News from the field

I'm so sorry i forgot to bring my usb cable to upload pictures. I PROMISE I WILL NEXT WEEK! Entonces, ¿como estan las cosas en ohio? I have been making a lot of progress in espanol (bc the holy ghost is helping me, ¡el don del lenguas!). I'm so stoked the mission home is done! it looks great! you're so right about bishop williams. i have a feeling he will be a mission president someday. what a guy. My mission president is great.He's big on obedience.

1. We have a family we're working with. All members (recent convert). The mom can't pronounce my name. In fact, nobody here can pronounce my name! mi nuevo apellido es Bootler lol. Entonces, ella no puede decir mi nombre. Pues, she randomly calls me Elder Hitler! jajajajaja She clarified i'm not mean or anything (i´m being a good missionary lol).

2. We contacted and taught a man ayer. El tiene un parrot. The thing would not stop squawking. I swear it was the funniest thing i've heard in a while. i had to cover my mouth bc i was laughing so hard during the lesson! Do you remember the Christmas when John fell down the stairs and let out that scream? well imagine that for 45 minutes straight. Hilarious

3. I had to give a talk in sacrament meeting last week! technically, it's my second one. i Gave one in the CCM, and those were picked at random the last day. Entonces, this was my first real talk en Espanol. I started out with a disclaimer saying, "Por favor, tiene pacience conmigo porque mi espanol no es bueno." Afterwards, the counselor got up and said he understood every word and in no time i'll be a Chapin! jajajaja

That's my new joke with people we contact. They'll ask where we're from. Elder Loayza dice soy de peru. Entonces yo digo, ¡Soy un Chapin! hahaha i love the people here.

Puerta is different. small compared to surrounding towns. Small branch. But we're determined to work and work and work some more, The houses are different. Lots of them don't have windows or doors (probably because of the heat!) But everyone has a bicycle o un moto. EVERYBODY. Definitely different, but i love it. we have a good apartment (which you've already seen) with running water. Basically i love what i'm doing.

as for things i need, if you're going to send anything please send a loufa, mine was stolen in the CCM and they don't sell them here. Otherwise, i'm doing fine. Hard to believe i turn 21 next week! anyways, i'm saving money to send a package home on Christmas. it's really expensive to send things from here, but i promise you guys will get some authentic Guatemalan items for christmas.

I love you and the family so much. I pray for you guys all the time, and i know the Lord protects you and guides you in all things. thank you for raising me the way you did. i understand now why you had rules, and now it's important. I loved reading all of the testimonies from the family. Dad's made me laugh and cry. You guys are so awesome. Once again, i love you guys with all my heart. Hope John enjoys his vacation, and you enjoy your fun time! Romans 5:3 - 5. Love you guys!

First letter from Puerta de Hierro

Hi mom!

I'm sorry i don't have a lot of time to type!

My area is Puerta de Hierra, near Escuintla. I am in the hottest part of the mission! I swear I have lost over 10 lbs lol. My companion is Elder L. He's so awesome, and patient and always wants to help.

This place is great, and i love every minute of it!

Once I got over the longing for home, I picked myself up and GOT TO WORK!

I love the people and the work, and that's what's keeping me going. I promise I will write more next week. This was my first week and I had to receive troubleshooting about what and how to write to president. I know you'll understand! keep updating frequently, I LOVE IT!

Also, can you send me lists of birthdays in case I forget?

I got your package! i cant express how grateful i am for every single thing you gave me!

My espanol is getting better, and I'm starting understand more, BECAUSE THE LORD ANSWERS OUR PRAYERS!!!!!! My testimony is growing so much, and I'm losing myself in the work! I LOVEYOU GUYS WITH ALL MY HEART!

Love, Elder Butler

Last letter from CCM

Date: May 28, 2012
Area: Guatemala City
Companion: Elder Tauiliili

Well i''ve got about 25 minutes left to email. it's weird not having
any to read. o well. how did graduation go. it's definitely the most
wonderful time of the year for you isn't it? hahaha lo siento, i hope
it went well. how's the little man doin? y como esta la perra Ellie?
hey reilly never told me how many responses i got on my facebook page!
lol it's all good. it's odd to not feel rushed for once in here. i've
pretty much typed everything i thought i could. well there's still
some more to tell lol. we said goodbye to our hermanas today,

Hermana P y Hermana SThey were so awesome. our district is Slash
it was super awesome. we were all super close, and none of us had any
form of homesickness because all of us are so close. We all have so
much in common, we're like one giant family. Elder is B from

Colorado. he's a awesome guy. he was our former district leader. he's
a shorter guy. really outgoing. we went to the immigration building
today. instead of sitting around and waiting, elder booher and i
talked to the people there and gave them folletos (pamphlets), we even
got information from a lady who said she'd like us to teach her more.
elder murphy is pretty quiet, but absolutely hilarious. it's so
awesome to see how far his espanol has come. Elder W is the AP.
One of my best buddies here. He's a walking fountain of spiritual
knowledge, but he's really upbeat and very fiery about the gospel. i
honestly don't have enough time to type everything about him. Elder
S, or La Grappa, is the definition of Gentle Giant. he was a
tackle on the football team, but he's one of the nicest people i've
ever met. i haven't heard him complain once about anything. gotta love
la grappa. Elder R came late, along with Elder B. He's a
convert to the church and went through a lot of adversity prior. only
member in his family, but he's got a testimony that will shake your
soul.

Brown is another one of my better buddies. He and i are very similar in practically
we're both the same age, and have a different
perspective of the world and more of a grip on reality than a lot of
the people from utah have. Hermana S was one heck of a
misionary. She went to provo first, so for the first two weeks she
hated our guts. Then all of the sudden she just started being nice to
us. She has such a great singing voice, and she's really got her
doctrine down. Hermana S is tall, but quite hilarious. even
though she's not far away from becoming a teacher, her espanol was
pretty shaky week one. now she speaks very well. i love seeing how
much everyone has progressed. and then there's my companion, I
love that guy to death though. He's not going to be in my mision, so
it will be rough saying goodbye to him tomorrow. he's been such a
great example of love and service. I feel bad he had to have me as a
companion because i'm just looney, and he's very calm and
he's down to earth. our personalities contrast sometimes, but there's
a lot of love between us. Well that's my district. i love you guys. i
hope everything is going well and i look forwad to seeing all the
letters and emails and hopefully packages at the mision home tomorrow.
ill try to send more letters. i love you guys with all my heart andwish you the best of luck in everything you do.

Love,

Elder butler