Week 67: Raw meat/Jehovahs Witnesses/HURRICANE OLGA

Hola fam! Aqui andamos con GOZO en Coatepeque!!

So I always try and eat healthy snacks here in GUAT so I have started eating celery. I usually eat it on the go or right after finishing a lesson. And EVERYTIME I pull my celery out they look at me like im CRAZY and they are all like WHAT IS THAT??? hahaha They eat celery here but NEVER straight celery. It has to be in chow mien or something for them to eat it. Everytime they ask me what it is I ask if they want to try it! And about 75% say no but the other 25% say yes and they almost THROWUP while GAGGING on the celery ahahahha. They think im crazy to eat celery with peanut butter hahaa

So this week we had the primary program. It is when all the little kids under the age of 11 sing hymns in front of everyone a church! They sing hymns and give mini speeches or testimonys. One of the little girls got up and gave a heart felt testimony and to end she said "I know the catholic books are true" HAHAHAAHAH we were all like WHY did she just say that??? haha It was super funny cause she said it without ANY doubts!!! #GUATCONFESION 

So there is another hurricane passing through the west coast of GUAT so we have been suffering a little bit. Its name is HURRICANE OLGA hahaha 

This week we were walking in down town PAJAPITA which has a huge market. So as we were walking they pulled RAW COW MEAT out of the back of a pick up and it was like HUGE it had to have been half of the cow. He pulled it out of the truck and put it on his back to carry it but he was so short that the raw BLOODY meat was dragging on the ground. I just stood in shock thinking about how thats the meat I eat in lunch every day hahaha #GUATcleaniness

It is SO sad cause there are no tuk tuks here in coatepeque!! So we have take little vans. THEY ARE CRAZY cause they try and fit as many people as possible. I ended up standing in one the whole ride. I couldnt even stand up straight I had to bend my neck at a 180 degree angle the whole way and everytime they stopped SUPER fast and out of nowhere I would fall. It was HORRIBLE hahaha but at least the people got a good laugh of a tall gringa falling in a bus haha

Here in coatepeque it is hard to find new people to teach so we have been knocking a lot of doors to find new people. We had been rejected a lot this day and we decided to knock one more door and he told us we could come in! ahaha I was super surprised cause literally no one was letting us in their house that day! When I walked in a saw their HUGE banner of the Jehovahs witnesses and i was like OHHHH boy. He basically let us in cause he wanted to convince us that his church was better than ours haha we dished up straight doctrine from the bible which got him super mad lol. 

This week I had my very LAST mission leadership council!!! Time is flying by.

I gained a stronger testimony this week that god answers prayers. We went to the most dangerous part of our area this week. It is called chuatuj. It is dangerous because all of the gangsters from the capital go there to hide from the police. But anyways we went with a family that are members of the church. We went there an hour before lunch time. And we didnt have lunch that day cause there wasnt a lot of money or food in our house. So we just prayed in the morning that the lord would provide. When we finished the appointment with the family we were about to leave and then she said, "now you guys can stay for lunch!" It was such a miracle and I was so grateful for the humble lunch she gave us. God always blesses His children! Many times it will be by means of other people. May we all look for ways to serve our neighbor and answer prayers like heavenly messengers would do. 

Con Amor, 

Hermana Salisbury  

Week 66: 3 BAPTISMS AND I GOT TRANSFERED

Well this week was kinda crazy. I have never been more tired in my whole mission.

I was making eggs one morning and I turned my back for ONE SECOND and it went up IN FLAMES hahahaha I legit didn’t know what to do cause I don’t think fire extinguishers exist here!!!! So I just dumped water on top of it. Turns out my comp left spilt hot chocolate on the burner and it caught on fire ahaha

So we had the joy to see 3 BAPTISMS!!!!! They were great but the baptism was a WRECK hahaha One of the girls is chubby so she had to wear a white graduation gown XXL instead of a jumpsuit hahaha then when she got into the baptismal font and was submerged in the water THE GUY BAPTISING HER COULDN’T LIFT HER UP OUT OF THE WATER hahaha She came up basically drowning!!!! Right after that we had to sing child’s prayer but no one had the words to the song. It was THE most off tune version of ¨child’s prayer¨ I have ever heard in my life. I only know the words in English so as they sang in Spanish I sang in spanlish hahaha It was a MESS!!!

