Christmas Phone Call - December 25, 2012

Seth's First Baptism--Laura (supported by her aunt Paola and her cousins)

Church look a like in the zone leaders' area--Totonicapan

Our long awaited Christmas Day came to pass.  We finally got to speak with Seth. It was amazing to hear him talk, and hear about his life.  He even said that he had not ever gotten home sick.  Which I am so happy for.  He said that he has experienced challenges like he had never imagined.  Everyday is another hurdle as he learns, develops patience and trust.  His biggest challenge is the language, trying to understand the meaning of what is being said, and also trying to communicate to be understood.  Both of his companions have been Spanish speakers, which has been good and bad.  It has probably helped him to have to speak Spanish, and yet on the other hand, he can rely on them communicating for him if he has a struggle.  He said that the first day he was out in the field, he spoke a total of about 5 words.  He said it was so hard.  It was such a culture shock for him going from the MTC's into the field.  He said we should all appreciate 3 things in life. 1.  Space & Cleanliness, 2.  Being able to communicate to be understood, and understanding the meaning of the words being spoken ( he says that it makes perfect sense what he wants to say in English, but it doesn't make sense as he speaks Spanish, and being that most people in his area only speak Queche, and a little bit of spanish it makes it real hard).  He hopes to soon get a chance to work where everyone speaks spanish, so he can learn to speak spanish real well.  3.  We should appreciate  people that lookout for other's besides themselves.  He feels like people in his area just care about themselves, and they don't realize that they can do hard things.  They have no equality of a win, win situation.  There always has to be a loser.   They just care about winning themselves at the expense of others.                   

 So just being able to talk to Seth was quite eventful, and could be equated to a chaotic dream.  I still can't believe the details of the call.  It is truly unbelieveable, for this reason, I just have to put these details down on paper.  Seth called us about 11 am and asked for us to call back his cell phone.  So, we hung up and called and called his number that was given, with no answer, and finally some other elders answered, and let us know we had the wrong number.  Our caller ID was out on our home phone, so we were  calling the number he gave.  He finally called us back and gave us the correct number..  So now we are calling this new number, and still no answer, and just got a message from a spanish lady.  For some reason, Century Link would not let us call into Guatemala.  So, then we sent Bethany to 7-11 to purchase a phone card to see if this would work.  So, Seth calls us back and talks to us on his cell phone till his minutes start to run out, so he runs to the market to purchase more minutes without success.  So, he then calls us from his companions phone, we talk for a bit, then his phone starts to die, so he is running somewhere to borrow a phone charger,  then the phone card arrives, so we call back talking on the card till it runs out of minutes,and get disconnected to have to  purchase more minutes, then we talk some more till the minutes run out again, to finish up on the companions phone till it ran out of minutes.  IT was crazy!!! IT took us about 3 and a half hours to try to get 45 minutes of talking in.  I think we blew his whole Christmas relaxing day.  It was hard because Ben and Megan had to leave to get to her brother's call, Dan & Maegan had to leave to get to Maegan's family Christmas, and soon Dave and Beth had to leave to get to his Aunt's Christmas.  So everyone was leaving in the middle of our call, before we got to finish opening all our presents.  Wow! What a nightmare!

I guess the moral of this story, is that no matter what, we will have a phone card with a lot of minutes on it for mothers day.  We won't rely on our house phone to call out.  Just use a cheap card.  I am so afraid to find out what the costs will be for our many attempts to just get an answering machine, as well as calls to get operators help, as well as paying for his cell phone minutes.  Who knows, we might be paying for this call for the rest of his mission.  But is was so worth it.

December 17, 2012

Our Christmas gifts for everyone. Feliz Navidad

Helping to paint Hermano Walter's house with Elder Perez and Rafa

Things are kinda crazy, but it is not as crazy as home with Christmas preparations. People don't really get too stressed out about Christmas.
Things are going really well, my comp is really good, I am excited for the next few weeks. It has been kinda hard to really get a good relationship rolling with him-- he is 18 years old, but this week we have made a ton of progress in that area. We keep working hard, and this week we did exchanges with the Zone leaders. It was so awesome. Last week, I became district leader, and for that reason we did exchanges. Elder Chicas came to my area and I loved it so much! I don't have a lot of time to write, but Things are good and I am uploading a ton of photos. A lot are from two weeks ago, when we went to the Lake Atitlan lookout point.
Things are really moving along. We are working with a lot of families that we have found, but just can't seem to seal the deal! That is my goal for this week: get them to baptize! We are still working with Salvador's family, Lucía's family, and a couple other families: Diego and Manuela, and Meme and Ana. We have a few people that could be ready to get baptized, but we just need to  work it out! We are really lucky to be in the area that we are because there are a ton of killer returned missionaries that can help us to figure out how get our contacts to baptize . I really love this work, and love the Lord.
Love,
Elder Hilton

