January 28, 2013

Well, this week was really good. Ended really well too.

We had a baptism planned for this Saturday for Hna Marisela. Shes 24, really funny in how she is but she understands the gospel very well. Anyway, we had the baptism planned for 5pm. We passed by her house around 230 and she hadnt come back from working in the market. We passed again at 3... and again at 315 she hadnt come back. We went to the market to find her because if she didnt come, there wouldnt be a baptism. So we went to the market, she wasnt there. The tienda was closed up. Back to her house, not there. Had a mini lesson with other members. Back to the house, not there. We went to the church around 4 to see if she went there. Not there either. The other elders were there filling the baptismal font for us. We said a prayer that we could find her and she could be baptized that day. Left again for her house, not there. We waited from 430 to 530 in her house. She didnt come... We returned to the church, she wasnt there either. We idled until 550. Only a few youths were there still and we were about to literally pull the plug of the font when she walked in. I was literally shocked. She explained that her sister is in the hospital ( and just a side note, every family has at least 1 member of the family visiting the hopsital every week... sometimes for good reason, other times because they have a cough). As she was explaining this to us, the little girl that was going to be baptized last week and her family came in, asking if we had ended already. ¨no no no! We are about to start!¨ and there were some chavalos... or young men? playing soccer on the church court, we invited them to watch the baptism. They all accepted. So we had mini service, but at least there were 10 people to watch. It was a miracle. Really. The last moment before ¨okay, shes not coming¨ (we thought that because her mom is really evangelical and told her, the daughter, that she needs to think for 6 months or 1 year before she decides to be baptized). The last moment, and she came by her own desire to be baptized. That was a really powerful moment when she came out of the water.

Then yesterday, Sunday, we had great services in the church. The church didnt have power or water yesterday for some reason, so we just opened all the windows and curtains and it was just fine haha Although Elder Gonzales and I had to play a little bit of ´bouncer´ (like the guy out front of a bar) because a dog kept trying to come in, and he succeeded a few times, so we chased him back out. Other than that, we had 5 investigators in the church with us. One named Jose Feliciano, hes fairly old and makes boots. Also there is another old gentleman that was baptized less than a year ago named Jose Feliciano. Haha We introduced them and the Jose that is a member said ¨¿Usted es nuevo? ¡Vamanos pues!¨ or in english ¨You´re new? Alright, lets go!¨ and he took him to the next class hahaha He, Jose Feliciano that is a member, also passed the sacrament for the first time yesterday. How amazing it is to see that. Something so simple, but so powerful to see someone as aged as he is, commit to a purpose in life and do all that is necessary to live by the principles. He lives about 1km from the church and walks it every sunday in addition to proseliting with the other missionaries in the ward (he lives in their area).

In short, we had a great week. Oh also, we went to the laguna otra vez and we saw monkeys. Like big, jungle book monkeys. Super awesome. Pictures to come. Haha

Love,

Elder Mann

 

 

monkeys!!!!

 

Monkey!!

 

 Parte de mi districto en un tronco

 



 

Eating chow mein!

This is in the backyard of the house of Hna Xiomara

 

This is Hna Marisela that was baptized this Saturday

 

Where we went after we saw the monkeys

 

We had divisiones, or splits, and so Elder Gonzales and I took two quick pics in the middle of a huge field haha He is in the same ward, but they work in a different area.

 

 

yay photos

 

January 21, 2013

Hola.

This week was very eventful to say a little bit ha

First, we will start with a good. We had a baptism service Saturday the 19th. It was for a little girl of 9 years. All of her family are members and so it was pretty simple to teach and prepare her. She is just really, really shy. When we ask her a question in a lesson, she starts smiling and squirming and hiding her face. Yeah, so we asked really simple questions to get yes or no answers to help her out and not feel embarrassed to speak. Anyway, we went to the service and it was all prepared with a bunch of the other kids from the primary there. They sang primary songs and shared a scripture and all. A family friend was asked to baptize her, so he was waiting in the font. When the other door opened for her to enter the font, we realized that we hadnt asked a question that never crossed my mind. ´Are you okay with getting in water?´

And we´ll move on to one that isnt so good. She´s not okay with getting into water. She was crying and wailing and begging. It was really sad. The dad dressed up in white to be in the font with her as a support, so he went in and she didnt stop crying. They tried to baptize her, but she didnt go all the way under the water, so they came out of the water and changed and dried off and all. After, she was completely fine. And the parents told us after too that she cries when they give her a bathe too... so we learned a little lesson to ask the kids if they are okay with water. The family is going to try and help her in these next two weeks to get in the water.

