Zone Leader

I guess I have comfy shoulders! haha!

Crazy things happened this week!!!!!

President called me on Thursday last week and said ¨Elder Kendall, I’m sending you on a secret mission.¨ I was confused, he told me I was going to work with two elders and get to know a certain area. I got my stuff ready, then I got another call and was told I’m not going to go until next Monday. I was all confused so I talked with president and he told me to wait until Saturday because he was going to take us on a trip to Santiago Atitlan!

Saturday comes around and we go to president’s house in the morning. As we are driving up to Santiago, President asked me, ¨Elder Kendall, are you ready to be a zone leader? ¨ I said that I might be and he said ¨Good, because you and another NEW zone leader are going to open a ZONE, not an area, but a ZONE.¨ So this next change, we are going to open up the new ZONE ALAMEDAS!!! yeeehhaaawww I’m so stoked! My new comp is the sickest kid ever so I’m pumped! That was a good start to that day. We spent the morning in Santiago enjoying the views and the market...(sorry if my bank accounts is kind of low, that place is sick haha!)

We then ate lunch with president and headed down!  Here is a good pic of my Mission President.

Sunday they announced THE NEW CHURCH IS READY!! My last Sunday in Boca Del Monte will be in a super awesome church! I’ll take a lot of pictures. Plus I’m pretty sure we are going to baptize a couple of people that day. Things are all lining up nicely!

Conference is coming up. Conference in the mission is so much cooler! I’m so focused! So I hope everyone can learn a lot and enjoy the weekend!

I LOVE YOU GUYS!! THANKS FOR ALL THE SUPPORT!

Elder Kendall

Guatemala Winter

This week has been pretty good! The Guatemala winter just barely started and I’m not going to lie, IT’S COLD!! It rains EVERY SINGLE DAY! When it rains, it rains buckets! We tried to use umbrellas but there was no hope! You just get wet anyway. We but all of our stuff in bags and get wet haha! It’s cool and at the same time it sucks.

We have a couple investigators that are positive right now. I do have a favorite ;) hahaha her name is Hermana ROSA! She is a friend of one of my converts. When they get together, they are basically my grandmas. (I still love you Nana Bushman and Grandma Kendall) Together they are seriously so funny! Just like two 70-year-old women pumped to be alive! We are trying to get her baptized this weekend that should be fun.

I learned one thing this week from a talk I was reading called ¨Purifying Ourselves¨.  I learned we usually prevent ourselves from having the spirit with us at all times. I decided to make a list of things that could prevent me from having the spirit, and I’m going to try and take them out of my life. I’ve already felt a change, but making the list was HARD!

WELL I LOVE YOU GUYS SO MUCH!!! One more month and then I’m 20, I don’t like that.
ADIOS PUES!!

On a good note, we went and dropped off stuff to some missionaries,

we got lost, and ended up on the beach! It was hot!

Crossing bridges with the 2nd counselor.

Pizza Run!

Pretty Dang Good

This week has been pretty dang good! We were able to find 2 big families and they are awesome! The family of Hermana Julia and the family of Hermana Jenny! Here in Guatemala it’s not abnormal for the husband to leave the family (selfish pigs).  That’s what happened with these two families! Two huge families who are struggling, but they are so humble and so willing! It’s awesome! I hope they can go to church this week so they can make some friends!

We also had a baptism this week! Two kids, we reactivated their families and now these two kids are going to be missionaries one day!!!!!! It was awesome! We had the service on Saturday and it was super awesome! Some members made the trip out to our church (it's 35 minutes away) to support the kids and the bishop showed up right in time! Super fun!

Tomorrow is Independence Day here in Guatemala, I remember being in the CCM last year for this day! It was crazy, people running around in the streets with torches and a ton of fireworks! I’m pretty stoked because it looks like a ton of fun! WHHOOAA LIBERTAD!

In regards to my shoes, right now I’m using some boots I found here in the office. They are also eccos and they saved my feet a couple of days ago. I stepped on a nail and it went straight up through and barely missed my foot!