We were walking in the street and a man stopped us and said ¨Wow I can see that you guys are really prideful.¨ And I was like what??? So I asked him why he said that and he was like ¨BECAUSE YOU WORSHIP SMITH¨ and I was like oh my gosh ahaha So I explained how we ONLY worship our savior Jesus Christ and he started SCREAMING in my face that we were crazy and that I was lying!!! He looked so mad that I thought he was gonna hit me! So we gave him a book of Mormon and left haha 

So I LEFT MALACATAN!!!!! I got my transfers to COATEPEQUE!!!! I most likely will finish my mission here. But it was so funny saying by to some of the young kids we have been teaching. They are like 17 year old teenage boys. We went to say bye and they all confessed that THEY HAVE A CRUSH ON ME hahhahaha They were like Hermana Salisbury before you go we have to tell you something…we have always thought you were cute hahaha It was super funny. #GUATCONFESSIONS

It was so sad saying bye to all the converts!!! Lots of tears!!

My suitcases are SO heavy. I don’t even know why cause I don’t have ANYTHING!!! But I had to help all the bus people lift my suitcases on top of EVERY BUS in a dress! (I am so sore) haha but we took one bus that had a toilet. So I went and it was THE BIGGEST MISTAKE cause the bus was speeding so fast and hit so many bumps that the dirty water and POOP and PEE would splash up and hit me and then down EWWWWW I WAS SO GROSSED OUT!!!! Hahahaha I was so uncomfortable that all I wanted to do was wash my hands but there wasn’t any soap nor toilet paper!!! Haha RIP

Once I got to coatepeque we had to cross a dry river bed with my suitcases!!!! It was really hard with the sand and rocks to just push them across so we had to lift them the whole way!! And right when I thought it couldn’t get worse, we got to the house and had to climb 3 flights of stairs to get to the apartment!!! Hahaah We took one at a time. So we left one suitcase unattended down IN THE STREET and the other one we had to carry upstairs. So I tried to hurry down the 3 flights cause I didn’t want someone to steal my suitcase! So as I rushed down I slipped (it was raining) and fell down one flight of concrete stairs!!!!!! Hahahaha I was so done at that point!!!! But Im #blessed cause I didn’t hit my head or my back just my legs!!! But yeah in summary suitcases in Guatemala are really hard to deal with!! My new companion is Hermana Flores from Santa Ana, El Salvador! We are the sister training leaders of coatepeque! Should be a good transfer!

This week seeing the baptism of Laura, Ana Miriam, and Sofia was so special. At the beginning of my 3 months in malacatan we contacted all of them and invited them to church and they all said no. So we left them for a time and we went back and I can say that the Lord prepared them during our time away. They all were asking when they could be baptized so we set it up and prepared them. I feel like those are the best converts. When they personally have a conversion. Laura counted as a family and Sofia completed a part member familia. I am so grateful for the chance I have to see god work His miracles among the children of Israel. I know He is always preparing His children to receive the restored gospel. May we be capable to feel and know who is ready to hear the message that will prepare them for the second coming of or savior Jesus Christ.

Con amor,

Hermana Salisbury 

Week 65: Getting flipped off in a lesson!