A good, Elder Gonzales really likes the gospel CD of my dad, and the CD of church songs Corrinne gave me. He has a few frases memorized from the songs and sings them during the day hahaha Its really funny. He has a huge motivation to learn everything that he can. We practice english as we walk to appointments and he has learned how to direct music and is learning more hymns haha Its such a great help to be able to teach and learn with someone who wants to learn and teach.

Another good, I received a package! Woohoo! From who? When the zone leaders delivered it to me, they told me that my ´suegra´ Which means ´mother in law´ haha Thank you Julie Clement for the package!! Elder Gonzales and I were blowing bubbles this morning as we studied and the wire head massager is quite popular in my district haha

Also, thank you to the Farnsworth Family and the Bishopric of Pleasant 2nd ward! I received your christmas cards!

Also, thank you Hermana Clement for your christmas card! I´d send one to you too, but we dont have one haha

Yes, time to go. Thank you for your thoughts and prayers!

Elder Mann

This is a flower called a ´perrito´ or ´little dog´

Its super weird haha Its firm like a pumpkin, but you dont eat it. Imagine like a rose bush with 30 of these. I asked a guy we contacted at his house if I could take one haha

January 14, 2013

Hola!!

I have officially had dental work done in Nicaragua. Haha

Last week I was eating a bread roll for dinner and my permanent rentainer on my lower teeth became partly detached. It didnt cut me, but it had prospects, and I could feel the pressure on my teeth. A few days later after talking with the zone leaders, the sister nurse and members, I got it fixed. The mission couldnt pay for it because its dental work, so I went with some members (the ones we live with) to one dentist here in masaya. He was sitting outside his little shop and the dental office wasnt super scary, but rather a bit sketchy. He ended up not doing it because he wanted to just cut it out, but decided against it and sent us to another dentist. The second was much better. The place a door and a desk and was nice and neat. Still had the examination to see if he could do it without gloves. We settled on a price of $14 and he put a healthy lump of glue on the back of my tooth. Woohoo! Dental work in Nicaragua! haha

This week was really fun. We had splits with the zone leaders and I was with an elder from washington state. He is super strong in his teaching and really persistent. We spent a good 20 minutes of every lesson taking references and names of neighbors and whatever person that the poor investigator or member knew. But it turned out well. We have three new families that we are teaching. One of the families the ZL put a baptismal date with them in the contact on the street, which was neat to see. Unfortantely, el hermano is married to another woman, but living with his current woman right now... so thats a bit difficult. And one other family we put a baptismal date with them in the first lesson and they seem really positive.

And Im not exactly sure why, but I have felt a good influence to work harder and better this week. I hope I can take advantage of it and continue on this wave. I have a testimony of this church. I know its the truth and it brings me the greatest joy when the people we teach tell us that they have felt something in the church or in our lessons. The district I have is great. Unfortunately, when I said we didnt have a district leaderits because he and another elder went home... but now another elder (that sold me the guitar) is the DL and has already done some awesome things to make us more united (ie spending a few hours in each of our areas to contact and find new families)

Theres always this feeling that more has happened in the week, but I have stopped writing notes to myself during the week to remind me of what I wanted to write to you, perhaps I should do that again...

Anyway, everyone in the states send something to Hermana Clement in DC!! Find her address on here or her blog or somewhere. Her birthday is the 23rd of this month! Happy early birthday!!!

Sincerely,

Elder Mann

 

 

The missionaries in the ward San Miguel, Masaya!!

 

 

Otra photo con la familia Lira

 

 

Here is Lyssandra

Another guitar picture because I have a moment ha

 

I forgot, theres an EFY activity called SOY here in Nicaragua. We, my companion and I, were invited to participate in part of it. We pretty much participated in two mini classes to get the youth excited to serve missions. We practiced doing contacts and demonstrated how we do lessons and such and such. It was a really neat experience.

The photo is the group of missionaries that went to SOY

 

Heres our district during xmas with Presidente Monestel.

 

Sleeping with el gato. lol

 

Diggin the hole

 

Fireworks on new years eve haha

Dont worry, I didnt set any of them off, just watched

 

 

But this is when we were doing the lawn of Sister Xiomara with machetes. Super fun. Haha

 

Happy New Year!!