The president knows I'm ready for a change.  I think the AP´s are going to help me get out of here. I might go open an area, which has always been my biggest dream! So hopefully it happens!

Well I love you guys and thanks for everything!

Branson

My Shoes

The church meetinghouse in an area called Los Dolores aka the pains haha

We had to go back to my birthplace Jocotillo to drop off a fridge 

and we did a little bit of mudding to get there!

I’m going to give you a little update! This week has been pretty normal! I’ve been super bored in the office. I’m training and my comp already knows everything.  He is doing all of our work, which just takes time.  So I basically read scriptures everyday! It's kind of cool but I rather be outside having fun with the people, but its fine!

We  have been preparing a little guy to get baptized tomorrow.  I’m actually pretty stoked! He is super cool; going to be a missionary one-day I know it!

For p day this week we went to Antigua again to go check some stuff out! Went, ate food and bought some little small things! We also rested a little - that was good!

I can’t really think of anything else! I’m losing my mind here in the office, maybe one day I'll leave this place! 

I love you!

Branson

My shoes after 6 months!

Noobie Day

Taken at the President's house on noobie day... it’s not the first day if it's not raining buckets ;)

OK it’s been changes and now I’m training in the office so I’m stoked I might be able to finally leave this place but it’s been BUSSYYY.

All the packages to be delivered during changes.

Thursday of last week, we had our de distrito pday and we went bowling which was super fun.

Unfortunately, on our way there we got in a car wreck (no I was not driving) it wasn’t too bad and it wasn’t our fault but our RAV4 got wrecked. It's in the shop so we only have the truck now.  That same night we went to the office and on our way back somebody ran into us again and just drove off....so now the truck has a dent in it but that’s fine it's a truck.

Friday, we had our live broadcast with President Nelson, IT WAS SICK! He taught us how to be better missionaries. It's cool to see how an apostle talks in conference and how he talks outside of conference.  He was so powerful.  Unfortunately, the transmission cut out about half way through so that sucked.... still learned a lot.

SUNDAY WE BAPTIZED!!!!!!! Hermana Daniela and Hermano Manuel! These two little kids are the funniest kids ever. We were going to baptize their parents but the dad couldn’t get the divorce completed.  We hope he finishes the divorce soon and can get baptized! THEY THE BEST!

Monday, we took a little bit of our p-day and went and played at our zone versus zone soccer game. Villa Hermosa contra El Frutal! So fun!

Tuesday was NOOBIE DAY!!!!! It was crazy to see all the white kids coming into the mission. It reminded me so much of my first day! Every first day, the secretaries and the assistant’s take out the new missionaries and just destroy them! I took out Elder Lewis from Draper and Elder Rangel from Mexico.  It was so fun, we went to my old area in el Carmen and I just made them run up and down those hills with me hahaha it was fun! That night I had to go do a interview for the assistants, so we went to their area.  After I finished the interview, the assistants left for a baptism and left me with their noobies.  SO I HAD 6 NOOBIES FOR TWO HOURS!!! CRAZIEST TWO HOURS OF MY LIFE! I took them to this one street and we were all contacting. One group had a lesson so I was watching them and while the rest of them kept contacting.  When the lesson finished, we started running to catch up with them.  While we were running I look over and I see a PRIEST STANDING OUTSIDE OF HIS CHURCH holding one of our pamphlets hahahahahahahahahahahaha these white kids had no idea what was going on hahaha!

Wednesday we had CHANGES (president informed us last night that we are not going to have change meeting anymore:( which sucks) but I received ELDER CASTRO! He is from Costa Rica and speaks perfect English!

My new comp!

Sorry for making that so long, I just haven’t written in awhile, hopefully everyone keeps reading my emails ;)
LOVE YOU GUYS!!!!!
Branson

All the homies who left this change! These guys are the best!

The BIGGEST HOMIE EVER