Week 3: A Tiger and The Butcher

A Tiger from "La Aurora" Zoo in Guatemala City

Officially a "Three-Weeker"

This week has been pretty hard! I had to say goodbye to some awesome missionaries who all go to the same mission together. They were the older Americans and they helped me so much with being homesick and my insecurities with the Spanish language.

In our practice lessons, Elder Meeks is the one who normally likes to pray because he says he struggles, but he doesn´t, his prayers always seem to be helping the investigator know that we care about them! And honestly, I can hold a conversation it´s crazy! Yeah, there is a lot of "despacio por favor" (slowly please), but I'm getting it. I can´t wait to help my cousins! I had some pretty spiritual moments this week and I feel like I have grown a lot! I can’t wait to see Kollin tomorrow, the President and his wife are really excited too because it is one of the first times they have had family together in the CCM!

Today (1/17/17) we went to the temple, the zoo, an artizani market, and WENDY's! Honestly, it was so good! At the market, I bought a leather hat. I hope I can wear it because while we were walking around it made a difference; people wanted to talk to me because I'm the big gringo in a nice leather hat! Sister Morris called me Crocodile Dundee and I laughed pretty hard when I saw my reflection. My camera died after the zoo today so after I charge the battery I´ll try to get a picture of me looking like Crocodile Dundee! The zoo was pretty sweet. I got some pretty cool pictures of a tiger who was in its cage -or something- roaring and looking at us through the bars. 

Elder Solomon is so funny he makes my day all the better when he cracks a joke in class. Here is something in Spanish for you... "Yo predicará el Evangelio de Jesucristo en Honduras". Elder Meek and I struggle right now in getting to an equal place in our knowledge of Spanish. If we had the same language level, then the teaching part would go better. Right now, I have to help him with sentences and words and our teachers are starting to say that I talk too much (and I kind of am) so I ´m trying to prep him during our companion study for upcoming lessons and questions which makes it hard for me prep for what I want to for the lesson. We have had a lot of progress in three weeks and we are only halfway done! It’s insane! 

Let me tell you about haircuts, from behind my shoulder Hermano Garcia said mine was too poofy. SO yeah, Braeden will probably need to get his hair cut when he arrives, and the barber here is terrible! We hope one of the new guys comes with some clippers because we don’t have any. It will be a hard three weeks if we need to get a haircut by him. We call him the butcher! He only knows one haircut and one size! We were lucky that we had a missionary who was a barber in Peru before he came!  I got my haircut even though it´s "illegal" (against rules) in the CCM because a couple of missionaries went a little crazy with some clippers. But anyway, he did good and he only had time to do my sides and blend it, it looks pretty good even though it was rushed but anything is better than the guy at the CCM!

My cousins Kollin and Braeden will be joining me in the CCM tomorrow! (Guatemala Missionaries!)

Oh, and I haven´t told you about Elder Busby he´s in the other district and you'll never guess where he´s from... NEW ZEALAND! He´s one of the coolest guys. (NOT a Hobbit, apparently) We talk a lot about New Zealand and he wants to know about America because his first plane ride was to the MTC. 

I love the gospel and had some pretty hard struggles this week.

I prayed to feel comfort because I was feeling homesick
and then immediately after I remembered a talk by Jeffery R. Holland about the Savior being totally alone, and I knew I was having a trial and that it was going to be hard but at least I don´t have to bleed from every pore. SO I WAS FEELING REALLY ALONE, (It’s funny that Dad would talk about that in his letter this week) but then a couple days later in my morning prayer I prayed to feel my Heavenly Father´s and my family´s love and I immediately remembered President Gardner's blessing "as you pray for your family and they pray for you, your bond will be closer than when you are together!" I truly did feel His love and your love. I was so overcome by the spirit that I started bawling and had to run to the bathroom so no one would see me crying. I know our Father in Heaven answers prayers, I can never deny that! 

I love the pictures I get from you guys. I just wish I could send some as well. It really is kind of cool, we aren't afraid of going out, we can speak enough of the language to get by, so now we don't feel so trapped in the CCM anymore. So often we are scared of speaking or just downright tired of it, but when we are most tired and most afraid that´s when the spirit kicks in. We have surprised each other with some good Spanish that comes in some of the most unexpected moments. Like Elder Solomon (who is a 300 pound Polynesian offensive linemen), who speaks some pretty not-grammatically-correct-Spanish, answered a question, pertaining to the gospel, in perfect Spanish. Or me sharing a spiritual thought in Third Nephi chapter 9, (not my spiritual thought--it was about Christ´s sacrifice for us). Nuestro trabajo es compartir el Evangelio con todas personas y tener amor por todos personas. Porque nosotros es Hijos de el amoroso Padre Celestial. (Our job is to share the Gospel with all people and to have love for all people. Because we are the Voices of a loving Heavenly Father.) That is my testimony of missionary work. 

Christ suffered a lifetime and we have but two years to walk in shoes similar to his. I love this gospel and can´t wait to get out in my mission field like my friends in Tegucigalpa. In the future, I can see them on temple trips in Honduras and that´s really cool. 

I love you guys and hope you are all feeling the love our Father in Heaven has for us; I know He is there. Keep the prayers coming. You should know, I have been cleaning all my plates (even with the beans) which is another blessing. I can eat all the food and like it, even the fish! I know the work is hard, it is but a fraction and I'm so happy for even the smallest bit! I love you all and I hope you guys have an awesome week!

Love, Elder Roberts