Happy New Year Ya´ll ha

Pues, the new year came and passed without much attention for me. We worked as normal, but a few people wished us a happy new year through the day and that was about the only reminder haha My companion Elder Gonzales woke up at midnight both Christmas and New Years because its a tradition to hug someone here in Central America at midnight... but I didnt wake up. There were mega fireworks going off in the street apparently, but I didnt budge haha Although, a few nights ago Elder Gonzales woke up because I was praying really loud in English as I slept. He said he could only understand a few parts, but recognized it was a prayer when I said ¨In the name of Jesus Christ, Amen¨ Yeah, so just as the scriptures say, Im praying always ha. I think that may have been my first prayer solely in English in a long time too ha

This week has been really good. Yesterday was a really spiritual day. We went to church como normal then we went off to work, but during the lessons both E. Gonzales and I felt the spirit testifying through both of us to the people we had met. What I mean by that, is that we werent just teaching a lesson as it written, but that we were really talking to the people that were in front of us. A weird connection of understanding what that person needs to hear and us saying that need without knowing. Even though he only has a little more than 1 month in the mission, he has a strong spirit to teach. He really focuses on the people and has a good knowledge of what we teach.

Also this week we had a change in our house. So there´s little Andrea (or Andreita) who is 2, more or less. Her dad and the family were driving from Managua and they found a kitty under a tree. Andreita wanted the kitty, so we have a kitty. But it clings to me more than anyone else haha Its really cute, not super tiny, but really tranquil. It doesnt scratch or bite, just plays, and chases bits of trash around the house... The first night they brought it home, I told the to get a box and put sand in it for a litter box. They did it and when Lester, the 23 year old who is preparing to serve a mission (super side note: He send his papers to serve!!!! What a change he has made in his life. When I came to Nicaragua, he was drinking regularly and not going to church. Two or three weeks ago, he received the higher priesthood and last week he sent his papers to serve a mission! So amazing!! He´s a really good kid and just needed a little bump to get on a good track.) Anyway, when Lester brought in the box with the sand and put it down on the floor. The cat immediately went to it and did its business. They let me name it because I ¨trained¨ it and it really likes me. I named it ¨Lyssandra¨ after the fiancee of one of my MTC teachers haha The name means ¨destroyer of men¨ hahaha I have a picture of her climbing on me (she does that in the mornings as we study, so we play a game of ¨climb on me and I toss you on the couch¨ She likes it) but this computer doesnt have the port for the camera. It does have floppy disk though! Haha

Also, we dont have a district leader right now. There were emergency changes so 2 of the 8 elders in our district transfered out. Not a companionship, but two from two different companionships. I suppose we will find out who is going to be district leader tomorrow maybe. And the two new elders (one may be the district leader).

Thank you for reading. and I hope all of you enjoyed your new year! If you see missionaries, honk your horn or say hello!

 

These are from the prison that we went to! Todo mi zona!! Minus two companionships I think haha

 

Elder Mann

Feliz Navidad!

Wow. Its already Christmas.

¡¡¡Feliz Navidad!!!

That song is played quite often.

Pues, this is a short letter muy simple.

We had 3 baptisms this week. 1 family, the hno from Jamaica and his wife and then a 9 year old girl from a family less active. The family was baptized tuesday because they wanted to have us, Elder Garcìa y yo, baptize them. We got permission from our zone leaders to baptize them. And then this Saturday my new companion, who has 19 days in his mission, baptized the little girl. He was really excited and a little nervous to do it, but he did it really well. To baptize in the first week of his mission, phew! What a blessing haha Im glad I had a baptism the first few weeks of my mission too. Its such a good experience.

This wednesday we are going to have a multi zone activity. Our zone is going to be doing a mini skit thing. They put me as the narrator and I am going to be talking to my son, Elder Gonzales, about a christmas that passed on my mission and what happened. Kind of like the game `dime store novel` that I played in comedy improv, but I have a little script haha. Also another gift exchange.

And about ten minutes ago, I skyped my parents. I love you both very much and thank you for supporting me so much on my mission. For los demàs, I cried. Yeah. I`m really glad I had the opportunity to do that. It was a blessing to see you again. Mac, I`m sorry I couldnt say much in that message, but I really love you. I`ll call you all again Mothers day.

