COMING HOME MARCH 6TH

Well I am sure you got the news. I am coming home around March 6th or something like that. So I am sorry about the whole cruise thing! You guys can go with out me if you would like. I will just go  home and sit in the house not knowing what to do with myself. I will probably go contact the neighbors that aren´t members and stuff. Just kidding! WAIT FOR ME! Please. Haha well it is good news and I think it will be good for me. Like 1 more week in the mission than what it was before. Oh and I do have other big news! I´m staying where I am with my same companion. This is going to be the first time I have been with a companion for more than 3 months! Whoo!! It is going to be really fun. We have baptisms planned for December. A great zone conference activity we are going to be doing and we also are going to be spending our birthdays together. Elder Turcios turns 21 on the 19th and well I will be 21 on the 23rd! How exciting is that! I am overly excited! I was a little nervous because I thought I would train again and I kind of wanted to just train but I think that this is the best thing for me. I love being here in Paraiso and I am having a ton of fun with Elder Turcios and we are going to have a really good month together. We still have 1 change after this one on January 16th so who knows what is going to happen then but I believe I am going to end my mission here in Paraiso. Dying in paradise. It has a nice ring to it.

This week was a really good one. We had the ZL Council on Tuesday and it was really awesome. President Watts is having us make some goals for the mission and next council we are going to make a new plan for the mission. We hope to really work hard this December so that we can get the ball rolling for the next year. It really has been amazing the progress we have made here in the zone. This zone hasn´t had a very good reputation and it has turned around. I am super happy here and the weeks are flying by. We have 18 new elders coming to stay with us on Tuesday night and I am excited because it is cool to be with new elders. They always have a ton of questions and they are so excited for everything. It reminds me of the Tuesday night before entering the mission field. I was so nervous and the trainers were showing us all their photos and scary things that had happened to them in the mission. haha! I´m sure Alyce like that one. 

Well the amazing story of the week is the following. I don´t remember if I have written about Luis Colmenares. He is 39 years old and his uncle is the High Priests Leader in my ward. His uncle brought us to his house in August to teach them for the first time. They have always let us in and slowly they were progressing. Luis came to church 2 times back then  and his progress had been really slow. We invited him to be baptized and he said that he will for sure if I receives an answer. That was about 2 months ago. We still were visiting him ever Saturday but then we felt a prompting to talk about the importance of the Book of Mormon in his conversion. He had always said that he was reading and stuff but he never explained what he had read. On Friday we went to his house to see how it went with his reading this week. He told us that he has received his answer. He said he is ready to be baptized once he starts living the commandments more and on Sunday he showed up early to church and stayed the whole 3 hours which he didn´t do before. I am super excited!! I have been working with him for so long and I know the Lord has great plans for him!! 

I hope that you all can enjoy a bit of this Spirit from that story. I love you all so much! I love this work with all my heart and I am so blessed to be here! Have an amazing week!

Elder Colty Llewelyn

I feel weird....

feel weird because I have just seen the pictures of Elder Nelson and you guys and I think it has just hit me that all the rumors are true, I am still from Utah, and even though I act like a Guatemalan, I am still from Utah. Haha that was the craziest thing to see. Elder Nelson sent me a huge email telling me all about the good chats you had and I heard Hannah called me weird, I don´t know what he told you but don´t believe it. haha

Well another week has passed here in Guatemala and it has been a really really good one. On Tuesday we had the ZL council thing and I learned a ton. Those meetings are super different because you really do feel super involved in the work and President really has put a lot of trust in us and I am really liking it I just hope I can be the best example I can. Like Elder Nelson. I really like how President focused a ton on our worthiness as leaders and it turned out to be a super good meeting and it ended with an amazing lunch, the best I have eaten in 17 months. Sis. Watts is amazing in the kitchen. I ate gravy. I don´t think I have even seen that stuff in 18 months. It was pretty cool because I got to be with Elder Cheney and Elder Willardson from my group that entered in and we all talked about how much we have changed and how crazy and fast everything is. It is amazing how much we have changed. I remember being with them and it is crazy to see how much we have all changed. We are all more boring but in a weird way I can see that we are all a lot more happy. I love my mission. I love the success we are having and how close I feel to the Lord sometimes. I know he is here working with us and it is amazing how strong my testimony has become. 

Yesterday we saw the fruits of our labor. We have been trying really hard to have more progressing investigators and well we gave it our all and it all paid off in the end. We showed up to church yesterday with 3 families and 7 investigators total. All of them are progressing and we even found a new family this week that came to church with us on Sunday. I am so happpy with the way things are going. There are some days that are very hard but things like that just make me know that the Lord is helping and is willing to give these brothers and sisters a push so that they really can change their lives. 

I also received news that my converts are doing really great. Oscar received a calling as ward missionary and he is pretty excited! Not everything is perfect in Zion but there is progress! I love you so much family! Have an amazing week oh and invite Alex over to the house! He came home today!