December 3, 2012

Hey Family and Friends!
This week has been much better than the last. I just needed to look for the good in everything! My comp is kinda difficult at times. I think that sometimes he acts like a little prideful, but he is really a great guy. This mission is a great test to help me to live with all kinds of different people! My health is just fine, no worries, still gaining weight. When I had the run in with the near passing out experience, it did drain a little bit of my energy, but I just laid down right there and jumped right back up and kept working. But, NOT giving shots or anything. Things are really great. This week we went with Cornelio, the 1st president in the bishopric to harvest his corn. It was really fun, but my neck got FRIED!!! (or course, I was reppin Utah State!) It was really fun and we hauled everything out like Guatemalans with the headstraps!
This week came a miracle! We had a multi-zone conference on Thursday and it was really great and talked a lot about our testimonies of the Book of Mormon and families. We are starting to really study the Book of Mormon to help us gain a strong testimony of it. We started to work more with families and we have already seen results. It has really been something miraculous.
There is a family in our ward that has been working with another non-member family. I think I told you about this family a little last week. We have come into contact 3 times with this family and they basically have to get baptized. They are ready. I just hope that they can see that they are ready. The mom is Lucia and she has told us before that it is a sin to dance. However, we went to their house on Friday night, just to do service and they let us in! It was really fun I loved it. We talked a little bit and husked some corn. Afterwards, they gave us dinner and we talked some more. They are planning to kill a pig sometime soon, and right now is the corn harvest. We talked about times when we could come and help kill the pig or harvest the corn and it was a good night. One of their sons (whose wife is overdue for a baby), asked us what we could offer spiritually. We talked about eternal families and eternal happiness. They came to the Christmas Devotional, all 12 of them, and it was such a miracle. I am so glad that my papa taught me to give service all the time. The Book of Mormon also teaches us this with Ammon and his brothers. I have been waiting for a service experience like this, it seriously was a miracle! God is a god of miracles and will never stop being one. We just need to align our actions and faith with His and He will work miracles! We are going to keep working with this family and I really think that it will be a wonderful experience. We are basically part of their family already. I don't have much more time, but I love you all and thank you for everything that you have ever done for me. Maybe I haven't been as grateful as I should have, but I really hope to come back a better young man than I left! Love you mom and dad and family and friends!
Love,
Elder Seth Michael Hilton!

Update of the Vida Guatemalteca!‏

La Jornada Medica

With Elder Gates

A plan of salvation puzzle

Preparing the Thanksgiving dinner with Elder Perez.

With Elder Vaughn

Fill up on the mashed potatoes!

President Cuc's wife and family and Cornelio's wife and family.

Dinner

Elder Vaughn, Parra, and Perez

Parade passing in front of our house.

Mini chairs in the Guarchaj home with Elder Perez

The internet cafe in Nahuala

We went to Xela, so we had to take advantage of the opportunity.

The view from the road to Nahuala.

Well, I had better get a little update off real quick. This week was kind of a tough week. On Monday, they called a few of us from the zone and told us that they wanted us to come translate in a "medical journey?" Not sure if that's what it really translates to, but we'll run with it! Basically tons of dentists and doctors came down to help do all the medical work for future missionaries. So, I went on Tuesday to help. At first, I started out in registration and that was way fun, I liked it more than any other station. Then, I went to help with teeth xrays and that was pretty fun. I met a girl named Brette(?) from Draper who goes to Alta High and she knew some kids that I know and that was pretty fun. Then, they took me to Dental assisting. Here they filled cleaned, filled cavities, root canals, and everything else but wisdom teeth. So, I successfully made it through one patient, then I wanted to push myself a little bit. Bad idea. I watched as the doctor gave the second patient the shot. This just resulted in a little light-headedness. I ended up just laying down and eating some chocolate. Before this they wanted me to go help with surgeries, where they were taking out the wisdom teeth. I told them, "nuh uh! There is no way I am going in there!" I finished up helping out with xrays. It was really fun and I loved it a lot!
We are starting to work with a little evangelical family. It is really funny. A family in our ward started working with them and thats the good part. The family in our ward said that they jsut know too much apostasy. the funny thing is that we have talked with the mother of the family many times. She told us that she is a cousin of the bishop and that dancing is a sin. The good thing is that she respects the family of the ward. She listens to them very well, when they go and teach. Well, I had better go. I really love this work and know that if we are obedient we are blessed. I love you all and thank you for your support!
Love,
Elder Hilton

