Now that I think about it, it gives me a greater appreciation for the sacrament and how sacred of an ordinance it is

I am aware that Elder Smith is sick, I walked with him a little bit last p-day, he really hurts he said. Supposedly he is supposed to be back up here in my zone later today or tomorrow. Haha silly dreams, I have had a couple especially strange ones about being home, but I can’t remember them right now.

Probably the strangest thing I can remember that happened to me personally this week was that they didn’t pass me the sacrament. Me and my companion were out bringing an investigator that took forever to get ready. When we finally arrived they just went through and we missed the bread, and when they came out with the water they didn’t even come to where we were seated, just passed by and kept walking. I was kinda mad! Don’t I have right to take the sacrament too? Now that I think about it, it gives me a greater appreciation for the sacrament and how sacred of an ordinance it is. I really feel bad for missing it.

The rain here has been absolutely crazy, the other day we had to duck into a little ice cream shop to get out of the torrent. The entire street literally filled, all the muddy brown water covered the grey concrete and when I squinted it looked a little like we were standing right next to a river. It’s been raining like that a few times already.

Well as for numbers this week was really sad; we didn’t find a single new investigator! NOT ONE that’s tough, when I was with Elder Spilker we found like 10 a week, but God gives when he feels it’s right. I had a bit of a sick day last Wednesday, I ate something I guess and was feeling soooooooper weak and wobbly, so I napped ONE HOUR. Then I went out to work again, it wasn’t a very good day for lessons.

Sadly we have good investigators but they just are taking way too long to be baptized, nobody’s planned even soon, I hope to baptize this change... Mario has his required attendances in church but still a bunch to teach him, Wily wants to but has a bit of repentance to go, he’s fighting marriage problems, smoking and alcohol all at the same time with his crazy work schedule. Jose defiantly wants to and might be able to start attending church this next Sunday. Angela says she wants to but has to get married first to comply with the law of chastity and has to start attending church again; she hasn’t come for a while now.

Well that’s basically my life right now, trying to think of Jesus all the time and help others to do it too. Training is going alright with some bumps here and there, but moving along. The more and more time I’m here in the mission the more and more I’m thinking about home. I’ve never really had a problem with that before and it seems strange. Part of me wants to be with you guys so bad! The other part can’t possibly give up the mission; I’m giving my all for the mission right now. I have had a special focus lately on spending my remaining time as wisely as possible, every minute! Studying, exersizing, contacting, teaching, if I dont to everything I feel bad like there was so much more I could have done.  I just cant imagine coming home NOT having done everything, not only that I’m feeling really down...I’ve been here for 16 month and have what...5 baptisms? Fail. I want to work so much harder but I still dont see as many results as I wish to. I just really need to focus on learning more patience and hope. charity too, but mostly patience and leadership skills.

I hope I don’t sound like a bummer, but lately I just have been feeling a little more stress than usual. I’m still so happy, so happy for my mission and for my Heavenly Father who loves me so much as to let me work and see these miracles, my only wish is that I could see some labor come to fruit. I’m just planting the seed always I guess. God just has that purpose for me and I better be grateful that he knows better than I do.

Well my absolutely beloved family and friends my council is the same, do your prayers, if you are praying keep doing so and also read the scriptures. If you are doing both keep adding on to that light you have and you will see the condition of your life jump strait upward. I love you so much, much more than I can say and I am honestly missing you guys a ton. Take care and please keep yourselves safe. Para Seimpre Dios Este con Ustedes, Hasta Vernos juntos otra vez

sinceremente todo me amor y esperanza

Elder Andrew Bronson

I’m very grateful for being able to be here in Guatemala, the mission of my dreams

Training goes well, Elder Umaña is a quick learner and even though he has so much more to learn I feel good for him, and the process of training someone has honestly been refining me too. I thought I was patient, but I guess I’m just starting to learn what that is.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY SHANE. I’m glad to hear that the 5k went well Mom, haha I liked your story about the granny inspiration that’s kinda funny. I’m honestly so proud of all of you boys for how hard you are all working in your talents. This week has seemed a little long for me and I’m not sure why.  Tons of rain and I’m in need of another umbrella. I’m buying one later today along with a working watch (the 1 dollar watch that I have been wearing my entire mission finally gave up the ghost, and its dollar and a half replacement didn’t last more than a couple days). I’m still waiting for that package to arrive.....tick tock...