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Wahoo! Alameda

Well I am sending a whole bunch of pictures just to give you a little taste of what is going on down here! I am in Zone Alameda which is in Zone 18 in the capital. I live in a mansion! haha just really that is what it is called. The Alameda Mansion. Haha but really it is amazing here. The ward is amazing and my companion is great. His name is Elder Taco from Peru. He has been in this area for 4 and a half months. I am zone leader here with him and we are working like crazy!

Monday and Tuesday were days full of saying goodbye to some of my favorite people in the world. I really do love Santa Luisa and I enjoyed my 3 changes there. The times with the gordito favorito, in Spanish that translates to be Favorite Little Fatty. Haha I think you know who that is. Here in Guatemala that is not offensive so everyone called Elder Kilts that. I also enjoyed my time with all the people there especially our converts. They really are amazing people and it was sad to say goodbye but I knew it wasn´t the last time I would be seeing them all. I got all packed up and left early Wednesday morning for the church where we have the change conferences. When we got there I was super nervous because I wasn´t sure what to expect and there were a whole bunch of elders going home that were my good friends. They told my I was ZL in Alameda and I was pretty surprised. I was a little nervous because I wasn´t sure what to expect but I was happy and then I realized Elder Kilts is in my Zone!!!! It was the greatest! My son. Father Son time! haha

These past few days have been really great and super busy. We are working really hard to find more people to teach and we found one and put a date with him for August 18th! He is a member´s brother and he has been going to church for a long time so we decided to start teaching him and he said he wants to get baptized. We also have a baptism this week which is pretty exited. He is an older man that has been investigating the church for a while. They moved here and the elders started to teach them. The wife was baptized about a year and a half ago and she is really happy that he is finally going to get baptized. So as you can see it has been really busy but amazing. The time is going by super fast and I feel like there is so much more to do. I feel the responsibility but it is great. I have to be a super good example and I am going to try my hardest! Yesterday we had a meeting with all the bishoprics, President, the assistants and us and I was a little nervous. I wasn´t sure what to expect but it really was a really good meeting. We talked about how the stake could help us a little more and the stake showed us how they can and everything went really smoothly.

I love you so much family! I am loving my new area and my new companion and everything. I needed this change and I am so happy for the way God has blessed me and blessed you as well. Tell Kato hi for me and give him a big hug. Make sure he doesn´t pee in my room. That would be gross... haha I love you! Have a good week!

SORRY!!!!

The summer has been crazy and I'm not going to add all the letters I've missed but I'll start up again!!!
Sorry, Momma Alee

Almost time for a Call

HELLO FAMILY!!!

You sound like you are all doing amazing and everything is going well. It kind of freaks me out that the school year is almost to a close because that just means the time is going by faster and that the next year is beginning and it is going to fly just like this year went. Well I guess that is how it is. I am super excited to hear from you all next Sunday!! I feel like I just talked to you and I am super excited. Okay well what I was thinking is that you can call me at 3 in the afternoon. I get out of church at 2 30 so I think that would be great!!

This week was a pretty good week. I feel like it has been a little bit harder opening an area but I really have seen the difference here that we have made. God really has blessed us here and it is amazing how he has put people in our path if we just do what he wants us to do. We have been contacting like crazy and it is paying off. We have some investigators that are really progressing. Elder Kilts and I found a family that I feel like has been prepared. The sisters called us from the other ward and told us that they had contacted a family and they told us to pass by. We found their house and that wife answered. She told us to pass by the next day and that is what we did. We got there and had an amazing lesson with them. About a week or 2 passed without seeing them and we finally got a hold of them and we taught the first lesson. It was amazing how the Spirit had already touched them. The husband told me that he was grateful that we had brought him the truth! Miracles happen! It has been kind of a stressful change but I feel like we made some really great changes here!! Elder Kilts and I are together for another 6 weeks and we are going to live it up.

I sent a photo of my good friend Elder Kilts and it has a great story behing it. Well on Friday night I decided to get a little adventurous and make us some tacos. Ok we all know that I have never been the best cook but I made them and they tasted great. I woke up the next morning with what we like to call BOO. It was horrible but it stopped there. I got out of the shower feel fine and then I felt like I needed to sit down. I felt horrible and I couldn´t do anything. I just decided to sleep but I woke up at about 3 and felt like I was going to throw up. Well that is exactly what I did and it was one of those time when you do it until nothing is left... haha it was the worst. I don´t think I have ever experienced something so bad in my mission. So my comp and I decided to just stay in that day. Well that was a very boring day and my comp had not experienced a day like that. So to entertain ourselves we began to take some pretty great photos! haha but don´t you worry. I am all better now, I know now that leave the cooking to someone who can and that if I am going to cook, pasta is just fine.

Well that is my week! It was another week in the mission field but it was a good one. I am excited to talk to you all in a week! Have an amazing week and talk to you soon!! Whoo!!!

