Skype

Hey everybody!

 

So this week had some good parts and some bad parts.  The best part was Skype.  That was awesome. It always is.  I really enjoy hearing what's going on.  The house looks different and you all have a lot more expensive stuff.  And holy cow yall have a lot of cars.
       

I'm going to answer questions from your letter now:

Does your package go through customs? Do you have to pay money for it? Or did they just deliver it to you from the mission home and you don't know what happens in between?

 

-I have no idea what they do with it, it just shows up in the stake center when we have district meeting or weekly planning.

Did the dad from the house where you Skype sit beside you on the couch the whole time we talked? I could hear his voice every once in awhile. Was that really nerve racking for you?

 

-I think he was there most of the time if I remember right, and nerve racking, no, not really.

Is there anyone you are teaching right now that we could pray for?

-Emilio, David, Sandra and Jose, Lilian.  Mostly those four.

So anyway things have been alright.  My companion has still been having problems with his blood pressure.  He gets mad at me a lot too.  I don't know if it's for the same problem or what, but he gets mad a little more than I would like.  (Can I just say this broke my heart! )

   

I was going to send pictures today, but I had problems with my camera.  The problem with using internet cafes is that the camera gets a virus every once and a while.  The good thing is that I bought a USB so I have a backup, so I don't lose it all when that happens.  The bad thing is that I do lose the pictures I haven't saved.  I haven't taken many picture recently, so it's not too bad.

   

Make sure to remember the family history thing I asked about.  I remember that when I logged into Family Search it was all there, but I've tried and nothing shows up.  I don't know if it was another website or what.

   

Thanks for all the pictures, and sorry I didn't send any.  I'm pretty sure I fixed my camera, so I'll try to take more pictures this week.

 

-Elder Jarvie

Family History

Hey everybody!!

   

I still feel weird in a different area. I know it a little better now, but not quite what I'm used to.  There was very little when I came here, so it's been a little hard.  But this week we contacted a lady in the street and this Sunday we had a lesson.  She accepted a baptismal date, asked a bunch of questions, and it was pretty awesome, the lesson.

   

Oh! I just remembered something really important.  In the multi-zone conference they talked about family history, the spirit of Elijah. and the temple and stuff.  They have a pamphlet that they want us to have filled out that includes our family tree up to great grand parents I think, dates, places, pictures, if their temple work has been done and any other little thing you want to write down.  I don't know exactly how much information like that  you have, but I REALLY, REALLY, REALLY WANT IT.  If you could e-mail me the information and pictures if you have them I can have them printed here.  At least the 4 generations. Please.

   

Christmas is coming!! And just as awesome, Skype.  I'm still not a hundred percent sure where we are going to go to Skype, but one family offered, so at least we have a possible choice.  Also speaking of Christmas things, the box still hasn't come yet, so this Wednesday or sometime after Christmas.

   

It's great to hear that Kennon got his mission call.  You will have to send me his e-mail so I can write him a few times.

   

Speaking of missionaries, I think Jared is in zone 7, so he could be more or less close to my first area. It's weird to think we are in the same city right.  Not just the same country, the same city.  It's a big city, but we are in the same city.

   

Sometimes I feel important because the United States Embassy sends me e-mails.  It's like an update they send to everyone who's not in the states or something like that, but it makes me feel pretty cool.

   

It's super cool to hear about all the people that are on missions now or going to leave soon.  I've got a big list of friends on missions right now.

   

Sometimes I catch myself screwing up when I write or talk in English now.  I don't know if the amount of grammatical errors I make is more or if I just feel like that, but I don't think I talk the same in English anymore.

   

We got Liahonas this week. I really liked the book they did in memory of Richard G Scott.  The quote on the back I like a lot.

                                  Heavenly Father didn't put us on Earth to fail

                                             but to succeed gloriously.

Or something like that.  The point is that I enjoyed reading it a lot.  Those books that they do about the life of the apostles are really interesting. 

 

So those are my thoughts for now.  Hopefully it was all understandable.  I'm pretty much out of time now, so I'll talk to you all more, later this week.

  

Elder Jarvie

Panamanian Companion

This week has been really weird.  Like I had said I had changes.  I'm back in Zona 18 but not close to Esperanza.  I'm in a place called Pinares Del Norte.  My ward is Pinares 2.  It's all city, so it's a little different than what Im used to.  And I don't know anyone.  We don't have anyone that comes with us to visit and we have very few investigators.  We have found a few this week though.

   

As far as my new companion goes, things are alright.  His name is Elder Vanegas, and he is from Panama.  He is a little sick though.  He has been having a few health problems so that's been making it hard too. But other than that it's been alright.  I did get along well with Elder Ramirez so I was kind of sad we were only together for one change.

 

I almost forgot the list:

   -2 from Guatemala (Momostenango, Totonicapan)

   -2 from Honduras (Comoayagua, and San Pedro Sula)

   -1 from Brasil

   -1 from Panama

and if you count the MTC one from California.

   

It's good to hear that everything went well with grandma's funeral.  It sounded like she was doing pretty bad before she died.

   

It's really good to hear that Kennon is doing good though, I haven't seen him in ages.  And it sounds like I won't be seeing him anytime soon, seeing that he's got his mission papers in.  Or maybe he will come to the Guatemala East Mission and we can be companions.  That would be fun right.

   

Two other things changed with changes, my zone is really big and my district is really small.  Before we were like 10 missionaries in the zone and I had had like 6 or 8 in my district.  Here there are like 22 missionaries in the zone and my district in just Pinares 1 and 2, us and a companionship of sister missionaries.  So that is really different.

   

This week we are going to have a multi-zone conference in Molino, so we are going to be there with everyone from my last zone too.

   

I'm really exited for Christmas too, we just have to find who is going to lend us their computer.  It's super weird to think that this is going to be my 2nd Christmas here.  It doesn't feel like it's been that long.  At first time went by pretty slow, but now it goes way too fast.

   

So that was pretty much my week.  Things have been going good.  Sorry that I didn't send any pictures.  I'll try to take more this week.  Thanks for everything.

