody is around to translate for us but I´m nowhere near being able to communicate with them.
I just want to say thanks for all your love and prayers. I love you all and can´t wait to see you all and tell you all about my mission.
Love,
Elder Landon James Crapo
So, as you know, today they sent me the information for my honorable release so they can reserve flight tickets. It was kind of a shock for me to see that. It looks like I won´t be getting home until the 16th. I don´t know what projects you have planned but, just so you know, you´re only going to write me 13 more times before I get home.
I was thinking about the pants and I still want you to buy them but I think you should save the money in shipping. I have the other suit I had made. They did an OK job. It was a little too big when he made it but now it really is too big. But it still works. I can come home in that and when I get home you can have the pants there ready for me, and maybe you can see if you can fix the other suit I have. Save the money. I can get by with what I have here. I´d rather have new stuff when I get home than have new stuff for only three months. About the measurements, my sewing kit has a measuring tape but I keep forgetting to do the measurements. Sorry...
This week went pretty well. We´ve got quite a few people to bring to the temple on the 18th, as you know already, and we´re doing all we can so that they don´t fall through. Maritza, the lady who owns the tienda that we converted into our office, told us that she wasn´t going to go but she hasn´t explained to us why. It frustrated me a little, but we´ve been praying that when the time comes, she will have changed her mind.
We started teaching someone this week named Pedro, the father of some kids that come to the tienda to talk to us when we eat lunch there. Pedro has lots of doubts though, and I feel it will be very difficult to focus on the spiritual part of the lesson. We´ve doubled our efforts to plan our lessons really well and prepare well to teach our investigators, and even though we haven´t followed a single plan yet because of the questions our investigators have, I feel the spirit guiding us. I have to admit too, I´ve become rusty in my teaching because I´ve gone so long without having a positive investigator.
The K´iché is coming along more or less. I understand a few things when nobody is around to translate for us but I´m nowhere near being able to communicate with them.
I just want to say thanks for all your love and prayers. I love you all and can´t wait to see you all and tell you all about my mission.
Love,
Elder Landon James Crapo
Monday, November 7, 2011
November 7, 2011
Dear Mom and family,
This week went a lot better. We finally are finding new people to teach. The two most positive people are:
Maritza, a lady who works at a "tienda" that gives us lunch, and
Catarina, a schoolteacher. One of her students, a little boy who likes to talk to us a lot, gave us the reference. The boy´s name is Lino and we have plans to begin teaching his family as well. All of the people we´ve been able to invite to the Temple, has come primarily from these two investigators.
I haven´t mentioned this yet, but Maritza is the first person I met when I got here. I saw that she had an oven and I told her that I could make a really good banana bread with all the old bananas that she had. (It was also my birthday the next day) The next day we made my birthday cake and shared it with her and her daughter.
Saturday, we spent most of our time in Maritza´s tienda. In the morning, we went over to reorganize stuff and clean shelves. Afterwards she made us lunch and then she began to ask us some questions. One of the questions was kind of a strange one but we were able to use it well. She asked ME, and she asked me to be honest, if the men in the United States were loyal to their wives or if they betrayed them as well. My response was that I didn´t know about the rest of the United States because I lived in Utah and the majority of the men I know there are members of the church, but I assured her that most if not all the men I know there are completely and 100% loyal to their wives. Then she asked me if the women were loyal as well, and I assured her that they were. I then explained to her the great blessing that I have had to be able to grow up in a family where my parents have been loyal to each other and to the Lord all my life and that I´ve become who I am because of the family I grew up in and the parents that have raised me. Then the conversation changed a little. Both my companion and I gave examples (anonymous of course) of people we knew (him before the mission and me during the mission) who were members and had not been loyal to their spouses. We began to explain the process of repentance that they had to take in order to become worthy and faithful once again. Then we explained how the world knows who Jesus Christ is and what He has done for us, but what they do not know, is how to apply it into our lives. We tied it all off by explaining that the members that she knows, and even ourselves, are not as happy and kind and good to others because we naturally are perfect. We are who we are because we have learned to apply the sacrifice of Jesus Christ in our lives and the process of repentance. We ended on that and she told us that on Tuesday (when we go for lunch) she´d have some more questions for us.
Yesterday, Elder Martino randomly was attending church here in Chirijox with us. Nobody knew he was coming but he spoke in sacrament meeting and taught Sunday school. It was a great experience and I wish I could have the kind of inspiring power he and all authorities have. When he was done, everyone felt better and wanted to BE better. Even despite the discouraging living conditions that these people live in, he was able to lift their spirits and encourage them to live better.
The work is beginning to pick up and I´m excited to see how everything goes.
Love,
Elder Landon James Crapo
This week went a lot better. We finally are finding new people to teach. The two most positive people are:
Maritza, a lady who works at a "tienda" that gives us lunch, and
Catarina, a schoolteacher. One of her students, a little boy who likes to talk to us a lot, gave us the reference. The boy´s name is Lino and we have plans to begin teaching his family as well. All of the people we´ve been able to invite to the Temple, has come primarily from these two investigators.
I haven´t mentioned this yet, but Maritza is the first person I met when I got here. I saw that she had an oven and I told her that I could make a really good banana bread with all the old bananas that she had. (It was also my birthday the next day) The next day we made my birthday cake and shared it with her and her daughter.
