"I have met some of the greatest people every here in Guatemala and I will NEVER FORGET THEM!"

"Grateful for companions who like to cook."

Hello,
I think you know how it starts, HAPPY BIRTHDAY!! I, we, hope you have a great birthday! Now you can open your birthday package Thursday and I want pictures. I don't know if you'll be able to use EVERYTHING, but hopefully someone can help you out. We just hope you have a great day. 21--holy cow!!! That's awesome. I'm old!! Dad's older, so it's okay!! ;) it's also Lila Dunford's birthday, I forgot about that.

You are old huh...i still don't believe i will be 21...so weird. all the people here think im like 35..its so funny! hahaha but its just cause i'm tall!!

Speaking of which, did you see Kimberly's parents when you went to the temple with your favorite couple? Remember, the Brubakers. If you get to go to the temple before you come home, please look for them. Kim said her dad is always there, and her mom is there a lot. That would be fun to say hello to them. They will be here this week. They are coming for their son, Kim's brothers, wedding this week. So, of course they are having a birthday party for Lila while they are here tomorrow.

I didn't see them when i went, but i did look. i will go tot he temple one more time the day before i go home....so i will look again.

So how has your week been? We did get your pictures last weeks they were great. Thanks.

I'm sorry Luis didn't come for conference. How is Edward progressing? Have you found Luis? How about the 17 year old kid? 

We are done with Luis, he is not progressing, and the 17 year old isn't ever home. and Edward is kind of just a creepy old man. But he came to church again, but i think he just wants money. hahaha but just wait, i have SO MANY STORIES THIS WEEK!

I LOVE, LOVE, LOVE your Pablo story. Is there any chance they'd let you go to his baptism? It would be so great if you could be there with him. Did you get your "something" from him? Is it worth asking if you can go??

I cant go. There is no way. I have to be in my own area. I would love to go, but no. I have a note for him that president gave me permission to send. I have a man in my branch here who is going to go, he met him on Sunday and said that Pablo told him the whole story and that he is SO READY!!

MORGAN-so are you sure this is kidney stones you're dealing with? Are you drinking tons of FILTERED water? I'm so glad you are feeling better, but I worry about all this stuff. It's my job, I'm the mom. I'm so sorry. Please drink, drink, drink!!

I am drinking more!! but it is gone, that's all i know. i am just grateful.

Well, fill us in on everything. How are the mountains of the Waters of Mormon? We love you. We are still praying every prayer for you. Stay healthy, drink lots, use sunscreen, use BUG SPRAY, (I'm so sorry about your attacked legs, was it mosquitoes?), and be safe.

Thanks!! I am loving every second!! It is now a mission rule to use repellent. so i will use it. promise.

Love you so much. Thanks for so much for writing you're article for the newsletter, it was awesome. I added a picture of you. Lots of people did pictures. Spencer Evans just had an appendectomy in Romania. Wow. It went well, there was one American dr. Elder Evans seems to be doing great.

wow, that's crazy. good he is doing well.

Take care, love you!!!
Mom

SO MUCH THIS WEEK. It was a miracle week.
First of all, i got to go on divisions TO CHIMALTENANGO. It was incredible. I got to see Flori, i was there for his baptism interview. And i got to see so many other people. it was hard to say goodbye for the 3rd time, but so fun!!

Real quick, if you don't already have one, i would love if i could have a dentist appoint asap! THANKS

Also, Aunt Elise sent me a check a while back, but i haven't been able to cash it because of where i am, but maybe its best if she just cancels it? i don't know. just a thought.

Another health miracle. The other day i woke up and my knee was soooo sore and stiff, i could hardly walk. I suffered the day, but praying all the way. It was really a bad pain, and the next day as well, but prayer is powerful, and i am just fine, and stronger than before. 

This past week was the birthday of a member. I had been talking to her a few days before and she told me in her whole life, 23 years, she has celebrated her birthday 1 time. SO OF COURSE I HAD TO DO SOMETHING. we went and got a cake and some ice cream and sang to her. it was small, but meant a lot. we left her with tears of gratitude in her eyes. She is so special, and she deserved something special!

The other day in the bus, i contacted this kid Lenny. I asked him how he was doing and all he said was...i'm not from here...and i said, i didn't ask you that. i asked how you are doing...and we got talking...he is from Honduras and he is here visiting...i came to find out that he has been to church before in Honduras but he stopped going all the sudden, anyways, we taught him on the bus, and it was really cool. who knows what will happen, but hopefully when he returns to Honduras he can find the missionaries there!

