8/26 New News

Hola,

   Como estan!? you guys are all growing up and doing things and I just feel so old now! well actually I don't. I looked down at myself this last week.. just like looked at my missionary clothes and I thought "when I was a kid I always looked up to those missionaries with 'awe' and 'wow'". When I look at myself I think... "What am I doing trying to pose as one of those guys?" I'm pretty sure I'm to young to be a missionary cause I don't feel as old, mature and handsome as those missionaries. 

   Thing's I learned this last week:

 1) Wow! I am a proud guy!

  Here's the thing I've been realizing it throughout my whole mission. I never thought of myself as a particularly proud person before the mission but like being out here (Especially in Guate) seeing all the apostasy around me I find myself thinking I'm better than other missionaries. Not like full on "oh my goodness.. I'm like totally so much better than them!" but like little things like "Why are they dong that?" "They're not very good missionaries" "they could do so much better!" and like I know that's not like crazy pride going on there but I find a lot of my trials (It took me 4 tries to remember how to spell trials) end up getting fixed after I accept other people for who they are or more importantly who they could be. That's how things have been going especially with my comps.

 2) How to manage money. 

  I got my comp this last change and he came to me a week after our monthly pay with only 100Q. We had a 300Q light bill to pay, a 60Q water and trash bill to pay, and we still had three weeks of meals to buy (usually It's about 100Q a week per meal if you eat normally). I don't know how I managed (especially after having such hard times the months before) but I have been able to keep us both alive for three weeks on the pay of one missionary. Of course I didn't pay for great things I'm not going to lie I let us starve a few times but I figured there's NO WAY I can help him get better with his money if I just pay for what ever he wants, cause he'll just expect me to pay for him all the time. so yeah there were a few times I ate just me myself but it wasn't easy.. you all know me I'm not the guy to hold back my stuff if someone's in need But the ZL's told me I shouldn't pay for everything and I figured if he skipped only 2-3 meals the whole three weeks I didn't pay for EVERYTHING right? oh gosh I'm such a sucker for the guilt trips. yeah basically I paid for everything but I'm not going to this next month cause I'm going to teach him how to budget instead! Teach a man to fish right?! 

 3) I Miss Family!

  I see families here and I just miss playing with my nieces and nephews! It's hard not to play with the kids too much cause I know you have to be careful around them but I'm definitely a kid guy.

 4) I like cleaning.

  Family if you remind me I said this when I get home I will deny every word and say my comp wrote it. But I actually enjoy cleaning. maybe it's just cause my comps have all been latinos and almost NEVER clean but I've learned to enjoy washing dishes by hand, sweeping floors, even taking out the trash.. well okay the trash still stinks but I feel like cleaning relieves stress! No I am not becoming a woman!

   Anyways after that little.. side note I'll leave you all with the side note that I have another Fetcha (baptismal date) BUT it's not seguro (sure)  because they're not married (They want to be but apparently she doesn't exist anymore cause something happened to her papers (Birth certificate or Social Security type of thing) and now they're trying to recreate her papers based off of a phone bill.. or something like that) but I told the wife that when we take the first step of faith and put down a date God's going to help you if you honestly work towards that date.. so she accepted for the 5th of October and when her husband gets back from working we're going to get a fetcha with him as well. I'm pretty sure they won't get baptized that day but if we can even just get them married by that day things are going to get better after that and perhaps by that time we'll convince the 3 sons as well! ;)

 Happy Birthday! (I'm sure it's someone's birthday)

Yours fortunately,

 

          ---Elder Hyrum Clark