The pictures I’m sending are from some service that we did last Saturday, just hauling buckets of black dirt down the hill to a neighbor’s yard. Easy pie. Bummer news not a single investigator came to church, it’s lame because we have so many honest interested and baptism-commited investigators but still nobody showed. Darn. Plenty of lessons, I still count us lucky for being in a mission where we have investigators instead of some European country when they contact all day without much success. Props my fellow servants, you have my great respect. Lately I have been realizing that even though I haven’t had a boatload of baptisms I’m very grateful for being able to be here in Guatemala, the mission of my dreams. Spanish, warm, rain, adventure, lessons and tons of friends. I’m living in the book of Mormon!

The biggest problem here is that nobody believes in the need for a restoration of the Gospel, they already have the Gospel they think. Everybody is their own pastor and has their own church with their own commandments, what more could Jesus want they say. The main ideology is that all churches are good and all lead to the same point, heaven.  Nobody wants to admit that their church doesn’t fit all the requirements, nor does anyone want to say that God actually chastises his children, he is a God of love and nothing more.  Some seem more like brainwashed Congregationalists. There are a good number of open hearted people and some great and noble ones too, but when we think that the Book of Mormon was written SPECIFICLY FOR THEM, the children of Lehi, there are surprisingly few who could even imagine another book than their beloved Bible. What impresses me is that they all believe in the bible miracles and prophets but nobody can grasp the concept of revelation in OUR days. I just hope to speak with more power and authority, my greatest wish is that the spirit can guide me to those whose hearts are open enough to feel the spirit, so that it can touch them. There are a good many.

I would also invite you guys back at home to be member missionaries and know the Gospel enough to share it when the need is presented. I miss you guys a ton and love you so much, we will be together again sooner than you think, how strange that will be.  Oh that reminds me of a dream I had the other night, I was back home after the mission but I still was a missionary (before they take my nametag away) and we were all there about to go swimming. I couldn’t go swimming as a missionary, and to go I would need to take off my nametag, but I couldn’t do it. In my dream I left the pool and cried because of how much I didn’t want to give up my nametag. Haha as silly as it sounds its kinda helped me see how much I really love the mission and grateful for how much time I have left. I can’t let myself become distracted because it all ends so very soon.

Well beloveds time to go, love you and hope to hear from you next week with more stories. Take care and PLEASE do the little things like pray and read.

LOVE

Elder Bronson

Dang, it’s so great to feel that spirit and to go do service for people

Well well what a wonderful rainy Guatemalan day, eating Dominos pizza and playing volleyball with the zone here in misty ´ol Coban. Life is happy as it goes, so quickly!

My new companion is Elder Umana (with the little enye ñ over the n like Umanya) he is from El Salvador, my second trainee from El Salvador and another great missionary! It seems so silly having a newbie here with me, even though he speaks Spanish it’s like he doesn’t know anything about being in the mission, there’s so much to teach that I never thought about. The whole time I’m thinking about my first few weeks in the mission back with Elder Vargas in Juana de Arco. And it’s so funny too; they just whip out random scriptures about EVERYTHING it’s so funny haha, but man! Is he spiritual. I have not had a single lesson with him without the spirit testifying of everything. Dang, it’s so great to feel that spirit and to go do service for people.

On another note HAPPY BIRTHDAY SHANE how’s my 13 year old TEENAGE brother? Pretty sweeeeeet I betcha´ haha.

Well it’s been a pretty eventful week. Monday right after doing our email I loaded up a 3day suitcase and was swept off to the capital, Guatemala City in a big ol bus for 5 hours without any instructions besides get on. We unloaded and there were taxis waiting to take us to the house of the Assistants to President Torres Elder Davis, Williams and Vasquez, the house was NICE. Made for all the missionaries to sleep in at the end of their missions. Basically just party night. Woke up EARLY and went to the Temple of Guatemala City, followed by confusion as to where to go, Me and Elder Carlson just wandered back and forth between the office building and the mission home until we had lunch, sloppy joes. We saw the newbie’s but didn’t know yet who... one of them said they saw me on YouTube opening my mission call...weird but cool. I’m officially a celebrity :) Had conference and came up to Coban with my new comp, basically just slept the whole way zzzzzz...