-Elder Jarvie

Changes

Far left is my teacher in the CCM and second to the left is Jared's teacher, 

then Jared and his companion.  A little after I left the CCM, my teacher 

got married with Jared's teacher and now they have a baby.

So I have changes......

That's too bad.  I liked my area and my companion.  Hopefully the next one will be good too.  Who knows where I'll go.  It's going to be my fourth area.

 

Jared sent me a picture of him with our MTC teachers.  His teacher married my teacher and had a baby.  It's a pretty sweet picture.

 

Esbin didn't get baptized this week.  He still feels nervous and wants more time.  He wants to get baptized around Christmas.  It's too bad I'm not going to be here.

 

The Christmas devotional was great.  I liked the wheelchair story too.  I thought it was going to start at six but it started at seven, which would have been alright if we didn't live super far from the stake center.  Nobody from our ward came so we didn't have a ride.  The last bus left at seven thirty, and there is no way we are going to walk all that way because it's like half an hour in a bus.  But miracles happen and the devotional was only an hour long.  We walked fast to Jocotales and right when we got there a taxi stopped and took us up, so we got to the house before nine, and we didn't get charged too much either.

 

Thursday we had exchanges with Jocotales. I went there, it's weird working in the city again.  I'm used to the mountains.

 

I'm not sure what else to write about.  I'm out of time too.  I love you all and I'll talk to you next week.

Love,

Elder Jarvie

Nacahuil

This week was really good, apart from one day when I got sick, but other than that it was great.  It's crazy how fast this change has gone by, five weeks feels more like two.  It helps a lot when you have a companion you get along with and an area that you like.

   

I honestly hope we don't have changes this time.  I pretty much have six months here but miracles happen right?

   

This week we had a goal to find new investigators, and we found a ton.  We went all the way to Nacahuil, the place with all the pigs, and did divisions with Bladimir and Erick.  We went and knocked on doors and two of the three let us in and we taught their family.  So that was a cool experience.  In that morning he and I ended up with more new investigators than contacts, that's normally not how it is.

 

                               -answers to questions-

Are there bowling alleys in Guatemala?  yes, but none near where I've been.

Have you done go-karts before?  yes.

Are there go-karts in Guatemala? I have no idea if they have go-kart tracks.

Are you going to put up a Christmas tree?  If I can find one.

How has your weather been? cold and foggy

The soda machine is pretty legit.  How is that going to work out?  Do you still have to put money in it?  How are yall going to keep it full?

   

The other really cool thing here is that Esbin is going to get baptized soon.  The plan is for this Saturday.  He feels really nervous about it so we are going to have to help him a lot this week.

   

People have started putting up Christmas decorations.  Last year I saw a few people that had huge things of Christ's birth.  Like fill your living room big.

 

That's all folks. See you next week.

Love,

Elder Jarvie

Selfie Stick Pictures

 The Rodriguez family, Erick and my companion.

They had one of those sticks to take selfies, so I took a few pictures.

 

Things here have been going really good.  It's been raining here a lot too.  Every morning there is a ton of fog.  I like cold weather, the only down side is that the shower is ice cold.

   

On the brighter side, Esbin, Marvin´s brother, is going to get baptized the first week of December.  So that's cool.  He has been coming to church for a while now and is now one of the people that comes up to me and says "gringo" whenever he sees me in the street.  When I say "street," I mean dirt road, but same difference right?

   

I don't ever remember holidays until someone tells me.  Do you guys remember the time I told you that my companion forgot his birthday?  Which reminds me, happy birthday!  This is the 2nd year that someone asked me if I did anything for Thanksgiving yesterday and I thought to myself, "it was yesterday, huh..."   It's not a holiday here.

     

And before I forget, tell the pirate red beard that his facial hair is looking pretty good.  So I'm short on time and I can't think of too much to say.

   

I love you guys and I'll talk to you next week.  Sorry that this letter is a little shorter.

Love,

Elder Jarvie

Rain and new Soles

Hey everybody!

   

It decided to rain all this week. The good thing is that I'm back to having two pairs of shoes.  I don't know if I had mentioned this but the brown shoes I bought before I left were worn down a ton from so many days of walking in Guatemalan wildernesses.  The left shoe had a big hole in it.  Then one day we were contacting, and we contacted a guy who turns out fixes shoes.  He put new soles and everything and it turned out great.

   

We've been teaching a family that lives pretty close to our house.  They have a date to be baptized, but it's been really hard for them to come to church.  In part it's because they don't want to go all the way to the stake center, and the last two weeks have been conferences.  This week it was a special conference that they broadcast to all the stakes in Guatemala.  I think it was 44 or something like that. But it was really cool.

   

We've also been teaching a little with Marvin's brother, Esbin.  Like half the people in their family are members already.  He's been coming to church.  In the picture with the kites I sent you last week he is the one with the shirt that has an oldschool video game or something like that.

   

In a box you sent me, I think Rick's family was who sent them, I'm not sure.  Anyway, they sent scripture stickers.  They are pretty cool.  But it turns out you can make them with masking tape and Liahona magazines.  So I learned something new.  We did that for a lesson with Angel, Marvin, and Esbin.  It was pretty cool. Esbin figured it out really fast.

   

For the first time here in Guatemala it's gotten cold, mostly because we are up in the mountain, and for all the rain.  I almost always wear a sweater in the morning.

   

Sometimes I feel like my English isn't as good as it used to be.  I've been speaking Spanish for so long that I forget words in English or how to spell them.

 
Things for Christmas... a few people have said that they want the scripture stickers, so if you can find some that would be cool.  Ties are always welcome.  I need a few new shirts.  I really like the Lee ones we bought online if you can find them again.  If you send candy, jolly ranchers are still my favorite, and I haven't seen anyone selling them here.  Socks.  If you can find a legit thin sweater that is missionary appropriate. They aren't too strict with the clothes here. Other than that who knows.

  
Anyway, that's my time. Love you all, and I'll talk to you next week.

Bye!!
-Elder Jarvie

Stake Conference

Hey everybody!