Fun phone call from gal who just returned from Guatemala 11-25-2012

We just got off the phone with a gal, Melanie McVee from Pleasant Grove who just returned from Guatemala.  She spent 10 days there on a Humanitarian Service Mission ( her husband is an oral surgeon).  They saw 840 youth from morning to night, giving hair cuts, dental work, medical exams, wisdom teeth, in helping them to be ready to send their paper work in for mission calls.  There were 110 people who went on this service misison (5 doctors, 22 dentists, 6 oral surgeons, assistants, and others) that went.  While they were there, different sets of missionary's got to come and help, and guess who was one of the missionaries that got to translate for her, of course our  Seth.  She said he was so darling, fun and happy.  She said that he was speaking really good spanish  with all the youth, and translated nicely for her.  She said she loved his laugh, and he laughed a lot and had fun with the youth.  She also said that he was wearing a Guatemalan tie, and she asked him where she could find a tie like it to send to her son on his mission in California who was in a spanish speaking mission.  He told her he would just give her his tie, so at the end of the day, he took his tie off and gave to her as a souvenir.  She was so grateful, and told him she would call and tell us all about their visit.  She also mentioned that some of the missionaries who were getting close to returning home were talking of how they couldn't wait to see carpet, because in Guatemala they usually have all tile, wood or mud floors.

We had a great time visitng with Melanie, and so happy to hear that Seth is doing well.

Marilyn

A bunch of youth with Elder Gates and Banks

Family from Nahuala

Helping out at the check-in desk

Here are some photos that she sent us:

November 19, 2012 Letter

Getting ready for a cold night.

Dear Family and Friends,

Things here are rolling right along. I really love the work.

It sounds like things are just moving right along there at home! Those blessings sound very special. That would be a great experience and this Ken guy sounds like he could be good! I really hope that everything works out for them. I have heard that they are just going to switch the Youth curriculum over to Preach My Gospel! Is this true!? I think that the youth  will be much better prepared to serve missions. That is very exciting news! Man, I would love to have some of that juice! Those youth activities sound really fun!

WOW... Minda is already married, too... I cannot believe that! I really hope that they are happy! I am still just blown away that she is married already, too. That is insane!

That oil leak business is probably my fault! Sorry! The lucky thing is that you didn't have to pay the 200 big ones to fix it! Haha It's good see that Dad never looses the sight of the value in 369,000 miles! 

Well, this week we have Thanksgiving. I will not be with you, but I will be celebrating with you! We are planning a Thanksgiving dinner with the Bishopric to talk a little about the mission work! I am really excited for this because we are going to make MASHED POTATOES! This is the food that I probably miss the very most. More than any other food! I am really excited for this and, no worries, we'll be celebrating with you. Wow, I kinda miss all the festivities this time of year. There is nothing like Black Friday here, or Thanksgiving, but something different that they do is just light off fireworks like crazy! I have heard that Christmas Eve they light off a ton! We'll see how wild it really is!

We are still working with a bunch of families. One family, Octaviano and Aurelia, have a little boy that is 4 months old. Octaviano is evangelical and Aurelia is Catholic. They are super funny and always have a ton of questions to ask us. I think that they will get baptized. The only thing that kills them is coming to church. Sunday is the HUGE market day. And for evangelicals, they just buy and buy and buy (like it is Black Friday!) This is what kills them, but I really hope that they can come to church this Sunday, but we'll see!

Another person that we are working with is named Juan. He is probably 65 or 70 and is very interested in baptism (thinking of what happens after death, we can see why he is so interested, right!?) He is a funny old man that uses the rodillera of Nahuala (its basically a man skirt.) We invited him to come to church with us, but found him drunk on Sunday after church. This is another tool of Satan. Beware of the power he has! We know that he was a powerful child of God, but chose to disobey him. SO, he didn't receive a body, but can have a great control over the bodies of men through alcohol or money. He is a sly dog. Anyways this Juan really has intentions to do what is right and stop drinking. I am excited to see the changes the Gospel of Jesus Christ works in his body and his life.

I know that this is the only true Church in the world and that we are the only people on the face of the planet that have the power of God on our side. Never forget the power of prayer--our direct communication with God. I love this Gospel and I love that I will be together with my Family forever! I love you all and thank you all for you prayers and support!