That’s about the news for this week, I hope you enjoy some of the photos I’m sending, finally got some good short haircutting, some mountain exploring and some newbie training, all of which make some good week.

Sounds like life is going pretty well back at home, good luck mom on the 5ks, miss you guys tons and can’t wait to see you all again haha

Until next week!

Elder Andrew Bronson

I'M GOING TO BE TRAINING A NEW MISSIONARY!

Alrighty some news here haha transfers this week
My beloved companion Elder Spilker is going to have a change down to the capital and isn’t too excited for that, he was hoping to go up to the Polo´chik and learn Kekchi but I guess the Lord has other plans for him. I will be participating in something really special also.

I'M GOING TO BE TRAINING A NEW MISSIONARY!  Yey.

I have to leave to go down to the capital today, even though the change conference isn’t until Wednesday. I’ll be going to the temple to prepare me and then chilling for a full day doing who knows what haha then the 5 hour bus ride back up to Coban with my boy. I’m hoping that this is going to be a joyful event, I feel really good in my prayers about my companion.

Yesterday was a day full of ordinances; we started the day off with the baptism of Nidia and Willians Chen yeah! Then directly afterwards they were confirmed members and received the gift of the Holy Ghost in sacrament meeting. We partook of the sacrament and later on in priesthood meeting Willians was given the Aaronic priesthood. Oh there was also a baby blessing haha. What a way to end the change than with a baptism, 2 of them.

Alright that’s probably the most exiting element of our week, but there are some stories to still be told. Last we fasted that Julio Chen, father of Nidia and Willians could get Sunday mornings off of work, later on this week we found that to cover his shift...one of our investigators took it! Juan Che, the one who saw a vision of us is working Sundays again ugh what a strange coincidence, really we just laughed it off...ayayay...o well. we planned by candlelight two nights in a row, not that we didn’t have power, just cuz it was fun haha some of that candle we had used to wander our way though some dark underbrush at night.

Well well there isn’t much more to tell. the week was kinda a strange one, finishing off the change, the lessons accidently went a bit longer and we lost a lot of contacting time so we didn’t find as many new people, but an INCREADIBLE number of those that we have been teaching have said that they have already received answers. The problem with this area is that no investigators come to church, so we will be working on that one. We will indeed.

Alrighty so I guess I’ll finish up, in all the race of packing and getting ready I forgot my camera cable so no new pictures this week but don’t fret my precious family they will be coming, they´re on their way. Stay safe stay strong, have a good long productive summer, I love you all.

Elder Andrew Bronson

I have officially had my first real missionary poop story

Well I’m writing early sorry but I didn’t get to chose, oh well. Well it’s almost changes time and I’m kinda sad, I don’t want to leave my companion Elder Spilker. Our area is starting to liven up a ton even though not very many people have come to church.

Uhhhhhhhhhh I’m feeling really tired lately, just working it so hard I get fatigued but I’d have it no other way, I love working so hard. We had a cool experience this week with fasting.  This week we have 2 baptisms planned and their father is reactivating in the church, but his work is complicated to where he wouldn’t even be able to, so we talked with him to pray about it, and decided to fast so that his boss or coworkers would allow him to have Sundays off to be with his family and to go to church. When Saturday came we saw him in the street and asked him, he had received the Sundays off and was again able to come to church with his kids! That was a very special blessing from our Heavenly Father.

It always seems like those Mondays after I email you guys something special happens, last week we were able to participate in somebody’s miracle. One of our investigators little daughter was sick so we went to go visit her but upon entering the hospital one of the nurses was a member and ran up to us saying that someone needed a priesthood blessing. We entered into a small room with a wee baby and a very distressed mother, also a member. Her little babe was about to be rushed off to the Capital to undergo other treatments and tests, as it was he was under a respirator machine.  She had been praying that someone would be able to come to give him a blessing before he went and so God answered her prayer with us, who gave a blessing to the poor frail thing and then to her for comfort. We later found that our original patient was doing just fine. I got the feeling that she had just gotten sick so that we would come to the hospital to answer somebody’s faithful righteous prayer haha divine planning I think haha