 

So things here have been going great. I'm still getting along good with my new companion and everything is going really good.

   

This Saturday and Sunday we had Stake Conference.  It was one of the best I've been to.  I think he was from the area presidency, Elder Maravilla.  The way he talked was really interesting.  He is a funny guy, but still gave really good points, and made you think, laughing and thinking you should probably repent at the same time.  Saturday he talked about ward council and Sunday he talked about keeping the Sabbath day holy.

   

The notebook I use for meetings is almost full, it's going to be the 2nd one.  I think I pay attention and understand a lot more if I take notes.  I started writing smaller because sometimes it fills up a lot of space.

   

Speaking of note books, my drawing books have been the same for the  last couple of months.  There is very little time to do anything.  I miss having time to draw, though I guess when I come back if I'm in art classes I'll be drawing all day long. But still I need to find some time to do it.

   

I started writing a letter so I should get one sent home Wednesday, so we will see when it gets there.

   

Honestly, I hope they leave me in this area for another change. I really like it here, and my companion is one of the best I've had. (answer to your question: he is one month older than me and has nine months in the mission.  I think those are the only two questions you asked.)

   

Now that you mentioned holiday traditions it reminds me, there are holidays they celebrate here and not there and ones we celebrate that they don't here.  For example, Halloween and Thanksgiving.  And here they have the day where they all fly kites and visit the cemetery, and a day where everyone makes devil piñatas and burns them and lights off fireworks. And sometimes the traditions or foods are different too.  Like Christmas, everyone eats tamales.

   

I really can't think of anything else to say. I didn't take too many pictures this week but I have a few that I don't think I've sent, so I'll send those.

   

I love you guys, bye.

-Elder Jarvie

Changes

So this week was changes and I can honestly say I'm really happy with them.  I'm still here in the durazno and my companion is Elder Ramirez from Honduras.  So far I've had one from Brazil, 2 from Momostenango Guatemala, and 2 from Honduras.  So far I get along really well with him.  The problem I had with my last companion was that he was kind of lazy and didn't want to do much.  My new comanion isn't lazy at all, so I'm super happy,

   

Sunday was a holiday where everyone goes and visits their relatives in the cemetery and flies kites too.  I tried taking a picture of the kites but it didn't come out.  You could see a ton of kites from the hill by the cemetery,  It looked like a beehive.  Around five thirty we started contacting the people who were on their way back.  Usually, it's hard to contact a lot of people here but it was like a river of people that day.

   

I'm going to try to get a hand written letter sent too (the old fashioned way) because there were a lot of fun stories this week.  Also I'll make sure to take a picture with my new companion this week to send you guys.

   

Pobrecitos, suffering from heat in HAWAII.  There isn't air conditioning here either.  Luckily, the weather in Guatemala is always perfect.  I just want hot water.

   

Ask Remington if he is going to bring me presents before he shaves the beard.  Speaking of Santa, Christmas is coming up.  Man, I love Skype calls!  Make sure you have a laptop, I want to see the house.

   

Sorry I don't have pictures this time around, this computer doesn't want to read my camera anyway. But next week for sure I'll get some sent. 

   

All in all, things are going really good here.  I get along great with my new companion, and everything is a lot better.

   

So that's what happened this week. I'll talk to y'all next week.

-Elder Jarvie

Marvin talked in church!!!

So we do have changes.  I'm not really surprised.  The other thing is that they are going to put another district here so I won't have to call as many people at night. and writing won't be such a pain. Finding a place for nine missionaries to write isn't a lot of fun.  It will be interesting to see who the new missionaries are.

   

The people that I was taking about that came to church are the recent converts. 1t would be a lot of investigators.  We visit everyone that's been baptized in the last year and keep track of who came to church.  So almost all of the new members came last week.  Speaking of new members, Marvin spoke in church and crushed it like a freaking boss!  He gave a really good talk about the way we dress and our appearance.  So that was super cool.  Also, Erick, another recent convert gave a talk too.  He talked about keeping the sabath day holy.

   

When Grandpa Walker wrote that Gordon's mission president's name is Lam it made me laugh. There is a guy in our ward who is Hermano (brother)  Lam.  His grandpa is from Hong Kong.  We always call him Chinito Taiwan.  Chino is like Chinese and in word they put it before the O to make it something smaller.  It's kind of funny, he is a realy dorky guy.

   

Hey, well I'm out of time.  Thanks for the pictures.

I love you all and I'll talk to you all next week.

-Elder Jarvie

Beans & Pigs

 Sorting beans with the Pineda family in Los Pinos

 

 A place in our area called Nacahuil.  There are a lot of pigs there.

Hey everybody!

 

So this week was fun.  One day we went to Nacahuil.  It's part of our area but it's like half an hour in bus to get there.  A lot of the people there speak Kekchi, one of the Mayan languages, so that's neat. Luckily, everyone speaks Spanish too.  There are a lot of animals and people wear different clothes.

   

On the way back we stopped by a place called Los Pinos.  Pinos are pine trees.  They told me it's named that for the Pineda family, who were the first people who lived there.  Like 70% of the people there have the last name Pineda, including the family we visited.  They do a lot of farming stuff so when we got there they were separating beans from some of the plant that came with it.  They gave us food too.  The fun thing there is that they always say if you want peppers there are some on the bush over there.  One thing I've gotten used to is eating peppers.

   

One really cool thing is that almost all the recent converts came to church this Sunday.  One of ten didn't come and only because he was sick.  So that was legit.

   

Reading your letter I thought of two things.  I've never had a companion that speaks English, and I've never had one younger than me.  Also I've never trained, so those are a few new things that could happen.

   

This time around there will definitely be changes because I already have three with Elder Barrera.

    

The house is looking amazing.  Make sure you guys have a laptop for Christmas so I can see it all. Y'all have a rich people house.  Well I guess you are grandparents now.

 

Well I'm pretty much out of time.  I love you all and I'll talk to you next week.

