Conference Time

Hey mom!

I'm stoked for Conference. it's been a complete 180 for me. I used to just sleep through conference, but I'm glued to the screen actively scribbling my notes. You're right, it just might be my last one [in Guatemala]. I looked at the change schedules and my last one ends at the beginning of April. Who knows!

My card still hasn't come yet. I'll find out Thursday because that's when the zone leaders get letters and packages. I wouldn't worry, though. It'll be fine. 

Not a surprise they invite people to retire here. Things are dirt cheap here. The old people could go live in Pana or Antigua. That's where a lot of the foreigners live. And in zona 10. Guatemala's beautiful, but the captial is super dangerous. 

That's a shame the football team hasn't been doing so hot. How's J's soccer team been doing? Maybe he'll be the future of the football program lol.

That's crazy what happened to Mr. D. You are so right, we can't procrastinate the day of our repentance. We taught a member's husband yesterday who still can't grasp that concept. That's one of the hardest parts of mission work, respecting people's agency. Nephi exhorted his brethren constantly and they even  saw an angel, but in the end it availed them nothing. Agency is just such a crazy concept. I just think that's why it's our job to work diligently so their sins don't fall on our heads. O well. Learning a little, everyday.

I got that copy of that talk you sent me. It's pretty true. We have to be valiant, not honorable. Loved the examples. Brother S. sent me a letter as well. It's so weird seeing the ward handout and seeing Bishop L. It still seems like Bishop W. is bishop. I will always be grateful that hew was the bishop for me. 

We've been finding some super awesome people this week. God blessed us with a great new ward mission leader. He's been so pilas by helping us out. He's super diligent and loves mission work. We're starting to see some fruits. Hopefully we'll have some baptisms at the end of the change. 

We had zone conference on Friday. Pres. S. is awesome. I'm not going to lie, I'm still trying to get used to the differences between him and Pres. B., but nonetheless he's still an awesome guy. The biggest thing I took out of the conference was how our principal motivation as missionaries should come from our love for the Savior and for the people. It really helped me put into perspective what I need to do to really end on a good note here. 

Well I love you guys a ton. Las familias pueden ser eternas. Les amo!

Elder Butler

No change this change

Hey Mom!

Elder B. and I are together for another change! Super stoked. We're going to tear up the area. God has been answering our prayers. Really learned a lot this week. I've almost finished reading John. I just want to finish the New Testament,  and I'm on my 4th read through on the Book of Mormon. Loving the scriptures!

I've really enjoyed being in this area, even though it definitely is a difficult area. We're not too concerned, though. There's potential in every area. We've decided to quit knocking doors. All of the church leaders always encourage missionaries to work with the members. We've hatched a plan to work with the ward better. It'll be a stretch, but that's better. When there's more suffering, there's more joy in the end. It's essential that there's an opposition in all things.

We've got a fair number of investigators that are reading the Book of Mormon now. I love it. Have you had any good experiences with the Book of Mormon? 

We have an awesome investigator named A that made us jello cake this week. I'll send you some pictures of it.

I've love  reading the New Testament. It helps me connect with other people. It's super important for me to know because having more knowledge helps draw the parallels between the BoM and the BIble. I really regret all the time I wasted sleeping in seminary. If you could pass a message along to the youth of the church from me, it would be that they actually need to participate in Seminary. 

Glad you're helping the missionaries. That's crazy they've got so many there now. I guess the work should be booming now. How many baptisms are you having every month? Glad to hear the work is moving along. I'm going to help out a ton once I get home!

How's school going? Back in the swing of things again? How's the Pride of Bethel Marching Band and Mr. E? Football? Soccer team?

Love you guys a ton. Thanks a ton for you support and persistence with me! Love you! 

News from Nimajuyu

Hey mom!

I got the birthday package! I loved it! thanks for everything. We ate a lot of the stuff with the zone leaders. Elder G. freaked out when he ate the sour patch kids! hahahahahaha Loved all of it! thanks you so much!