Oh in other news I have officially had my first real missionary poop story (every missionary is going to have one, just ask and he/she´ll tell ya) we were in the sheet metal shack of Juan Che and his family and I just couldn’t hold anymore, I had never needed to go poo more in my entire life, I couldn’t even keep still and I knew I had to do something. I asked if I could use their little outhouse and if they had paper. They all giggled but I didn’t care. This was an emergency far too great for embarrassment. The only paper they had was news paper, but that would do. I waddled awkwardly about 40 feet to the outhouse through pouring rain to find that it was made of some sticks with plastic covering around it to ¨protect¨ but it was all full of holes. I was going in unprotected. As I stepped in about to very literally explode one of the wood sticks holding up the poop-area snapped under my feet almost leaving me to fall a good 15 feet into unspeakable horror. God was far too merciful and allowed me to stay above. I’ll leave out any grosser details by saying I survived a little shaken but alive. Haha...aren’t you boys exited for your own poop stories??

One last story, Saturday morning we were fasting until lunch but had service in the morning chopping wood and removing dirt from the back yard of some members, by the time we got home we were covered in sweat, dirt and clay...and the water wasn’t working! It was hopefully going to come back on about an hour later, so we started cooking. We were in the middle of grilling up some food...when the electricity went out! Uuuughh we sat there for some time just wondering what we should do. Soon the lights came back and we finished lunch, but we had no time to shower because the water hadn’t come back yet! That was a bit of a stinky day but really it wasn’t too bad.

Well all goes well really here, I’m still waiting on that package, I wonder when it’s going to come. I’m trying to write you guys and (big news) I finished the first tape recording and am starting on a second.

Love you all so much please take care, I’ll talk to ya all next week with news if we have it!

Andrew

One of our investigators had a vision. Of us.

Wow another week has passed, it’s already the 5th week of my change with Elder Spilker, and it’s been amazing being with somebody so cool.

We came through with our planned activity last Saturday, teaching a public lesson on the restoration of the Gospel, it was good for the members too. The only problem was that (and we didn’t even know about it before) there was a marathon right here in Coban, outside our house was the party haha. For that not as many people came as I was hoping but still we had a good PowerPoint presentation and the spirit was a sweet peaceful feeling. We met our goals of having 40 lessons with investigators this week, 26 of them were with a member present.

Yesterday there was another really big rainstorm, were even a bit of hail fell. It’s always trying to teach a message under a sheet metal roof in a hailstorm haha. Not much happens... it turns out that the storm knocked over another tree near our house and for the rest of the night we didn’t have power! We planned by the light of my camera and a head flash light that Elder Spilker had to go rummaging for.

Hmmm really not too much exiting stuff of spiritual stuff happened. Saturday was kinda a bummer before the activity. We did divisions for the entire day up until 5...AND I DIDNT TEACH A SINGLE LESSON maybe that’s what it must be like in some European missions...it really stunk haha. Uhhhggg

O my gosh how could I have nearly forgotten??

We did have a VERY special spiritual experience
One of our investigators had a vision. Of us.
Juan Che is a man of very humble livings; even the sheet metal house he lives in isn’t really his but belongs to someone else. For work he has to go find firewood to sell to the many people who need it to make tortillas here. We found him on his bed all bandaged up and asked him what happened. He told us that while he was out, up in a tree cutting off branches for the first time in his life I guess he got hit or something, but fell out of the tree. When he hit the ground he said he had a dream of two men in white that came and took his arm and side away. He told us that he asked them why, and they said that more would be coming to help him. He then saw us, Elder Spilker and I who came to... sew(?) his arm and side back up, to make him better.  He told us how when he read the pamphlet that we have him it gave him strength to go on and that he wants to come to our church reunions. We are hoping that this spirituality and drive last a while, heck, forever haha we can only hope.

Nothing else too big happened. We almost made a full grown really buff guy cry by the spirit haha that was fun and awesome. I got insulted by some crazy guy, it didn’t anger me that he was calling me horrible things, just the fact that the amount of racism that I’ve seen has really hurt me.  Don’t they know that racism is an offence against God himself? Don’t they know anything of His plan of happiness? A returned missionary comforted me by telling me a story of when he was in the field. They knocked on a door and the guy just opened and gave him a strong punch strait to the jaw (apparently he was fighting with his wife and the first person to take a blow was an Elder in the wrong place at the wrong time) the blow spun him and knocked his nametag off. After all this....he later got baptized!