 

-Elder Jarvie

Baptism Interview

It sounds like you guys had a fun week.....mixed with a boat load of traveling... lucky dogs! I want to go to the coast. I miss swiming, though I don't miss cold water.  I get that every morning when I shower.  The beach is a ton of fun.  We will have to go there one day when I get back.

   

It's fun to hear that Moroni and Gordon are in the MTC now, or CCM and who knows how to say MTC in Cantonese.  Throwing in wrong words for me is mostly if I pray out loud in English.  The MTC is a struggle sometimes.  Though I guess there are struggles everywhere you go (they are just a little worse there).  Right now I would say my biggest struggle has been my companion.  My companion is the devil.  The good thing is that we have changes in two weeks.  I've been with him four and a half months already so we will definitely have changes.  That and I've learned a lot of patience.

   

This week we had divisions with the zone leaders.  We did it after weekly planing, and it ended really late so it was a short division, but it was good.  I got to interview someone for their baptism, so that was neat.  It was the first time I had done it. 

   

Things here are honestly going alright - there are a few things that drive me crazy sometimes, but there are good things too.  I really like the area I'm in right now.  It's really big and sometimes we take buses to visit people, but it is a great place.  And our house is good too.  The only down side is the shower.  Saturday I got to take a hot shower when we had divisions with the zone leaders.

   

Anyway, that's what's up over here.  I love you guys!  And I'll talk to you next week.

-Elder Jarvie

Conference & UNO

The last four days have been some of the most legit ever.

  

Number one:

Conference, I enjoyed it a lot.  There are a few ideas that I liked, and plan to apply.  The talk about ponderizing really stuck out for me.  I like the idea.

   

There is an elder in my district called Elder Hocket and when the guy started talking about the super long dark tunnel he started yelling that his family goes there every year. (When we watch conference there is a separate room for the people who speak English, so there were only like three of us there. So it's not like he was talking in the main room with everybody.)  But he told us a lot about it and it sounds like a really cool place.  Definitely somewhere I want to go when I get back.  Maybe I'll convince him to come with me.

   

That is super cool that you guys got to go there to see the conference.  It was a really good one. The weird thing is that this time around people only talked in English.

   

As missionaries we pretty much stayed in the stake center all day.  We would watch two hours.  Eat something and play UNO for two hours and repeat until the end when we went home right when the day ended.  Us especially, because we live far away.

 

Number two:

We went to the temple today!  That was great though there isn't too much to describe about it.  We also bought a few things at the distribution center there.  And we ate Taco Bell before coming back to write.  I bought a Book of Mormon en English, because I wanted to mark scriptures and mine is pretty well marked.  We also bought scriptures for some of the members here who don't have them.

   

Things 3 and 4 could be getting emails today and not dying in a mud slide.

 

We were talking with a one of our investigators who mentioned that where the slide happened was a mountain that was mostly mud or sand, which isn't the ideal place to build.  It's a better idea to build in a stony place.  Which made me think of the wise man and the foolish man.  And that in some choices we make you can loose a lot more than your house.

   

It's also exiting to hear that Moroni is on his way.  There are now a ton of missionaries from our ward.  And a lot of us are speaking Spanish too, though Moroni is going to come home speaking a Spanish a lot different then Jared´s and mine.  From what I've heard they talk in vosotros which is like using thou.  So that will be fun.

   

So I'm pretty much out of time.  This week I had a little more time to write. Thanks for the letters and pictures. I love you guys!

bye!

-Elder Jarvie

Rain and Mud

Hey everybody!

  
Things here are going pretty good.  It's been raining a lot.  And because all the streets here are dirt, there is mud everywhere and sometimes little rivers in the road.  Some times you start to feel a little taller right before you realize it's the little mud cakes under your feet.  It's a good thing I like the rain.

  
The house is looking amazing!   Though I don't miss that tile machine you guys have out there.  It looks like you are all getting pretty close to finishing it.

    
This Sunday was pretty cool.  We had branch council.  From what I've heard they haven't had it here in a long time.  I'm also really excited for conference next week.  We live far away from the stake center here, so I think we are probably going to be there all day Saturday and Sunday.

 
I don't have much time to write today, but I'm going to answer some of your questions: 

-It's just my companion and I in our house. 

-I think I mentioned that I bought a pair of shoes already. 
The black ones died, but my brown shoes are still alive (though a hole is starting to form.) 

-We usually teach a few times a day- sometimes I just don't feel like says and Friday we taught this family the restauracion, and Tuesdays ... and just listing things off.  We don't teach a ton but we have stuff to do.  (I think his mind was jumping between English and Spanish)

-I sleep good but now that I have to call everybody I don't sleep as much.

-I'm pretty good with money and they do give us enough.

Thanks for all the pictures.  Sorry it was a short letter this time.  I love you guys.

Bye!

-Elder Jarvie

P.S.  Remington looks really creepy.

(This is what Donavaghn is referring 
to in case you are curious.) 

Haz Lo Justo

Our zone or in other words our district with the zone leaders.

Hey everybody!

Things here are going good.  I'm almost used to having to call a bunch of missionaries every night.

Right now we have a district of nine missionaries.  So this morning we had to find an internet cafe that would fit us all.

 

The house looks amazing.  Sometimes I miss doing all that.  And sometimes I wonder why is everyone's hair so crazy? (Referring to a picture I sent of Spencer Pratt helping us do stucco.)  Here I thought everybody had crazy hair because Guatemalans are locos, but I guess it's just the style everywhere.  Speaking of crazy hair, Remington's beard is looking pretty good.

 

It's cool to see the five generation picture you took. That's crazy.  That would be cool to live to have a great great grand kid.  There is almost a hundred year age difference.  The other picture that was cool was of  Rick, Gavin, Jared, Moroni, and I (some times Spanglish slips out.  Like right now I almost wrote Moroni and yo.)  (The picture (included at the bottom of this letter in case you're interested)  I sent was taken a couple of years ago at a blood drive one of our young men did for his Eagle Scout project.  The reason I sent it to Donavaghn was because one week from today every one of those young men will be out serving a mission. Pretty amazing!  On a fun note, out ward holds the record right now in our stake for having 11 missionaries out. Technically two leave next week and there are two senior couples.)