Love,

Elder Hilton

November 12, 2012 Nahuala - after the Earthquake

With Elder Perez

The President of Guatemala came to Nahuala in his private helicopter

Playing soccer on Pday

Dearest Family and Friends,

We are safe down here. We are very lucky to have not been damaged by the earthquakes that have happened in the past week. But, it was the most insane experience of my life! I couldn't believe what was happening! I have heard that many have died, but that area is not even in my mission, so I don't know much about that. It really makes for a good mission experience! We were just walking down a road and I could have sworn that I heard the earth growling as we watched a hill in front of us start moving. At first, I thought I was crazy! I really could not believe it! Then, I looked down at the ground and saw it moving too! We just stopped right in our tracks. It was very insane. There was an adobe wall that I could see. It was just flopping like a piece of paper. I really could not believe what was happening.

Okay, sounds like things are just as crazy up there! ON Tuesday, I got a package from the family and it made me so happy! I found some nice warm leggings, Stephens Mint Truffle Hot Cocoa mix, and (drum roll) 2 Utah State Aggies Shirts! I really loved it and it made me so happy to receive this little boost!

We are working hard down here. We go to sleep dead tired everyday. Things are starting to get a lot colder, maybe like 30s in the morning? There is no such thing as heating here, so we just pile on the sweaters and blankets when we sleep. However, during the day, it gets as hot as blazes. It is really hot. We are seriously putting 100% of every moment, of all energy into finding the people that need the Gospel of Jesus Christ. I really love it. We are still teaching Salvador, however, they just don't want to get baptized until he has a year of not drinking under his belt. I really love their family. They come to church every Sunday, and are basically a part of the ward. They are really awesome. They just need the baptism, but it will come with time, no worries ;) It is really awesome to see the changes in the ways that the Lord puts people in our paths. Now we are really trying hard to do everything in the right way and it pays off. He has really put people in our paths, I love Him.

It is really a lesson to be learned. He always blesses us when we do things in His way. I am also learning that nobody likes to be corrected, including me, so we can improve things with being positive. I really am loving this mission experience and it is flying by! I know that Jesus Christ is our brother and that He and our Heavenly Father are always willing to help us as long as we obey the commandments of them. I love this work and hope that I can inspire you to get involved and introduce people to the only true church and gospel of Jesus Christ. We know that it blesses our lives, why wouldn't we want this for others that we love? I love this gospel and love you all for all the help and support that you give me! Thank you for all of your support and love! Love you family and friends!

Love,

Elder Seth Hilton

7.4 Earthquake, November 7, 2012

(CNN) -- A powerful earthquake off the Pacific coast of Guatemala on Wednesday sent debris crashing down onto cars, collapsed roads and killed dozens in the Central American nation, officials said.

At least 48 people died in the temblor, President Otto Perez Molina said in a Twitter post Wednesday night, and doctors treated at least 150 others for injuries.

Earlier Wednesday, Guatemala's disaster relief agency said 29 people were missing and hundreds had lost their homes.

Residents felt the 7.4-magnitude quake throughout Central America and as far north as Mexico City. Its epicenter was about 15 miles off the western coastal town of Champerico, at a depth of 26 miles.

Guatemala rocked by powerful quake

A 7.4-magnitude earthquake hit Wednesday off the coast of Guatemala, near its border with Mexico.

It was the strongest quake to hit Guatemala since 1976, the president told reporters, when a 7.5-magnitude quake killed 23,000 people.

"Fortunately, the damage that we have is not at the same level," Perez Molina said Wednesday.

iReport: Video from the quake

Roads collapsed in multiple locations around the Pacific coastal region of Guatemala, Perez Molina said.

Photos on the Facebook page of the nation's disaster relief agency showed rubble crushing cars and damage to the ceiling at a school in the department of San Marcos.

There were reports of homes and schools destroyed in western Guatemala, Perez Molina told CNN en Español. Many people fled buildings when the tremor first hit.

Some 60,000 people remained without power in the country because of the quake, the state-run AGN news agency reported.

It was fortunate that the school year in Guatemala had recently come to end, so that no children were inside the school buildings that were damaged, Perez Molina said.

In Guatemala City, 140 miles away from the quake's epicenter, the quake made the desk and printer sway side to side in Fernando McDonald's home office.

McDonald, who shared a video of the quake with CNN's iReport, described the quake as "strong and long."

Fearing powerful aftershocks, the government issued a "red alert" that warns people to take precautions, such as evacuating tall buildings. The alert stretches along the country's entire Pacific coast.