14 Months!

I would like you all to know you can now count on your hands how many months I have in the mission! I am so scared now! But don´t worry, I got my new suit and I look smokin. Due to all this walking I will have you know that my butt actually shows in my pants now. and now in my slighly tight new suit that looks like I could be working for J Crew. Just saying.

Haha well this week was amazing. I will all have you know that my companion is the best. He is the funniest kid ever and we are just having the best of time here in the capital. I will start out with a funny story.

It was about 8 o clock at night and we had to be at a meeting with the bishop. Well an older man stops us and asks us if we could take him home. Well being me I felt bad so I started to help him home. I then realized he had a problem with his legs and then I realized ope he was a little under the weather. He began to tell us all these stories and asking us all these questions while I am just looking at all the people looking at us with a look saying what in the world are missionaries doing with him. He then asked me if I believed in Darwin´s theory of monkeys and then he started to act like a monkey in the street. haha I just turned the other way and started walking to the Bishop´s house again. It was pretty funny and I thought it was a good growing experience for Elder Kilts.

I do have another great story. I sent a couple of pictures of our house and I haven´t really said much about it but it is a health hazard. haha so we have been looking for a house and we finally found one! It was amazing because we had heard about a house that was for rent but we couldn´t find the right one. We started asking around in the neighborhood, which is a gated community, and we asked this lady and she said she was but it wasn´t the one we were looking for. She told us to come and look at the apartment she had and we saw it and we really liked it. Just about a minute before I prayed in my heart that we would find the house but God had a different plan and found this house for us. To top it all off the real owner of the house called me a couple days later and was talking in English. He is living in Canada and he is a bishop of the church of there! haha well God answers prayers because he knows we need out. This week Elder Kilts and I having been on a rat hunt. We have two giant rats living on our back porch and we have tried poisoning them and trapping them but they are too smart. They mock us by pooping in our trap.

Also this week we have been looking for investigators. We found a family that was in the area book and we have been trying to visit them for so long and we finally found them. We show up and the mother and daughter have been reading the Book of Mormon and the mother asked me to find a part in the Teachings of the Prophet George Albert Smith book for her to read. It was a real miracle. I feel like we contacted so many people and no one really wanted anything but God blessed us with helping us find other people. God has seen our effort and he blessed us! I love this area so much. The ward is great and they are so willing to help us out. I LOVE MY MISSION!! I am working so hard and everynight I come home and in less than 2 seconds I am out after I lay down but I wouldn´t have it any different. I love my mission!!

I love you so much and I know that the blessings are there. Maybe you can´t see them but I can. We are all progressing together and I can see your testimonies growing so much. There was an article in the January Liahona that I want you all to read but I can´t remember what it is called. It is about animals. Give Rain a big hug from me! I have a picture of her and sky that I look at and it makes me sad but I think that is how it goes. I love you all so much! Look for the blessings everyday because they are there.

Cuenta tus bendiciones! Hasta luego muchás!!!

Les amo y les deseo lo mejor esta semana!! Elder Colton Llewelyn

Lost my Funny???

FAMILY!!!!
How are you all doing?? I am pretty sure you are all doing great! It sounds like things went okay this week except for all the sicknesses. That kinda sucks but hey at least is is starting to warm up over there. Here I guess we are entering winter which means it is going to start raining every single day. Not again. I thought if I left from Coban it would not be like this but then I remember last year and it was the same here. But to tell you the truth, I feel like the people don´t really know what season we are in, they always tell me a different thing.
Well this week was a pretty amazing week. Once again it flew by and it feels like I was just writing you but I guess that is a good thing. We have been looking for a new apartment for the past 2 weeks well because it is a health hazard living where we are. But the story is pretty dang cool. So we have looked at 5 houses but the first 3 the leaders said no. I was a little frustrated so I hit one of them... and that is how Elder Underwood died. No I am kidding he is still here but my companion and I prayed to find out where we should go because we were getting a little frustrated and it was distracting the work and all. Well we found a house intentionally trying to find another house and we loved it. The owners live in Canada and the lady told us she was going to talk to him. I got a call from the owner and he told me he was a member and he really wants us to live there! It was honestly an answer to our prayers! Whoo! So now I am living in a two story house with a jacuzzi and an all you can eat chinese food restaurant downstairs! Ok lies but it is a nice house and we have our own pila!
Oh and the baptism went super well!! The only thing was I forgot to bring my other memory card so I cant show you it! But there is always next time. My compa baptized them both and he was pretty happy. It reminded me of my first baptism when I had to baptize him 4 times... haha oh I hope it is funny to you because it was to me. They were so happy to get baptized. The wife is about 65 years old but she keeps telling me that we are evangelicals but I have told her a million times that we are not. We are mormons. Haha but she is slowly understanding everything.
I am sorry if this letter was boring I feel like I am losing my funny. Tell me if I am still funny. Tell Connor to write me more so I can remember what it is like to be funny!! haha Oh and I hope you could find my house on Google! You are going to see my hood. Well I love you so much family!!! Keep it easy not sleezy!!
Elder Colton Llewelyn