Week 100: Things I Will Miss, My Savior, and Qeqchi

well hello again!

Ok, more questions that didn't get asked while we were on the phone-
Do you know how much we love you, Elder Larsen??

yep. i could hear it on the phone.

Can anyone use your clothes down there or are they all too ragged and worn?

don't worry i will be giving a lot away. they are pretty beaten up´though. but these people deserve it.

How was church today?

church was good. i felt like getting frustrated again but i was able to control it. i was gonna get frustrated for what i mentioned over the phone- but i just looked around the chapel at all the people i have grown to love. i just felt a greater peace come over me. that all was taken into account and that i had nothing to worry about. i love church here. at least 3 times a meeting each and every child under 10 turns around and looks at me. dont know why but they wave and stuff. maybe cuz sometimes i make faces at them. i dont know. i am sure gonna miss that though.

Do they celebrate Mothers Day down there?

yep they do. just tomorrow. on the eighth of may always i guess.

How far is it to the capitol? (Drive time)

like two days. if i leave here at 5 in the morning i can get to the capital at like 6at night. a long ways. if i leave here after that though i have to make it a two day trip.

Where do you stay when you go to the capital?

at the mission home. the office elders and assistants have a bunch of bunkbeds in their house.

Have you thought about getting a job at the MTC when you get home? Maybe teaching? I think you would be amazing there.

that would be fun. i dont know though. i would have to look into it. i really dont know where else i could work either.


i forgot to mention on the phone that we went down to this place called san nicolas. its almost to teleman and still part of our area. there is this one family there that comes every sunday. by foot its like two hours maybe and in truck like 45 minutes. its a long dang ways. and the guy never wears shoes. i dont know how he does it.

as for qeqchi i have no idea how i will be able to speak it after the mission. it will be hard. i'm gonna have to set aside money to call down here and stuff just to speak in qeqchi. i sure do love this language though. and it has changed me. this language has given me a different perspective on how to describe things and say things. it has become a part of me. i'm probably gonna be in for a bigger culture shock going back to the US than i felt when i came here haha.

how could they even consider placing odometers on peoples' cars? that should definitely not be allowed.

pictures: corn hauling, corn harvesting and getting to the top of the hill and a victory pose.

i'm gonna miss blas's family a lot too. they say the same stuff we say just in qeqchi. the daughters remind me of the girls and the littlest one: amy or ch'ip as i call her says the most random hilarious stuff. like bay. its kinda strange how similar they are.

blas is always laughing. i dont know how. he has been quite the example for me on how to return from your mission.

abraham is a super interesting book. analyze the fascimiles very closely. think temple.

i was thinking today just how true this church is. no other church dares saying that Jesus Christ could be our personal older brother. but to me that what makes it that much more special. that is what makes His sacrifice so much different. driven solely by love. no personal gain. i still cannot fathom the atonements depths. facets that i cant even imagine. its magnitude and infinitely reaching scope are, unfortunately for now, incomprehensible . i have however seen, felt and known enough to be able to say that. that i know he loves me. that i know he suffered for me. that he paid with his blood a price that i would never be able to pay. i KNOW that i cannot know and will not know until i look into His eyes and actually SEE it. that i know. i love Him.

i love my family too. they have shown me so much. my dad showed me through example that the mission is the priority. a mother that never let me slack in spiritual matters. and siblings that always made me be a better example. i hope i have made you happy family. i am so grateful for you.

i wish we could have talked longer on the phone. i really dont feel like we scraped the surface of these two years-here and there.

we have some pretty lofty goals this week as a zone. we will see how those turn out. i miss and love you all!!

love,

ELDER TAY