Guatemala Earthquake 2012: Temblor Death Toll Rises To 52 (VIDEO)

By SONIA PEREZ D. and MICHAEL WEISSENSTEIN 11/08/12 07:25 PM ET EST

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Yellow taped is draped in front of a home damaged in a magnitude 7.4 earthquake that struck in San Marcos, Guatemala, on Nov. 7, 2012. (AP Photo/Moises Castillo)

SAN CRISTOBAL CUCHO, Guatemala — The 10 members of the Vasquez family were found together under the rubble of the rock quarry that had been their livelihood, some in a desperate final embrace, others clinging to the faintest of dying pulses.
As Guatemala tried to recover Thursday from a 7.4-magnitude quake, the country mourned a disaster that killed at least 52 people; left thousands of others without homes, electricity or water; and emotionally devastated one small town by wiping out almost an entire family seeing the first signs of success in a tireless effort to claw itself out of poverty.
Neighbors filed past 10 wooden caskets lined up in two rows in the Vasquez living room, remembering a family reduced to a single survivor, the eldest son about to graduate with an accounting degree.
Justo Vasquez, a man known for his ferocious work ethic and dedication to his seven children, was with nearly all his closest relations Wednesday at a local quarry hacking out a white rock that is pulverized to make cinder blocks for construction.
When the quake struck, thousands of pounds of earth calved off from the wall above the pit, burying the 44-year-old and almost everyone he loved: his wife, Ofelia Gomez, 43; their daughters Daisy, 14, Gisely, 8, and Merly, 6; and their sons Aldiner, 12, Delbis, 5, and Dibel, 3. Their nephews Ulises and Aldo Vasquez, both 12, also died.
Only the oldest son, Ivan, 19, survived. He had stayed in the house when the rest of his family went to the quarry, taking care of some last-minute details to receive his accounting degree – the first in his family to have a professional career. His father had been saving for a party to celebrate his Nov. 23 graduation.
"He died working," said Antonia Lopez, a sister-in-law of the father, Justo Vasquez. "He was fighting for his kids."
Dozens of villagers in the humble town of San Cristobal Cucho ran to dig the family after Guatemala's biggest quake in 36 years. When they uncovered some of the children, one body still warm, two with pulses, they were in the arms of their father, who had tried to shield them.
"We have never seen a tragedy like this. The whole town is sad," said brother Romulo Vasquez, whose 12-year old son, Ulises, also died at the quarry.

The death toll was expected to rise as 22 people remained missing, President Otto Perez Molina said at a news conference. Forty people were killed in San Marcos state, where San Cristobal Cucho is, 11 died in the neighboring state of Quetzaltenango and one was killed in Solola state, also in the western part of the country.
Perez said powerful 7.4-magnitude quake, felt as far as Mexico City 600 miles away, affected as many as 1.2 million Guatemalans. A little more than 700 people were in shelters, with most opting to stay with family or friends, he added.
There were 70 aftershocks in the first 24 hours after the quake, some as strong as magnitude 5.1, Perez said. Damaged homes are among the biggest problems the country will face in the coming days.
Life was returning to normal in the quake-stricken area Thursday afternoon – electricity and mobile phone service had returned to many neighborhoods, cafes and banks reopened and several main thoroughfares filled with their weekly street markets.
But life remained stopped in the Vasquezes' home in San Cristobal Cucho, a town of some 15,000 people so high in the mountains that clouds swirl through the streets.
The streets were packed around the Vasquezes' small yellow-and-red, cinderblock-and-adobe house. Inside, neighbors gathered around the 10 wooden caskets with open lids, pressing against each other to see the faces of the dead and pay their last respects. Wood smoke bathed the memorial as more than a dozen women in the back of the house cooked rice, beans, corn and eggs to feed the crowd.
The Vasquezes were the only ones to die in San Cristobal Cucho. Like the rest of several thousand people in town, the Vasquez family was humble, the parents without much education. Most of the people in the town are subsistence farmers or sell things on the streets and in the markets.
The oldest son, Ivan, was too distraught to speak or even stay at the house among the mourners.
"He was a very good father, he was a very good neighbor," said Antonia Lopez, who was among the many paying respects.
Guatemalans fearing aftershocks huddled in the streets of the nearby city San Marcos, the most affected area. Others crowded inside its hospital, the only building in town left with electricity.
More than 90 rescue workers continued to dig with backhoes at a half-ton mound of sand at a second quarry that buried seven people.
"We started rescue work very early," said Julio Cesar Fuentes of the municipal fire department. "The objective is our hope to find people who were buried."
But they uncovered only more dead. One man was called to the quarry to identify his dead father. When he climbed into the sand pit and recognized the clothing, the son collapsed onto the shoulders of firefighters, crying: "Papa, Papa, Papa."
He and his father were not identified to the news media because other relatives had not been notified of the death.
Volunteers carrying boxes of medical supplies began arriving in the area in western Guatemala late Wednesday.
The quake, which was 20 miles deep, was centered 15 miles off the coastal town of Champerico and 100 miles southwest of Guatemala City. It was the strongest earthquake to hit Guatemala since a 1976 temblor that killed 23,000.
Perez said more than 2,000 soldiers were deployed to help with the disaster. A plane had made at least two trips to carry relief teams to the area. The U.S. State Department said it was sending some $50,000 in immediate disaster relief, including clean water, fuel and blankets. It also said it had offered U.S. helicopters if needed.