So we had a rough night on Wednesday and a member saw us. He walked up and said "Hermanas can I tell you guys something?" and we said yes. Then he said "you BOTH have mustaches" hahahahaha I literally was so confused as to WHY he had to say that hahaha I laughed so hard cause no one would EVER say that to ANYONE!!! #BEAUTYGUAT

So we received a referral from a member of the church and his name is mundo. He lives in a wooden house with his roommate chimmychurri (thats his nickname) and they told us they SHARE THE SAME BED!!!! hahahaha And that they only have 1 sheet to share!!! They both are 70 years old and single so they just ended up being roommates. Chimmychurri told the member (that gave us the reference) that he has a CRUSH ON ME haahaha straight elementary school right now lol

It has been raining SO much. We got into a tuk tuk being super careful to not get wet. As we were in the tuktuk (its basically a golf cart) a huge truck drove in the lane next to us and hit a HUGE puddle that made the HUGEST wave and got us SOAKED!!! I bet he felt so cool getting us soaked! 

A really nice lady gave us hot chocolate (even though its like 100 degrees) and then she told us to put some sugar in to stir. As I looked at the sugar tin it was FULL of ants!!!!!! I just put a REALLY small spoon full trying to avoid the ANTS but then she was like "DONT BE SHY HERMANA TAKE MORE SUGAR!!!" then she dumped in a BUNCH ahhaha So I got some good protein that night from a family of ants !!!

We always offer to pass by the houses of our investigators Sunday mornings to walk them to church. One of our investigators said he would meet us at a half way point cause he lives basically in the jungle. So we got to the meeting point and he wasn't there!! We waited like 10ish minutes and then decided that we needed to pass by his house. Church starts at 10 am and when we started to hike to his house it was 10:05 am hahaha SO we started RUNNING on the little dirt road that is super rocky! (in dresses with backpacks full of books) We found his house and we knocked the door and screamed for him but he didnt come out!!!! So we ran up this SUPER STEEP AND ROCKY path  back to the meeting point and found him standing there!!! hahahha he said he got lost in the "big city" then we RAN to church!!! We got there late but hermano mundo went to church!!! WOOO

I have said this before but all the streets turn into rivers here when it rains because there isn't a good draining system. I have like three open cuts on my foot right now and I have had to walk in the NASTY rivers!!! I say nasty because there is dog poop and used diapers and dead rats because the people throw all there trash into the rivers. The cuts are probably SOOO infected hahaah everytime that I get home I pour cleaning alcohol in my cut to disinfect ahahha you gotta do what ya gotta do !! #GUATHEALTH

Its also sketch walking in the rivers on the dirt roads cause sometimes it gets deep and drops off but you dont know when its coming. We were walking to an appointment in the POURING rain and I took the next step and my leg DROPPED in the deepest hole and I fell so hard hahah It was so SKETCH!!! My comp was so confused and I was too honestly but now I am careful about where I step in the river (street) ahhaa

We have had some pretty intense lessons lately. We were talking with a 7th day advenist and I explained why the sabbath day change to Sunday with verses from the bible and he got super upset and he started his "come back" and the whole time he was trying to think of a comeback he had HIS MIDDLE FINGER UP!!!! AHAHHA I dont know if it was intentional towards us or what but I was DYING cause it was so awkward!!! He was flipping us off the WHOLE rest of the lesson!! That was his way to express his RAGE hahahaa #GUATRAGE

But this week has been a good one! I have really learned the importance of controlling the natural man. It is such a mind game. If we can truly learn the concept mind over matter we can become the people that God wants us to be. Controlling the natural man is learning to dominate our weaknesses and temptations. The lord doesnt expect perfection in this life but he wants to see EFFORT. He wants to see that we are pushing ourselves. May we all make the effort to be more holy, more forgiving, more giving, less judgy. May Christ be our strength. 

Con Amor, 

Hermana Salisbury

Week 64: COW TOUNGE AND BAPTISM

Another week of mission life here in Guatemala!

The traffic here is INSANE!! They always have tonnnns of people in the back of the pickup trucks as a form of transportation. There must not have been enough room for all the groceries so they put THERE EGGS ON THE FRONT HOOD!!!! Of ALL the things they could have put on the hood THEY PICKED THE EGGS hahaha But the craziest part was watching the eggs balance and not fall as this guy drove like 90 mph on a sketchy back road!!! 

