Elder Tadje in Guatemala

Buena semana todos!!!! A big warm hola from Elder Tadje and Elder Velez aqui en Barcenas!!!  So this week's been good- kinda crazy, but I'm starting to learn that's just how mission life is!!! Our area is awesome- the members love working with us, and love giving references!!! It's kinda weird, this has never happened before.... There were just some problems with the Elders before, so when I got here we didn't have any lunch. But we've started building bridges again, and we've been eating every day since then; and today one of our investigators is feeding us!!! That's when you know they're opening their hearts🌮 Our house is great, we spent two hours of pday cleaning which is a miracle cuz it's only one room 😂 haha there's one room to eat, sleep, study, exercise, everything. But it's made me realize that we don't really need more space, and how blessed we are in America. It's a lifestyle that the people here can't even...

Hey everyone!!!!! So kind of a crazy week. Things were great with Elder Williams, but we got a call from President yesterday that we had emergency changes!!!!! Elder Williams got transferred to the coast and an Elder Velez with 1 week in the mission is coming to be my companion!!! Which should be interesting cuz neither of us know the area haha, but con Dios nada es imposible!!!! Sorry that there's not time to write more, things have been crazy but that's the life!!!  But this area's awesome and the members are amazing, and I'm super excited for the next few weeks!!!Thank you all for the emails and the prayers they make all the difference!!! Elder Tadje

Hey everybody!!!  So crazy week- there's no scarier situation than being in a lesson and getting a text from President saying "call me!"But it ended up not being anything bad- just that we have changes!!!!! I've been transferred to Villa Nueva, an area called Barcenas 2 with Elder Williams from Panama- He has one change less than me in the mission, and he's been here since he started!! He's awesome- I'll send pictures next week!!! Our area literally is one massive hill, and somehow it's all uphill!!! There are no declines- just hiking straight up a mountain haha but the members are super awesome- really supportive and they love the missionaries!!! I'm super excited to be here, and we'll see how these next few weeks go!!! We have a baptism this Sunday. I have no idea who she is, and apparently I won't meet her until the baptism. But we got a baptism!!! haha Sorry I'll write more next week. It's been a l...

Hola! There's some scripture somewhere that says something like "como una vos del polvo"- and I feel like that's me; cuz holy cow there is dust here!! I don't even know why I still polish my shoes, as soon as I step outside they're brown. All the women, as part of taking care of houses, go out 2 or 3 times a day to throw bowls of water to water down their dirt- Or they just sweep it away. But beneath the dirt, there's just more dirt...😂 Guatemala in general is also a super dirty country; or at least the southern part. There's just garbage everywhere because there's no garbage cans, so everyone just throws everything on the ground. So the people sweep it into piles on the side of the road and light it all on fire and leave it! So Guatemalan streets are always a mix of dust and mud, flaming trash heaps, bus diesel fumes, cigarette smoke, and the occasional drunk passed out on the sidewalk. It's actually starting to be strangely comforting...

Hey everyone! I have faith in miracles. "For behold, I am God; and I am a God of miracles; and I will show unto the world that I am the same yesterday, today and forever." (2 Nephi 27:23) Big miracles, small miracles, they will always be there. For example: the shampoo here is super expensive- more than it costs for a week's worth of food. So I haven't wanted to buy shampoo- and here's the miracle! I have used the same shampoo bottle for 6 months! Since the MTC I have gone through my small little shampoo bottle and there's still about an inch left in the bottom! It may not be the loaves and the fishes, but I just know 1 shampoo has never lasted me more than a month. So if you want your shampoo to last longer, become a missionary!! ( or don't wash your hair I guess:) )  This was another good week. We did divisions with our zone leaders, and speaking of miracles!! If you're ever in Chimal and want to order PIzza Hut, do it at 9:28 at night. (2 m...

Hey everybody!!!!!  Elder Tadje here, still alive in Chimaltenango despite the crazy Chapin traditions running rampant in the city!!! But first off, I wanna start with a HUGE birthday shoutout to my brother Cameron who's turning 16!!!!!!! Crazy how fast the time flies. Happy bday bud! My first week with Elder Yepen was... interesting! He came with a super big desire to work hard so we've been going ham finding a ton of people to teach!!!! We're starting a bunch of ideas with the ward to try to get the leaders working cuz they're all kind of chambones. But we still love em. The best part is that he brought the cold with him!!!! This last week we've been waking up to a 50° or less house every morning which is always fun!!! Still no snow though.... But Chimal's been keeping things interesting!! Every fifth of January, every man in the city from tenish years old and up dresses up like a woman, drinking is optional but strongly encouraged, puts on masks ...

Hey everybody!!!  Sorry super crazy weekend so there wasn't really time to write a letter.... So we were sitting in a lesson with some less actives Sunday night, when the phone went off. I pulled it out to turn it off and saw that it was from President Cluff! That'll raise the heart rate a little!!  He told us that we had emergency changes- Elder Campbell got sent to the capital to be with a new missionary that wants to go home, and I'm am now serving with Elder Yepen, a missionary from Peru.  I hope you all stayed up until midnight cuz we were up until 4 packing suitcases!!!! Still running on that 2 hours of sleep...  But one thing that I've been learning through all of this is to trust the will of the Lord. Things may happen that we don't understand or may not even like, but as we trust in him and submit to his will we can begin to see that everything happens for a reason and will be for our good. Love you all, and I hope that Christmas and N...