This past week we traveled to the capital 2 times..waking up at 2 am and we had so many great experiences. The first time, we got up and contacted the bus like we always do, standing up in front of everyone and sharing a message then talking with them individually. we finished and up stood a preacher...and for 30 minutes YELLED AT US MORMONS telling us to repent and that the word Mormon means devil, and that we were condemned, and a ton of stuff, but he was literally screaming in my face for 30 minutes...and the whole bus was in shock. it made me sad for those listening, but i know they felt the difference. when we contacted the spirit was present, and when he got up it was so ugly...the spirit was gone. and as much as i wanted to stand up and try to help the people understand, i couldn't say anything, because i couldn't cause more contention. so we just smiled and stayed quiet.---it was really sad. we felt awful after and talked to president and he said there was nothing more we could have done. but i pray one day this man can find the truth and find peace in his life, because it was obvious he didn't have it. 

The second time, yesterday, we went to go catch the bus that leaves at 4 because we had to be in the capital at 8 am....and it never passed. at like 420 a bus passed but didn't stop for us, and at like 445 as well, a bus passed but just passed, and didn't stop for us...finally at 530 we were on our way to the capital and got there an hour late...it was crazy, but funny. on our way home, a bee entered the bus and was hanging out by me and the man i was sitting by...the men behind me were trying to kill it which just made it mad and i was so scared, i was like pushing the guy next to me off the seat because i was so scared, hahaha the whole bus was laughing at me, but we all left laughing and friends! hahaha 

I had my final interview yesterday. can you say weird. president goes zone by zone doing the interviews and yesterday was my final interview. i learned so much, that in a few short weeks i will share with you, but there was some special things he shared with me. I was talking to him about Pablo and asked if i could sent the note and he said, yes. normally when someone send a note to a man, he reads it to make sure its all appropriate right, well i said, here it the note so you can have it,..and he looked at me and said...send the note. I TRUST YOU. when he said that i felt so much peace. I felt as if the savior was talking to me. it was really special. Accept the hug from my wife right now, as it if is from me. President Markham and Hermana Markham are so special to me and it is so hard to know that i have to leave them here.

I have got to tell you about Estuardo.. He is 19. last Tuesday at 830, we were walking around trying to find miracles and i was trying to teach my companions how to do a heel kick....like jumping up and clicking your heels in the air, when around the corner came a kid with his bag of tortillas, and he started to laugh at us, seeing what we were doing. So i decided to talk to him. He told us his name was Estuardo and that he would be happy to listen one day to our message. I told him to go put his Tortillas in the house and we would share a message right then. and he accepted. We had a great lesson about the restoration. He understood and accepted everything, even accepted to go to church. I really believed him. lots of times people say they will go to church, but they don't, but he said he would go and i believed him. We never found him that week again, cause he was working...well Sunday morning i called him up and he said he would be there at 2 for church...yes our meetings start at 2pm...but anyways, he asked if we would wait for him outside so he didn't have to go in alone. So we did, and at 155 there he was. He was SO NERVOUS. hahaha but he LOVED IT. That night we went to visit him with this great returned missionary. and we answered all his questions. Then yesterday some other members invited him to a family home evening in their home. so we called him up and he said he wasn't sure if he would be able to make it cause he was still working, but he would do his best. At 615 he called and said he'd be there. So he showed up and we had a great lesson. In the lesson he said, you know, i was looking for the church. I was looking for the way to become close to God, and to be more obedient. that's all i want is to serve him and do his will, and that's when the missionaries showed up. and when they invited me to listen, i said why not...haha. I am so excited for him. I am grateful for the members for taking him in. The youth are going to pass by his house tonight to take him to institute and then to play soccer after and he is SO SO excited. I gave him a book of Mormon on Sunday during testimony meeting because like EVERYONE was talking about it, so i handed it to him and said, this is the book they are all saying will change your life. and he was so happy. he asked a man during church what he had to do to be a member. We are so excited for Estuardo Castro. He is a huge miracle. Keep him in your prayers. His family is not interested at all, but he is strong, and doesn't let them change his desires. 

Its starting to get a little bit more rainy here. at night in comes the clouds and the fog and it has sprinkled on us a few times, but during the day it is hot, hot, hot. 

We had a combined activity with the zone leaders branches. Actually, it was just their branch, but they invited us and our investigators, they planed it all, we just showed up. it was called Viaje Celestial....or in English its like celestial trip....and we build an airplane and the people all got in the airplane and it crashed and everyone died....so we went through the 3 kingdoms and they learned about it. It was a fun activity, and we received a reference of this great 30 year old lady named Lisbeth. She is incredible. and we pray she can progress, and make it to church next week. She is really special.

I HAVE SO MUCH TO SHARE. So much learned, but its going to have to wait to few more weeks. 

This past week we went to a meeting and i had to say good bye to some of my good mission friends, because i don't think i will see them at transfer meeting. it was really hard for me, but i am grateful for them and for the things they have taught me. i have met some of the greatest people every here in Guatemala and i will NEVER FOR GET THEM! I am just so grateful, grateful, grateful.

LOVE YOU ALL!

Hermana Oliphant