So we were walking down the street to our next appointment and we saw a HUGE puddle but we didn't know what it was. At first I thought it was water or something but when we passed it had a STRONG smell of blood. When we looked it was all red. SO disgusting, right after that we got to the appointment we were walking to and she was PLUCKING THE FEATHERS OFF A DEAD BIRD WITH HER BARE HANDS!!!!! I seriously haven't gotten the urge to eat since this moment hahaha HORRIBLE 

The very next day we had lunch with a member (keep in mind I still didnt have cravings to eat) and it was some type of a fried meat. The member asked me if I liked it and I said yes and she gave me more. As I took the first bite she told me "by the way its COW TOUNGE" hahahahaah my jaw just dropped and I was sooooo SO grossed out while finishing the tounge hahah The worst part is they WATCH MY FACIAL EXPRESSION THE WHOLE TIME and I have to FAKE IT hahaha It wasnt THAT bad. #GUATFOOD

So we have a PILAS member that gives us referrals ALL the time and they always end up getting baptized!! EVERYTIME we go with him and we are having a conversation with one of his friends he pulls us aside to say his friend has SPECIAL NEEDS hahahaah EVEN THOUGH THEYY ARE COMPLETELY NORMAL!!! He thinks every is SPECIAL!!! so rude!!!

We had an earthquake this week. We were going to bed and it started and honestly it wasnt THAT big and I was exhasted so I was gonna stay in bed but my comp FREAKED OUT SO BAD that she ran ONTO THE ROOF and she was screaming at me to do the same and I didnt want to cause its LITERALLY against EVERY earthquake drill I have EVER participated in but I followed her and all the neighbors saw us and it was so wrong hahaha literally dumbest idea is to go onto a roof in Guatemala in an earthquake because there are SOOO many wires. #GUATEDUCATION

I really miss all the pumpkin food for fall. But somehow the members knew cause a family gave us STRAIGHT PUMPKIN. Its literally a normal pumpkin cut and sliced and they eat it raw with forks. Not even CLOSE to pumpkin treats from home but it the closest we get out here in GUAT. #GUATHOLIDAYS

After a lesson I asked to use their bathroom and she told me it was around the corner. SO I went and I could only see a shower. SO I kept looking and looking but I only found a shower! So I went back and asked her again where the bathroom was and then she LED ME TO THE SHOWER AND SAID THAT THEY USE THE SHOWER AS A BATHROOM!!!!!! It didnt have a curtain and it was outside and facing the HIGHWAY SO EVERYONE COULD SEE ME!!!!!!!!! SO i went pee in a shower and I was pretty sketched out ahhaha #GUATBATHROOM 

SO we had a baptism! We completed a family! Now they are all members YAY!! We were THE WITNESSES at the baptism!!! SO FUN! It was such a cool experience!

AND GUATEMALA IS GONNA HAVE ANOTHER TEMPLE IN COBAN!!!! Its really fun for us but its all the same work and IM PUMPED that im here on the mission to witness the miracles of the lamanites here in Guatemala.

I loved conference this weekend! (my last conference on the mission) I loved the talk from ulisses soares about taking up our cross. Its something that I didn't fully understand until now! We need to face hard things with joy in our heart. We cant say that we dont deserve trial because thats us saying we are better than Christ. He lifts our cross with us. It takes FULL humility to lift up a cross but I know its possible through chirsts example. May we bear our cross with dignity and grace to ultimately become like our savior step by step on the path through our gethsemane.

Con amor,

hermana Salisbury

Week 63: SERGIOS BAPTISM!!

I literally blinked and its pday AGAIN!

