Elder Owens' Guatemalan Mission

"My son, prophesy unto this people (thy siblings)... I am angry (grief stricken) with this people (my children)... for their hearts have waxed hard, and their ears are dull of hearing, and their eyes cannot see afar off... ever since the day that I created them, they have gone astray, and have denied me, and have sought their own councils in the dark." "He (I) bowed himself (myself) to the earth, before the Lord (my Father)... Why is it that I have found favor in thy sight, and I am but a lad, and all the people (those of this world) hate me... wherefore am I thy servant? (Thy spokesperson?)" "Go forth... do as I have commanded thee, and no man shall pierce thee. Open thy mouth, and it shall be filled, and I will give thee utterance, for all flesh is in my hands, and I will do as seemeth me good." "Say unto this people: (plead with thy brothers and sisters:) Choose ye this day, to serve the Lord God who made you. (to listen to your father who loves yo...

Man, I've been reading this same thing in all the other missionaries emails, but I'll attest to it; the days are long, the weeks are short. This week was a pretty great one.  Not because it was easy, but because it was rich with learning. If we're not out in the street, I'm here at the casa studying.  This week was more difficult than the others.  I hardly ever understood anyone, and we weren't able to make contact with a lot of people. But I've spent a lot of time (when not rigorously studying Spanish (I try to learn around 40 new words a day) reading in Acts, Romans and Corinthians; the experiences and teachings of Paul. One scripture I want to share is: 1 Corinthians 1:5 ;  "That in every thing ye are enriched by him, in all utterance, and in all knowledge."   Everything that happens in our lives, happens for a reason. Through all things, we can improve. If we are not winning, we are learning; and thus, still winning. We only lose when we decide to ...

Semana 8 July 6, 2022  Oh boy. So we got here in Guatemala on Thursday.  Flying in was beautiful.  It's super green and there are volcanos everywhere.  We stayed the night in a hotel and they fed us some basic Guatemalan food, eggs, beans, chicken, and tortillas.  In the morning we were shipped off to our different areas and we met our companions and were briefed a little bit about what it's gonna be like here.  Then we were sent back to where we live.  So right now I'm serving in the Santa Maria area, Palmita district, Zone Pal-Central, Guatemala City Mission.  Still don't know what any of that means, other than the fact we have the nicest apartment in the mission, which is pretty sweet.  We've got hot water and a washing machine,  which is utter luxury here.  So we plan out what were going to do each day, and then we basically go do it.  For example, yesterday we went and met some people on the street, found two people that a...