November 5, 2012 Nahuala

Super camera shy kids.

Making pancakes with the Yaxon family for the first time in their lives. Hermana Marta and family

These are Peppers which Seth says he thought they looked like worms.

Hello family and friends!!!

Yep, we have had some experiences with the contacting, that's for sure. We just finished a week of 40 contacts and we did it! It was really cool. There is a big part of our area that I still don't know!

To answer the Quiche question: everyone here speaks Quiche, it is the maternal language. Usually they can speak spanish, too. However, there are the exception-- probably once or twice a day we find somebody old lady or man that only knows quiche. With luck, there are others in the house that can speak spanish. If there aren't others in the house, we try with the little quiche we know. It's usually pretty tough to get a message across to them, but we try! Haha its pretty funny most of the time.

About the vine: We climbed a mountain to get to it, we weren't very high, it really looks a lot higher that it is! Maybe at the most like 15 feet above the ground.

James: who knows if he stopped growing!? However, it does seem that in high school we were about the same height! Maybe I have grown!? I will check this week and get back to ya!

Nobody celebrates Halloween here. Instead they have Day of the Saints and Day of the Dead which are the 1 and 2 of November. They fly kites in the cemetery. I should have taken a picture of it! There were at least 100 kites in the sky from the cemetery. It is really cool, but they don't do anything like Halloween here. Embree sounds like such a character. I miss those kids a lot, and it sounds like soon it'll be more that I'll be missing!

That storm in the East Coast sounds really scary! There is a prophesy in D&C 84:114 or somewhere around there that talks about three cities in the East coast. These cities are supposed to be destroyed like the three Nephite cities were destroyed before the first coming of Christ. I am not completely sure where in 3 Nephi it talks about these cities, but maybe it's in chapter 8 or somewhere around there! Kinda crazy to see the prophesies coming to pass.

EVERYONE IS GETTING MARRIED??? Are Shaeli and Rocky gonna get married in the temple? What are their thoughts? Lauralee getting married and Landon getting hitched. That's so crazy! I cannot believe all this madness.

Things for Christmas... I don't know. I don't really want a lot. There is a lot of cool stuff down here that I wish I could buy, is it alright if I take out a little money for this stuff? One thing would be a little man skirt. Here in Nahualá is the only place in the world that uses this thing. It's like $25 or something. Also, I would like to send a package home and found out today that it could cost like $90 or around there to send it. I really wanna send some stuff home for the family. I am not sure if that would be possible? Please let me know!

Our living quarters are in an apartment right on the main street of Nahualá. Sunday mornings are kinda tough because everybody comes to set up for the market at about 4 or 5 in the morning. Some members live behind us, too and they have turkeys and roosters and dogs that make all kinds of noises at all hours. I have not sent a picture of the outside, but I will work on that.

Well, time is almost up! Things are going very smooth here in Guatemala! We went to a less active family's house and made pancakes for them. These are the pictures, and the family had never eaten pancakes in their life. It was kinda crazy for me, but I guess it says something. The other photos are of some chilis that we ate for lunch one day. I thought they looked like worms, but I'll let you decide. 

This is the only true church of Jesus Christ. Satan has twisted the minds of so many people to think that any church is fine. However, with the knowledge that we have and the authority that we have, we know that this is the only true church of Jesus Christ. This is the only path that leads to eternal families. This is the only path that leads directly to Jesus himself. I love this gospel and love you all. Thank you for all the support and everything! Love you!

Love,

Elder Hilton

PS-- GO ROMNEY!!!