Hey I think it would be good to put a little money in my account, just in case the new card takes a while to get here. We get wayyyyyyyyy less money than we did in Central. No worries though.

Wow, you had a quite a temple week. I can't wait to go back. I like to reflect on the sessions and just the great feeling there. The work really is speeding up. I love hearing that term. It brings such a great sense that our hope really isn't in vain. I know that this is the work of the Lord. Elder B. and I learned a lot this week about hope. We just needed to endure and actively wait. We're starting to see some fruits of our labors now.

We had a baptism! J. is way awesome. She truly is wonderful. She got baptized in 3 weeks. She immediately received a testimony about the Book of Mormon and was baptized, even in the face of opposition from her family. I'm super honored that God used us to help bring her the news of the restored gospel.

So is it still super hot? We're starting to have a heat wave here. I'm fine with it. The heat helped me lose close to 40 pounds in the coast! Even though I have lost a lot of weight, I'm still not where I'd like to be. I  sat down and made a list of exercises and a mini diet plan. Please pray that I'll be able to lose more weight!

I've started to study about Christlike attributes more. I've realized  I've just been so focused with finding the most effective way to work that I forget how important it is to be a Christ-like person. Like I said earlier, we've been learning a lot about hope. I read a ton of great scriptures about hope that have helped me put in perspective everything that Pres. B.taught us. He talked so much about hope and suffering, and they just go hand in hand. I really do miss him, but I know that I'll honor him and God through diligent work here.

It just hit how little time I have left. I'll only have 4 changes left after this change! I've got to do the best I can.

Well I love you guys a ton. Thanks for everything that you've done for me! I am super grateful for all of your sacrficies! know that hthey haven't been in vain!

LOVE YOU GUYS

Elder Butler

Hit the 15 month mark!

Hey mom!

I'm glad to hear that you're just going to keep working even more with the youth. They sure do need you. Literally fulfills the prophecy of the hearts of the children to their fathers, because you're literally helping children (teenagers anyway) hahahahahaa. 

I can't believe I hit the 15 month mark last week! I'm getting super old. 

Everyone's been talking about how hot it is in the states right now. Is it like that for the whole country?

The size of the mission was reduced drastically. They lost 6 zones and only gained 2 from us. Before they covered the Atlantic and the Pacific, now it's only the Pacific. A lot of it's just Capitol and coast. I'll be able to come back here in the future and get to know the rest of the country. 

We've been visiting a lot of less active's lately, and 3 of them came to church for the first time yesterday.  We're still trying to help a lot of our investigators, but we're getting better hear little by little. Elder B. and I are staying together another change! I'm super stoked. It's been pretty fun, and we're going to be working hard and baptizing! 

I'm sorry my emails have been so poor lately. I don't really have a lot of new things to update, but nonetheless it's been great. I love the mission! 

Love you guys a ton. Keep serving with all your heart might mind and strength. Please gives the Elders of the ward a reference! Love you guys!

Elder Butler

Mision Sur, it's all about change-

Hey MOM!

I truly appreciate that advice. That's been a big temptation from Satan to lower the bar, but we can't do that at all! We're going to go and work super hard. We truly appreciate the support from the fast that you're doing. We're planning an activity for this month so we hope that we'll have some good referrals from that.

We had our first interviews with President S. last week. He's incredible. Fountain of knowledge. 

Sorry if this is a bad email, it's just that not a lot has changed. This is the last week of the change, so we'll find out next week if we'll have changes. [change of area, change of companion or both].

That's super sad Bro. B.'s leaving. It's a good thing, though, to have change, because it allows us to grow. The wards going to be completely different when I get back, though.'

i hope John loves his first scout camp! It's easily the best part of scouts!

Ummmmmm, mision sur has completely changed! I don't think we have a lot of tourist places here. I'll keep you posted though.