 

Let's see what else - I did buy a CTR ring but it's in Spanish so it's really a HLJ ring.  Which means "haz lo justo."  That really means do what is right, but it's almost the same thing. I haven't been doing perfect in journal writing, but I've been doing pretty good.  In fact, I'm nearing in on finishing the one I've been writing in.  Right now I don't have much time to write because after we finish planning at 9:30 I'm on the phone until 10:15 , but i usually get a little more than half a page in.  Really the whole district leader thing only changes what I do at night, and a little of what I do Monday and Thursday. But it's still real;y different.

 

You also mentioned that I haven't had a companion that speaks English.  Who knows if I'll ever have one.  Most people do though.  I've had a companion that speaks Portuguese, and one that speaks Quiche (a native language in Guatemala) but nobody that speaks English.  In the zone there are 11 missionaries and 3 of us are "gringos."  Also one of the Latinos speaks pretty good English.

 

Thanks for all the pictures. I love them a ton.  Make sure you have Skype working good on a laptop, (referring to our Christmas call) because I want to see more of the house.

 

Well that's what I've got to say.  Love you guys.  Talk to you next week.

 

-Elder Jarvie

 

 L to R - Donavaghn, Lisa Mapel, Gavin Mapel (Philappines), Moroni Beal (Spain), 

Rick Pedersen (New Mexico), Jared Dabel (Guatemala) and Kelli Holcombe.

District/Zone Leader

So between last night and this morning I've been told a lot of things. First off, the whole Carter thing, that is super exiting.  Y'all really surprised me a few weeks back with the whole "Guess what?? Your sister's having a baby!"

The other thing is that they told us about changes yesterday which came with two things I wasn't expecting.  First off, I will be staying with Elder Barrera a 3rd change, that's like 4 and a half months with the same companion.  The other thing is that in this group that is going home a lot of the people were in leadership positions.  Our district leader has had a few problems, so there was a chance that they would have me be the new one.  But when they called me that I was going to be the 3rd Zone Leader I was really confused.  But they explained that for right now I'm going to the district leader, but over the whole zone.  There is only going to be one district, so that's weird. 

 

My companion got Chikungunya so he is kind of a zombie right now.  But for having it he is doing really well.  He can walk and talk and didn't die on the bus, so what more can you ask for?

 

All in all things here are going pretty good.  There wasn't a whole lot to say this week... but the few things were pretty big things.  Well, I love you guys, say "hi" to the turtle for me. (I told him sometimes Michaela calls Carter her little turtle, because he kind of looks like one.)

 

Bye!

President gets the boot

My companion and I with Erick

The house is looking great.  In your letter you said something about a longboard on his head and I was thinking why does he have a longboard on his head?  Then I realized you were taking about a board that is long, and I was thinking about a skateboard longboard.  It makes more sense with the picture.  Speaking of the boat, it looks like Remington has his beard already to go on the boat.

     

The rock stacking looks like it was good fun. (Youth fireside we had)  I'm like 99% sure I've seen that video before. (A man that stacks rocks in ways that should defy gravity.)  Sounds like I'm missing out on a lot of fun, but you guys are too.  They just gave the president here the boot.  Apparently he was a dirty rotten no good criminal scumbag..... or something like that.  So they always call to ask if there are riots or anything in our area.  But we live in a little village on a mountain, nothing like that happens here. (That's what a mom likes to hear!)

     

Dad's machine looks cool too (car rotisserie).  That first picture is fantastic.  Pretty soon now you are going to see a bunch of cars that have a little symbol that says Jarvie or something like that.  The garage looks great too.  A lot changes in a year.  Which reminds me I've officially been outside the states for more than a year.  That's crazy.

     

You mentioned ward council.  Here they haven't done ward council in a while, but we have been talking with our ward mission leader, and we have plans to start the other week, so that is pretty cool.

     

That's cool to hear that Em is going to be studying the Old Testament.  A few months ago I felt bad because I have never read the Bible all the way through.  I finished the New Testament a little while back.  Right now I'm reading the old one (Old Testament) and it's really interesting to hear some of the stories again, and in order.  I'm in Judges right now.  I just finished the story of Samson, which is a weird one.  Up there with Balaam or whatever his name is.  The guy that talks to his donkey.

     

Thanks for the pictures! oh and by the way the one I sent is my companion and I with Erick, he and most of his family got baptized like six months ago.

 

Anyway love you guys.  Bye!

Elder Jarvie

One Year Mark!

 Donavaghn with Bladimir

L to R - Elder Barrera, Daniel, Donavaghn and Bladimir

(Note: Even in Guatemala teenagers have a phone in their hand!)

 One of the buses we ride

Things here have been alright.  Our phone decided it wanted to break right before our leaders called, so people got kind of worried, especially with what happened last week.  So that kind of sucked having to borrow someone's phone every day.  But they said they are going to give us one today, so that will be good.

   

It looks like the garden is going great - lemon cucumbers and watermelons are two of the greatest things ever.  Though I don't miss the smoke too much.  Here the only smoke is from buses in the city. 

I never noticed that we pronounce "T's" like "D's" sometimes until I came here and people asked me why. ("City" for example.)

The house looks really nice too.  I wish we had a kitchen like that here. (I sent him a picture of 12 youth in our kitchen cooking during an activity.)  Our stove annoys me.

   

I wrote a letter today that I'm going to send, so you can expect it in a few months or so. (Sad but so true. I takes forever for mail to get back and forth.)

     

I took a few pictures too, so I'll send them to you right now.  I took a picture of one of the buses too. It's not the best example but it's one we ride sometimes.  The other pictures are of people.  In one the first is my companion, then Daniel, then me, then Bladimir.  The other picture is Bladimir and I.

   

I don't know if it's going to feel like the same place a year from now when I get home.  There is a ton that has changed over there, and that's just half, and just pictures. (He should be counting his blessings he missed out on most of the work!)