So this week the power went out AGAIN!! Horrible! We were walking down the street and some of the people put candles in their windows so we could kind of see where we were going haha But here in GUAT we have to greet the people in the street ALWAYS and if not its bad manners so me and my comp saw and old man sitting on the side walk in the distance and we said buenas noches! and when we got a closer look HE WASNT THERE or in other word HE DIDNT EXIST we literally said buenas noches to a ghost!!! we were SO freaked out that we didnt say buenas noches to ANYONE else the rest of the night hahaha #spookyGUAT

SERGIO CARDONA GOT BAPTIZED!!! Literally so pilas! He is 18 years old and we received him as a referral from a less active member! He seriously received his testimony SO fast. He lives in a pueblo called la Vega and the missionarys almost NEVER go down there. His mom abandoned him at about 3 years old and he was raised by someone that didnt care for him. He started working at 8 years old to support himself and his sister. He had to mature really fast, everything he went through was preparing him to receive the restored gospel. But he is so special. After he received a testimony of the gospel he wanted his mom and his sister to receive one too but they FULLY rejected us and the church. We went to his baptism by himself and he came up to me and my comp and asked if we would sit by him cause his family wasnt going to be there.It was a really pretty baptism. Usually when a new member of the church gets baptized they receive the holy ghost the next day during sacrament meeting but THE WARD (without asking us) DECIDED TO CONFIRM HIM RIGHT THEN!! Me and my comp ran up before they started and said NOOO he has to wait!!! and EVERY PERSON in the meeting just looked at us like we were crazy cause it seemed like we didnt want him to receive the holy ghost!!! But then ENDED UP GIVING HIM THE HOLY GHOST cause we got put into a really awkward situation!#UNORGANIZEDGUAT

After all that sergio got up to bear his testimony, he started saying how he was SO thankful to have found the TRUE church and the TRUE gospel through the missionarys (US) Seriously made me cry!

It has BEEN SO HOT AND HUMID!!!! Me and my comp were outside contacting and after we started talking about HOW HOT IT IS and how we just want AIR CONDITIONING!!!!! We got so worked up and BUGGED that we ran to the roof of our house and dunked our heads in water to cool down. We at a straight HEAT CRISIS!!!!! hahaha              

This week a member gave us FISH for lunch!!! We always eat the fish with our hands so they smell like CRAP after ahhaha But usually wash our hands but this lady didnt have RUNNING WATER and since we didnt have time to WALK TO THE RIVER we just left without washing our hands. They must have smelt REALLY bad cause the dogs that live on the street PICKED UP THE SCENT and started following us!!!! There were like 3 dogs running trying lick our hands the whole walk to our next appointment!!! 

SO we have been seeing a ton of success here in la libertad BUT we had the funniest experience while we were knocking doors the other day. So we walked up and saw a little kid BOOK it out of the front door of the house and he looked super scared. All of a sudden the mom of the kid came out and saw us and said "OH MY GOSH THE MORMONS ARE HERE AGAIN" in a super mad tone hahah then she ran inside. We waited for about 30 seconds to see what was happening and then she came out again but this time WITH A TUB FULL OF WATER TO THROW AT US hahaha she yelled "GO BACK TO YOUR COUNTRYS AND GET TO WORK OVER THERE, LAZIES" hahahha thank goodness she threw the water at her dog instead of US #ABUSED but legit i couldnt help but crack up laughing ahhaha she has NO CLUE hahaha 

This week I gained a strong testimony that I have been sent here for a purpose and to find SPECIFIC people and bring them the gospel. about 3 weeks ago I had a dream of a family that got baptized. When I woke up I didnt know who the family was but I felt really happy that they got baptized in my dream. We ended up getting an amazing referral from a member and when we went to contact them I realized that IT WAS THE FAMILY THAT GOT BAPTIZED IN MY DREAM!!! They now have a date for baptism (October 12th)! I know that coming on the mission was the best decision I have ever made. I know that I promised people in heaven that I would come and find them. It is the most satisfying feeling to know that I am being guided. This is HIS work. These are HIS converts. I love the work. 

Con amor, 

Hermana Salisbury