I'm sorry to hear about Bro. F. It's kind of hard to be sad about death, though, because we all know that the plan will work, and that families can be together forever. I'll send an email to Bro. B.

We're teaching an investigator or two.. We had really good lessons with them this week, in that we simply taught them the nature of God. They were really powerful lessons, and we were able be bold without offending because we used the Spirit and the scriptures. 

Well, I love you guys. I promise I'll write something a little more interesting next week. 

Love you guys! 

Hard work in the South Mission

Hey mom!

We definitely had a tough week. We couldn't find anybody to teach, and to top everything off, there was a shooting outside of a neighborhood we were teaching in last night. It was just two houses down. Super crazy. Everyone's fine though. It was pretty loco. I'll definitely tell you about it when I get home. 

Hey, in two weeks I'll have 15 months in the mission! wow time is just flying by. Just trying to do the best the we can. 

Well President Stay is a nice guy. Way more relaxed then President Brough, but they're great people. I'm looking forward to learning more from him. It'll be a good opportunity to apply what I've learned from Pres. Brough and learn new things from Pres. Stay. This truly is a great blessing.

I noticed something interesting in my personal study this week. One of the first things that Ammon taught to Lamoni was about apostasy. Guatemala is a very traditional society. Lot's of people are only motivated to do certain things because of tradition, whether it be right or wrong. I think that's something that we need to explain to everyone here. Ammon was able to successfully teach it, and they were able to convert the entire pueblo. I hope that I'll be able to learn how to effectively teach that concept throughout my mission.

Hey i just realized something, my debit card expires at the end of august. Not a terribly large problem. Maybe you could forward me an application to fill out another one, or could fill it out for me or something like that. Nonetheless, I don't know how to go about that, not a big deal.

I'm sorry that I'm lame and haven't been able to send a lot of emails to people. I'll try to email  soon. Glad you enjoyed your time with Anita! She's awesome. She told me that she's planning to retire in 4 years! wow! Hey next time you go to Jungle Jim's, see if they've got things from Guatemala. I'll have to find a place where I can buy some of the exported snacks when I get home.

Elder B. is awesome. He's learning Spanish so quickly. He'll be speaking it fluently by the time he's done with his training. But anyways, it's always a challenge to train, but it's way better training a brand new missionary than continuing training. It's a great opportunity to be his companion and trainer. 

I know you'll do better in whatever calling you have! Es bien pilas usted!

Do you guys have any special plans for the summer! oh, how was the 4th!?

Well I love you guys a lot! Hope everything goes well. Pray that we'll be able to find new people to teach this week! Love you guys!

Elder Butler

Un capitulo nuevo en la mision de Elder Butler

Well, I'm in the South Mission now. It was extremely difficult to say goodbye to President B. Words can't describe how much I admire him. I've always respected  the father figures in my life, and he's just a huge example of what it takes to be successful. I will never forget him and Sis. B. It's all good, though. I know that I'm supposed to be in this mission and I've had time to mentally prepare. Plus, my companion from the CCM and another elder from my district are in the South Mission. I already know some people there.

Elder B. is my new companion. Do you want to hear something funny? HE'S FROM MICHIGAN! hahahahahahaha  He's super chill. He's picking up Spanish so rapidly! I can't help but feel a little jealous, lol, He's awesome. 

We're working hard here. We had a hard time finding new investigators last week, but we're going to go and get after it this week. I'm super stoked to just go out and work!

Not a whole lot of new things to report! We're slowly getting integrated into the South Mission. This is our first day being in the Mission, so it's going little by little. Tomorrow we have a meeting with the AP's about the rules, and Thursday we'll be meeting President Stay. This should be an exciting week. 

Well I love you guys and hope everything goes well this week! Happy 4th of July! My companion and I will find a way to celebrate it!

Con Amor Eterno, 

Elder Butler

President, Wife of President and Elder