Well with that I’m not sure much more to write for this week, please don’t worry about me I’m doing fine and strange things like that don’t often happen. I love you all and I hope that you are all doing well, reading the scriptures and praying. Until next week!

p.s. the picture was from zone conference

It was truly a testimony builder for the both of us

That stinks to hear that Justin is having companionship problems, I might be Abel to comprehend heheh. What’s his email, maybe I could keep in touch with him through out the mission.

Alright I have had a couple of spiritual experiences this week that I would like to share with you all.

1- We were on our way towards the stake center for a pday activity last week when a man from across the street waved us over, and we came. He explained to us that he was just getting out of the hospital from being attacked by thieves that left his right hand wounded and swollen. He needed money to buy more of the prescription he needed and didn’t know who to turn to so seeing us in the street he decided to ask. The medicine he said was going to cost maybe 115 quetzales, about 13 dollars, but here that is a good bit of money. We decided that we better help the poor man. We walked him to the nearest pharmacy and bought the pills he needed at a much lower price for about 40 quetzales. We offered to come by and teach him but he didn’t live in our area, and seeing how there is no such thing as an address here in Coban we left him hoping that he would find his way alright. The entire time I have my baptismal covenant running through my head...

Last Saturday was our baptism of Victoria Chen, the 74 year old Kekchi woman, and who was to show up but Julio, the same man that we helped buy medicine for! By some ridiculous miracle he found the sister missionaries in our district that serve in his area. Since then he has come to church, accepted a baptismal date and his hand is healing. He always tells us just how grateful he is for our help. I'm so happy to have been a part of that conversion.

2-We were looking for people to teach and contact (we reached our goals by the way!) and we came across an investigator named Juan Che and his family. Apparently they needed to find a new house to live in and had to move these GIANT wooden poles from their house in the mountainy part of our area to his new house right next to the church, about a 20 min walk away through the city area. We took the giant poles one each (a nice coincidence) and put them on our shoulders. Man, they were heavy! To carry mine I had to use so much strength I could hardly breathe and had to switch shoulders every couple minutes. Throughout the entire time I had the same scripture run through and through my head over and over. Mosiah 18:8 more about my baptismal covenant ¨willing to share their burdens one with another that they may be light¨ I finally decided to ask my companion Elder Spilker to share his load with me, our two poles over our 4 shoulders. WOW! The load was so light we felt that we could run and jump! It was truly a testimony builder for the both of us.

Those were the biggest for this week, along with the many that happen every minute of every day haha. In the end our goals and results were:

(Achieved / goal)
-baptismal dates 7/5
-contacts 202/300 (the goal was discontinued halfway through the week but we kept going a bit...)
-references received 16/15
New investigators 30/20

We met and overcame every single required goal! This next week the goal is 40 lessons, 20 of which with a member present while having interviews and zone conference in the same week, nearly 2 days lost of work!! Its ganna be a toughy but I have faith that God gave these goals to President Torres by revelation, and as we all know 1 Nephi 3:7, big testimony in that one. NOTHING IS IMPOSIBLE so long as it is the almighty will of God. I know that He lives and that He loves us and makes all these things possible for His children. I never need to fear, just do, what thing is more simple could He ask of us?

I love you all very much and with all my heart, I want only the best for you. Please don’t worry about me, I know that God has me in His hands, and what gives me peace of mind is that He has you all also. I know that if we are doing all we need to do, we won’t even find ourselves in those situations. (Andrew is referencing the massacre that just happened in Peten).  I want you all to read the scriptures this week, one chapter of whatever book of scripture, personally or in the family, just open the scriptures, don’t be afraid they are your best tool to find the salvation God has waiting for you. He will never lead you astray, its just not part of the plan. He loves you just far too much.

With all the charity in my heart I want the best for you all spiritually, physically and in all aspects. Gods plan is perfect as Jesus´ love for you all.

Have a good week, until next Monday and its stories,

Elder Andrew James Bronson