We only have two weeks left until changes.  I've been with Elder Barrera for 12 weeks so I'll probably be getting a new companion.  It's still a little ways away, but time goes fast.  It's crazy to think it's almost been a year.

    

Thanks for being amazing you guys.

I gotta go, bye!

-Elder Jarvie

Marvin's Baptism

 Marvin's Baptism

(How old would you guess Marvin is? He's 2nd to the left)

From left to right: Me, Carlos (our mission leader), Esbin (Marvin's brother), 

Angel (Marvin's friend), Marvin, President Garcia (YM Pres) Gustavo 

(friend of the other brother of Marvin's who is member), my companion, and Bladimir.

 

Sorry, this one is going to be a little short.  Things went well this week.  Marvin's baptism was great. He is 14 years old. Guatemalans are just smaller.  He is a little smaller too.

There are crazy things going on in Guatemala.  Apparently the president was doing something wrong. (In case you aren't familiar with what is going on, the Guatemalan President is accused of taking bribes from large corporations over export duties.)  A lot of people died near here this weekend. There were two shootings and an extortion. (Think he actually mean execution?) There were like eight or ten people in total I think.  That helps you to realize how small your problems are doesn't it?  Luckily, nobody has tried to shoot or stab or kill me.  There are a few areas where we have to leave before it gets dark.

    

If you want to try searching in Google Earth I'm in a place called San Martin.  The area is called Chinautla by zone 6.  Vista Hermosoa is near here.  The branch is called El Durazno and the stake is Molino.  Before that my area was zone 18 and was mostly- Valle de Jesus 1 and 2, Jardines, Canaan, and Prado (and the streets that go by them).  My first area was zone 5.

 

Like I said, sorry that this one is going to be short, but thanks for everything.  The pictures are great. Dad's car machine is crazy, you'll have to send me pictures of that later on.  But I have to go now.  I'm out of time.. sorry again.

 

Love you guys

-Elder Jarvie

 

 

 

"Boring Gringo"

Hey, what's up everybody?

   

Things here are going good.  It rained and cooled down a little.  My head was starting to hurt from walking in the sun all day.  Parts of our area are really cold at night.  Mostly the higher parts when the wind blows over.  I found out you can see my last area from here.  There was a mountain that looked a lot like my area.  One day we were helping a member of our ward move gravel and we were talking about the areas that you can see from there.  She mentioned a little town that you could see on the side of a mountain was Canaan, which is part of my last area.  So that is super cool.

    

Marvin is going to be baptized this Saturday, so that is super exiting.  It's strange the way you get to know people when you're a missionary.  He is a great kid and has a lot of friends in the branch.

     

I'm not too sick now.  I get head aches and am still a little sniffy, but a ton better than I was.  I've been reading a little more.  One P-day we were in the house of other missionaries and there was a beaten up copy of "A Marvelous Work and a Wonder" in English.  So boring gringo, they let me have it.  So I read that at night a lot.  It's actually really interesting.  Also I had a goal for reading the Book of Mormon and the New Testament and I finished them both this morning, so that's pretty neat. 

    

Thanks for the pictures.  The house looks amazing.  For Christmas you are going to have to talk to me on a laptop, so you can show me around.

     

I was reading an article in a Liahona about the dead sea scrolls.  I decided that that if they haven't translated and published them by the time I get back I'm going to start learning how to speak old Hebrew as my next foreign language.  It sounds super interesting all the stuff they talked about.

    

I hear Dad is planing on writing something.  It sounds cool.  So, Dad, you are going to have to tell me more about it.  When you say novel, is it going to be like a fiction story or what is the plan?  Also with all the car stuff going on over there you might as well open a shop.

    

Anyway, it's great to hear from you all, and I'll talk to you next week.

 

-Elder Jarvie

Taller, Whiter and Heavier

To the Jarvies, my dear beloved family

 

Over the last little while I have been slightly sick due to walking in the sun everyday.  I've recovered slowly, though I'm almost better now.  I think I might have even lost a little weight, but because I had previously gained like 15 pounds it doesn't bother me too much.  The weird thing is that after gaining weight I still looked the same.  One of the weird things about living in Guatemala is now being taller, whiter, and heavier than everyone else.  And also the one that talks funny.

Things here in the peach are going really well.  One of the investigators that we have, I believe I've talked about Marvin before, is going to be baptized the 22nd.  The good thing is that there is a good group of young men in the branch.  I actually like the branch here a lot.  I think this is my favorite area so far.  There are a lot of less actives, but there are a lot of really good members too.  One of these days  I need to take a picture of the buses, especially one from Nacauil.  It's like how people decorate hippie vans only school buses.

We weren't able to get a shower head this week because our house doesn't have the wiring.  They are with a heater built into the shower head like you mentioned because none of the houses here have water heaters.  So for the moment we are stuck with a pipe and cold water.

That's legit that you are going to Hawaii, and now that you mention it I think the only time I've seen dad in shorts is when we go swimming.  I miss swimming a little, mostly when it's really hot.  It gets hotter there than here.  The only thing is that hot or cold we have to be in the streets walking.

In response to one of your questions - yes, we still do play soccer almost every Monday, and every once in a while for a few minutes at church activities or people's houses.  The people here love that sport.  A few times here we've gone to a professional field, that was actually really cool.  There is a member in the stake that works there and he's let us (the missionaries in the zone or stake) play there free a few times.  Honestly, it's a ton of fun, but it tires you out because that thing is big.

That's cool that the pear farm started up.  The platform is the coolest because you just stand there and pick them as they come.  You feel like an illegal immigrant from the future.  I can make racist jokes about illegals now because I've been one when I signed my papers wrong.  Only partially illegal for like two days, but it counts.

Anyway, my time is over, so I've got to go.

 Best of luck everybody  

     -Elder Jarvie, and the Peach Branch

Companions

First of all, when I said like "ten recent converts," those are the people that live here who have been baptized in the last year.  Though we have an investigator who really wants to be baptized now, so that is super cool.  He is a really good friend with one of the young men here and the brother of another.