Saturday, we spent most of our time in Maritza´s tienda. In the morning, we went over to reorganize stuff and clean shelves. Afterwards she made us lunch and then she began to ask us some questions. One of the questions was kind of a strange one but we were able to use it well. She asked ME, and she asked me to be honest, if the men in the United States were loyal to their wives or if they betrayed them as well. My response was that I didn´t know about the rest of the United States because I lived in Utah and the majority of the men I know there are members of the church, but I assured her that most if not all the men I know there are completely and 100% loyal to their wives. Then she asked me if the women were loyal as well, and I assured her that they were. I then explained to her the great blessing that I have had to be able to grow up in a family where my parents have been loyal to each other and to the Lord all my life and that I´ve become who I am because of the family I grew up in and the parents that have raised me. Then the conversation changed a little. Both my companion and I gave examples (anonymous of course) of people we knew (him before the mission and me during the mission) who were members and had not been loyal to their spouses. We began to explain the process of repentance that they had to take in order to become worthy and faithful once again. Then we explained how the world knows who Jesus Christ is and what He has done for us, but what they do not know, is how to apply it into our lives. We tied it all off by explaining that the members that she knows, and even ourselves, are not as happy and kind and good to others because we naturally are perfect. We are who we are because we have learned to apply the sacrifice of Jesus Christ in our lives and the process of repentance. We ended on that and she told us that on Tuesday (when we go for lunch) she´d have some more questions for us.
Yesterday, Elder Martino randomly was attending church here in Chirijox with us. Nobody knew he was coming but he spoke in sacrament meeting and taught Sunday school. It was a great experience and I wish I could have the kind of inspiring power he and all authorities have. When he was done, everyone felt better and wanted to BE better. Even despite the discouraging living conditions that these people live in, he was able to lift their spirits and encourage them to live better.
The work is beginning to pick up and I´m excited to see how everything goes.
Love,
Elder Landon James Crapo
Wednesday, November 2, 2011
October 31, 2011
That´s a pretty cool costume! And Hunter is getting so big too. He looks quite a bit older than the pictures I have in my camera. It feels like only a month ago that you sent me the pictures of his alien abduction costume.
I tried to get someone to fix my boots but they made them impossible to wear. I got huge sores on my feet that didn´t go away for a month from trying to wear them. So this change I left them behind. Also the other shoes because I had been re gluing them every month and they finally fell completely apart. So I´m stuck with the nicer Sunday shoes that I´ve got and I´m trying to take care of them the best I can so that they last me the next few months before I come home. I don´t want to buy new shoes here just to use them for a few weeks.
My shirts have surprisingly held out extremely well. It wasn´t until this morning that I found one of my shirts with a tear in the collar like all the missionaries who are going home have. I think I can get through though. I might come home looking a little rough but... I´ve had quite a few adventurous areas.
This week has been an interesting week and a purifying week. I´m not going to hide it anymore, the elders that are here and the ones that were here before seem to have given up hope. They don´t want to do anything because they don´t believe they can do anything. They´re fun to talk to and hang around with on P-Day, but it becomes a temptation to relax during the week. I´ve been working really hard with my companion to help him see clearly the vision once again. But... I find the same lack of faith in myself. I´ve found I don´t believe I can change anyones lives. I´ve tried to change my mind. I´ve studied the subject of faith deeply and have had some pretty amazing spiritual experiences. I´ve tried to explain the things I´ve learned to my companion and increase both our faiths. But we haven´t come to the level I´d like to be at, that I feel we need to be at, in order to make some changes here. We had a really long talk far away from anyone at all about the things we were doing and how, even though it might be fun, doesn´t help in the work. I find I have to be more forward and bold than I have ever been in my life.
Yesterday we were visiting an almost investigator with her inactive mother. Her name is Maritza. We pay her to make us lunch and we´ve done some reorganizing service in her store. Yesterday her daughter had a really swollen mouth from a tooth that a dentist down here pulled. We were afraid of a bad infection and recommended that she take her to the dentist I went to. We talked about it for a long time and then we left her with a blessing. This morning we called to see how things were going and they didn´t even go to the dentist, because she woke up all better. That´s the best thing that happened this week.
Love,
Elder Landon James Crapo
I tried to get someone to fix my boots but they made them impossible to wear. I got huge sores on my feet that didn´t go away for a month from trying to wear them. So this change I left them behind. Also the other shoes because I had been re gluing them every month and they finally fell completely apart. So I´m stuck with the nicer Sunday shoes that I´ve got and I´m trying to take care of them the best I can so that they last me the next few months before I come home. I don´t want to buy new shoes here just to use them for a few weeks.
My shirts have surprisingly held out extremely well. It wasn´t until this morning that I found one of my shirts with a tear in the collar like all the missionaries who are going home have. I think I can get through though. I might come home looking a little rough but... I´ve had quite a few adventurous areas.
This week has been an interesting week and a purifying week. I´m not going to hide it anymore, the elders that are here and the ones that were here before seem to have given up hope. They don´t want to do anything because they don´t believe they can do anything. They´re fun to talk to and hang around with on P-Day, but it becomes a temptation to relax during the week. I´ve been working really hard with my companion to help him see clearly the vision once again. But... I find the same lack of faith in myself. I´ve found I don´t believe I can change anyones lives. I´ve tried to change my mind. I´ve studied the subject of faith deeply and have had some pretty amazing spiritual experiences. I´ve tried to explain the things I´ve learned to my companion and increase both our faiths. But we haven´t come to the level I´d like to be at, that I feel we need to be at, in order to make some changes here. We had a really long talk far away from anyone at all about the things we were doing and how, even though it might be fun, doesn´t help in the work. I find I have to be more forward and bold than I have ever been in my life.
Yesterday we were visiting an almost investigator with her inactive mother. Her name is Maritza. We pay her to make us lunch and we´ve done some reorganizing service in her store. Yesterday her daughter had a really swollen mouth from a tooth that a dentist down here pulled. We were afraid of a bad infection and recommended that she take her to the dentist I went to. We talked about it for a long time and then we left her with a blessing. This morning we called to see how things were going and they didn´t even go to the dentist, because she woke up all better. That´s the best thing that happened this week.
Love,
Elder Landon James Crapo
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