July 27, 2011
Hola familia and amigos from Guatemala!
Life is great here at the CCM! But I still only have 30 min on the computer, so sorry that I can't respond to all emails. My new companion's name is Hermana Audrey Guyant. She is from Eagle Mountain UT and went to Southern Utah U studying el ed and special ed. She will be serving in Honduras. She is a great teacher, and even though she didn't know much Spanish coming here, she has learned a ton and wants to work hard. She's great!
So our schedule here every day goes something like this: up at 6:30am for personal study til 730 gym, then get ready and eat breakfast at 9, then class/teaching practice til lunch at 1, then more class/teaching practice til dinner at 530, then class/teaching practice til 9! Every day is full and busy. We don't speak as much Spanish here as I thought we would because there are tons of Americans. There are 110 missionaries total here, 26 sister missionaries, going all over Central America, and the rest elders going only to Guatemala. There are a lot of Latin Elders but only a few Latin sisters. The facilities are super nice because this place is pretty new. All the teachers and workers and Mission presidency and their wives are so sweet! Things are much more layed back here than at the Provo MTC. The schedule isn't super firm, and they're reasonable about things. I love the food here! I have loved everything!! I think I was supposed to be Guatemalan! And the little cooks here are adorable. They cook all kinds of food, including asian and american food, but I love the Guate food. A typical meal here usually includes beans and plantains and carbs carbs carbs. So needless to say, I've been needing to work out harder during gym time. All 3 meals are huge! And you have to eat all the food they serve you because the cooks here cook with their hearts, and so when you throw it out it hurts their feelings.
Not much is going on here other than that schedule. I really like being here. The other day we sat outside and read from 3 Nephi 11 where Christ comes, and it was really special to be reading about Christ visiting around this area in the world! I am so excited to soon get to teach the Gospel to these wonderful people. They are so sweet and humble and ready for the Gospel of Jesus Christ. Yo sé que esté Evangelio es verdadero! Jesucristo es nuestro Salvador y a travéz su Expiacion podemos a regresar a Dios. I love being a missionary! Thank you all for your support!
Hermana Gilland