Entonces, feliz navidad. Mi hijo Elder Gonzales està bien y es un buen misionero. Me gusta a entrenar. He`s doing well and is a good missionary. I like to train. Just the simple things are important and thats what we focus on. Although we havent had a regular day this whole week because of going to trainings in Managua and christmas, and service (see pic) and whatnot. So next week, this week, I hope we can actually sit down and do our companionship study ha

Feliz Navidad a todos de mi familia, mis amigos y todos que pueden leer este mensaje. Disfruten su tiempo con sus familias y llamen a alguien para decirles que le ama.

Love,

Elder Mann

Some of the kids that we teach ha

 

Family we live with

The one with glasses, hermana Elizabeth, is the mom of the other hna and the hno on the left. The other hna, gordita, es the wife of the brother next to me. The little girl is theirs.

The brother on the left has 23 years and is putting in his papers to serve.

Hopefully you understood that ha

 

                                                       
              Mi hijo, Elder Gonzales de Guatemala. 18 años en todo y 2 weeks in the MTC.

    El bautismo de la niña en blanco. Sus padres y uno de sus hermanas.

                                                             Baptism of Lloyd and Janett

Doing service. A family is digging a hole to make a bathroom. 24 meters deep. Thats a lot of caca. We helped out a bit this week. Just a shovel, and literally a straight bar to stab the ground with... Not the most effective ni advanced, but it works... ha

                                                        Tossing water balloons from towels

                                                                               

 

 

 

 

 

Hola Dec 17,2012

I`m having a son this week.

Hola! Lo siento pero no puedo enviar photos esta semana. Mi computadora no sierva cuando intento a poner una photo en aqui...

Sorry, but I cant send photos this week. My computer doesnt work when I try to put a photo in here.

Bummer too because I have some good ones haha

This past saturday we had 2 baptisms. Two twins, both 9 years old. One boy and one girl. They`re super adorable haha Their mom is a member, but inactive. Thankfully they live next to their aunt and uncle and their family that were inactive until Elder Garcia and I visited them one time about four weeks ago, and now they come to church without fault. It is so amazing. That family has such a strong spirit ha. And we`re probably going to have another little girl be baptized this Saturday. Shes 8 right now, but is turning 9 in a few days, so she falls under the responsibility of the mission, not the ward. And as of right now, we have a family with their baptismal interviews today. The matrimonio of the brother from Jamaica, I believe I sent a photo of them... Yeah, so we shall see if they are prepared to be baptized today and we will have the service tomorrow because they want to be baptized before Elder Garcìa transfers away.

So, to explain my first sentence! I`m going to be a trainer now. Transfers are this wednesday, and my `son` as the newbies are called is coming. In turn, I`m going to be his father and Elder Garcìa his granddad. Hahaha I`m super excited. There are many things that I am going to miss about Elder Garcìa and I hope this new Elder is prepared with a knowledge of the scriptures and without fear to speak haha It`s going to be good. There are 13 elders coming in this transfer and only 1 is north american, so thankfully im probably going to have a latino son ha Normally, the person who is going to train stays in the same area that he has been working in, so we are expecting E Garcia to head out Wed. Nerve wise, Im not really nervous. Im super excited for the opportunity and feel adequately prepared. I still have many things to learn, granted, but I feel competent in following the promptings of the Spirit. ha. So, Hna Clement! I hope you get to train next transfer too!! haha That`d be funny `cause we`d have kids...

Two days ago I was writing in my agenda and staring at the date `15 Dec` and I felt like there was something super significant about this fecha. I couldnt think of until about 20 minutes before I went to bed and I thought `Lemmings!!!` Hahaha, the Urban Lemmings from Hamilton High school had a show that day last year. If any of you read this, I would appreciate an update on the situation of the Lemmings please.

Yeah. That`s my week. Many baptisms and teaching and going to be a dad and a talent show at the church where I danced again... So I believe I`m going to be known as that elder that danced haha When we pass the kids in the streets they snap their fingers how I did when dancing hahaha Its really funny.

Then today we had a gift exchange as a zone. I gave a little painting of nicaragua that I bought in the market and I received a pen. Other received a baseball glove, a turtle flute, shirts, etc. I`m actually glad I got a pen because I was needing to buy one haha.

Hope all is well! Ya`ll can send emails to this account, but I just can`t reply. Enjoy your week and vacation!

Can`t wait to skypeeee!!!!

Love, Elder Mann