   

Thanks for all the pictures.  I love seeing home.  I should probably take more. Sorry about that.  We had changes today, but my companion and I are staying here.  So the changes aren't very big for us

  

This week I've been a little sick.  I caught a cold.  Usually when that happens I just have to blow my nose every once and a while, but this time I felt really crappy.  So that's not fun, but I think it's almost over.

    

I think one of the toughest things about the mission is the whole companion thing.  I can get along with most people, but there are only a few where 24/7 is the amount of time to spend with them.  I'm a pretty calm person, but sometimes you can't help thinking.... dude..  you're an idiot. 

 

People these days.  A few of my companions I'm sure would have been great friends if I only saw them for a few hours every once and a while.  Sometimes "always" is more than I can take.  I've found that a few of the things that annoy me are people who are proud, lazy immature and demanding.  Also, you can be a dork without being immature.  My favorite companion was the biggest dork ever.

   

Anyway, things are good here.  It's still really pretty up in the mountains.  We might even buy a water heater for the shower head.  That would be pretty sweet.  I'll try to take more pictures this week.  We'll see.

    

Hey, I had a question.  I heard something about the presidential election.  That coming up right ? I haven't heard anything other than that Donald Trump said something super racist.

    

Anyway I'm out of time now so I'll talk to you all next week.

 

-Elder Jarvie

Happy Birthday

 

The "E" is for "Elder" but at a quick first glance to us we think of "Emerson" 

 

I wrapped his birthday presents in Toy Story wrapping paper 

in honor of his "Woody" nickname he inherited at the MTC.

During a power outage

 A selfie with his companion to show the beautiful mountains in the background.

I think I might have to mail him a shower head....

Hey everybody whats up?

  

Things here are good.  I don't think there is anything too new.  Yesterday I opened the presents you sent me.  One good thing is that like two days before I had broken the mechanical pencil you gave me for Christmas, so that was super good that you sent me a new one.  The one thing I'm super confused about  is why you sent me swim trunks I'm never going to use.  (To defend myself, I thought they were regular shorts.  They seemed lightweight and perfect for hot Guatemala P-days.)

  

The day went good though.  Except for that my companion got a little sick.

   

Thanks for the pictures.  They are all super great.  It looks like Remington has been doing a lot, like we say in Guatemala- he has been "tirando flow."

   

We ate tamales, well technically I think they were "paches."  They are tamales, just that they are made with potatoes instead of corn.  So that was cool. 

One day I'm going to have to send you a picture of the buses here, because they are kind of cool, and sometimes a little crazy. 

    

One really cool thing this week is that we got ten of the eleven recent converts to come to church, and the other one usually comes, so that was cool.  Here in the branch there are a lot of less actives, so we've got some work there.

   

Oh and tell Sydney "hi" back for me, along with anyone else that wants to be told "hi." 

   

Anyway,  I'm out of time.  Talk to you all next week

-Elder Jarvie

Temple Trip and Crazy Buses

Hey everybody, sorry if this one turns out a little short.  We went to the temple today, so that's why they changed P-day and everything.  But it was really great, by getting changed I got to go to the temple two changes in a row.

   

It's weird how fast time is moving.  I've already been here five months in the peach.  The other weird thing is when people ask me how much time I have in the mission.  I feel like I got here in Guatemala a couple months ago but I've been here almost a year now.  Who knows what I'm going to do when I'm not living here and taking crazy buses wherever I go.  Speaking of crazy buses, did I tell you that a bus we were in tried to pass another bus and almost hit a car?  He swerved super hard to not hit it and then got pulled over be the police.  Yesterday one of the youth that comes with us to a lot of the lessons was in one of the ghetto red buses and somebody robbed them.  Every once in a while craziness goes down here in Guatemala.

   

But other than that, things are going well.  Nobody has tried to rob me yet.  Gringos must be scary or something.

   

Oh and Meganne is in Oregon now.  She is serving in the Salem Young Single Adult ward.  So that's cool.  One more to the list I have of friends in the mission.

   

Thanks for writing me.  I love all the emails I get and the pictures.  I'll try to take some pictures this week.  I know I haven't sent any in a while, sorry about that.  Next week for sure.... maybe.

  

Anyway,  I'm pretty much out of time now, so I'll talk to you all next week.  Love you all.

 

-Elder Jarvie

Got a Cold

Dear family,

   

What's good in the hood? Here things are going alright, the only down side of the week is that I got a cold.  The first few days it was just a little snot in my nose.  Whatever right, but then I don't sleep good and I'm tired everyday and sore.  So that's been kind of a downer, but hopefully it will end soon.

   

The dining room looks pretty sweet.  It's going to be like having a picnic every day, out there under the clouds.  And with the garden too, y'all are going to be eating like kings.

   

I think one of these days we are going to the temple so if I don't write one of these Mondays that's why.  In the mission we go every other change, but the zones don't go at the same time, so I think I'll be going twice in a row, so that's cool.

   

I got the box you sent me.  We were going to take one thing out each day to make the fun last longer, but when we saw that half of the things were wrapped, we just took it all out.  Now we are just waiting two weeks for the wrapped stuff.

   

Any day now Meganne should be leaving the MTC and heading for Oregon.  It's crazy how many people are on missions now.  And now Moroni and Gordon are leaving real soon... there are a ton.

  

OK, well I'm out of time so I'll talk to you next week.  Love you all.

 

-Elder Jarvie

Dirty Pants

I'm starting to get a little more used to my new area.  We got new cards for contacting people a few days ago.  Honestly, I like using them for talking to people in the streets more than the pamphlets.  And just in time too, because we are going to have to start contacting a lot more now, because we have very few investigators here.  It is really pretty up here though.

   

You asked about keeping our clothes clean.  There is a ton of dust up here.  The bottom of my pants  do get dirty pretty fast when it rains, but for me it's not really a big deal.

   

It's crazy how many people are leaving on missions that I know,  Kennon and Moroni.  I don't think I'm going to have friends when I get back.  Oh and Meganne is in the MTC now.  And Emerson might leave before I get back.  I'll have to go with Remington to do fun stuff.  But honestly, it's really cool how many people are going on a mission.

   

The 3D printer is one of the coolest things I've seen in a long time.  You will have to send me more pictures, especially if you print anything new.  It's super crazy to see pictures of the house too.  It's amazing how different it looks now.  I don't feel like I've been gone that long.    (Ten months!)

   

Emerson is turning into a handyman too.  That car looks super legit.  You guys are just making everything, aren't you. 

   

It sounds like things are going great.  I'm out of time now so I'll talk to you all next week.

good bye 

 

-Elder Jarvie

The Peach

This is my new companion, Elder Barrera.  Before, I had a record that all my companions were from different countries, but now I've had two from Guatemala.  And not just the same country, he and Elder Zarate are both from Momostenango.  They were in the same stake.


So I've almost been in my new area a week now.  It's called El Durazno. In English that's "the peach."

It's super weird changing areas after I've been in my last area like six months.  On top of that, it's a maze here, so I don't fully understand it.  But we are up in the mountains and it's really pretty.  There is a great view too.  You can see most of the city from a few different parts of my area.  There are a ton of mountains in Guatemala, a few volcanoes too.  There is one that you can see from here.  It's pretty big too.  It's nice and green here and everything.  Though the down side of being in the mountains is that all the walking we have to do is up and down hill.  And it's a big area too.

   

It's a branch here in the Durazno.  About 50-60 people come each week, so that's a lot different than my last area where our ward was in the stake center and we divided it with other missionaries.  The good thing is that it means I'll get to know the people better.  But it's still a lot different.

There is a lot of dust here too.  Half the roads are dirt, and it's a dirt that gets kicked up really easily.  I like the house here too.  The only bad thing is the shower, it is literally a pipe sticking out of the wall.  Other than that, it's a great house.  The chapel is really nice here too.  We can see it from the window where we study.

I'll see you next week.

love you all

  - Elder Jarvie

Toucan

Dear family.. what's good in the hood?

 

This week went super fast, partly because we had p-day Tuesday and partly because it was the last week.  So they told us about changes yesterday.  Elder Bonilla and I are both leaving the area.  I don't know if they are just closing it for a little while or if they're going to be putting someone else there or what.  But it's kind of sad.  I've been here for almost six months and you kind of get partially attached to the people.  But I guess God does what He does for a reason and it will all be well in the end.

 

Last week when we went to the temple I bought some videos.  If people have a TV, I love teaching with little short videos.  I need to get myself a copy of this video they made a while back, Because He Lives. 

 

Yesterday we went and visited people in Canaan with a guy who got back from his mission a few months ago.  We hadn't gone with him much because he goes to a different ward with his family.  It's good  to see that some people don't slack off after their mission.  He is a super cool guy.

   

Did you get the picture of the bird I sent you?  It's pretty cool right?  We were walking up the street and saw it through someone's open window.  And by pure luck I had my camera with me.  I think that thing has a beak bigger than its body.

   

Thanks for the pictures by the way.  It looks like you all had some fun.  (Doing landscaping in the front yard and youth conference)  I don't recognize two of those kids, who are they? (We had 8 young men that came for youth conference sleep at our house)  I love pictures of the house too.  It's super weird to see it finished.  I know I helped build it and everything but it looks a lot different.  It looks like a house of super rich people.  How many huge TVs and computers on the walls or is it the same one? (Living in a Third World country makes you look at things a little differently.  For the record, we have one TV and it is smaller than anyone else's I know.)

   

I wonder where they are going to send me?  Maybe I'll go outside of the city this time, who knows... That or they'll stick me back in the middle of the city. 

  

It's weird how many of the people I know are now on missions or going on missions.  I think when I left it was just Adam.  Now Rick, Gavin, and Jared.  And Moroni is leaving in a little while and Meganne is going out in a few days too.

 

But any way my writing time left me, so I'll talk to you all next week.

 

-Elder Jarvie

Temple Trip

 

 

Elder Bonilla & Donavaghn

 

Elder Bonilla, Elder Polanco & Donavaghn

  

 Elder Espinoza, Elder Polanco & Donavaghn

 

 Guatemala's Flag

Hey, how's everybody doing? Sorry if this letter is a little short, I had a lot of stuff to read and write. This week was pretty good.  Also we got to go to the temple.  We got to ride through Guatemala in a school bus on the way there.  Apart from that, I don't think too much happened.

   

Ohh.. we had ward conference.  There were two talks that I loved a ton.  One about giant of our lives and the other of a few different stories.  One was a kid who would read the Bible with his grandpa. He told his grandpa that he didn't remember anything.  So his grandpa told him to take the basket where they kept the coal and go get water from the river.  When he came back, the water had escaped out the bottom.  The grandpa told him to do it again.  After about the 3rd time the kid got frustrated and the grandpa told him to look in the basket.  There wasn't any water but the old dirty basket was clean. That's the short version at least but I think you get the picture.  

Next week is going to be changes.  We don't know anything for sure, but I've been here for almost six months so I'm probably going to a different area.   Maybe they will send me outside the city.  That would be cool.

   

That is super cool that Moroni is going to Madrid.  I'm pretty sure Madrid is the capital. Also where one of the most famous soccer teams come from. If it's like here, chances are he will be playing soccer every week. Also, from what I've heard, the Spanish from Spain is like reading the Bible with a lisp.  The Bible comment mostly because we don't use "vosotros"  (you)  in Central America.  Here they use "tu"  (your) but they don't let the missionaries because it's informal.  And I've heard that the missionaries in Spain can. You know how when people say his name wrong it's like "Morony," well that is how they say Moroni when they read the Book of Mormon in Spanish. It's going to be cool how many of the kids from our ward will speak Spanish.  Only for Jared and I he is going to talk a little funny.  But a lot of the music in Spanish comes from Spain.  I hadn't really thought about that.  We are just used to the Spanish speakers being from Mexico.

   

Anyway, that's all the time I have so I'll talk to you all next week.  And this time we only have to wait six days!

Love you guys!

-Elder Jarvie