Hello!
This week was pretty good. We kept busy and we found some new investigators. We had a training meeting at the mission office and I got some mail there! To my parents' primary class, I'll answer your questions a little later on.
Yesterday, we had a nationwide stake conference broadcast, to Guatemala and Belize. The speakers included Don R. Clarke of the 70, Mary N. Cook, 1st counselor in the YW general presidency, Elder Jeffery R. Holland of the Quorum of the 12 Apostles, and President Dieter F. Uchtdorf. They talked a lot about the importance of families, how to strengthen your families, and the importance of attending the temple. Elder Holland began and ended his talk in Spanish, which was interesting. He said (in Spanish) how bad his Spanish is, and that it will be easier for us to listen, and for him to speak, if he simply speaks in English and uses a translator. He closed by bearing his testimony in Spanish.
The church chartered a bus to get us to and from the conference, which was at the stake center. Pretty much every bus here is a school bus, either retired from the States, or made here. Blue Bird, the company that makes the school bus bodies, apparently makes some here in Guatemala City, as well as in the states. The driver drove us down some awesome twisty roads faster than I thought was safe for a bus. It was really fun! It was like an amusement park ride. I'm surprised nobody has opened a ride called "Buses of Central America" or something to that effect.
Sadly, on the bus on the way home, the name tag fell off my shirt, and I didn't notice until later. Fortunately, I had my suit (we use suits every Sunday for church) with its name tag, so I just put that on my shirt for the time being. Since the bus was chartered by the Church, we callled the driver to get my badge back. He found it, and we picked it up this morning on our way to district meeting. He lives close to our area, on the way to the meeting. I'm so grateful that he had it!! As a missionary, I felt disturbed not having a name tag. Sure, the other one works, but I'm really glad to have the other one back. For those of you who are wondering, we have a tag that is completely plastic and clips over a shirt pocket, and another that has a pin to go on a suit. I have a clip that the pin tag attaches to, so I can use it with different jackets, like my raincoat, without poking holes everywhere.
I apologize again for the lack of photos. I have divisions today, where I will go to another area with another elder, and his companion will go to Jerusalem with Elder Caceres. I'll be going to Panorama with Elder Gomez, and Elder Squires, our district leader, will be going to Jerusalem with Elder Caceres. I didn't want to try and bring my camera today, since I'll be staying in a different area tonight, so I'll try and remember next week.
As for Thanksgiving, it's normally nothing special, but tomorrow we have a zone activity, where we'll be eating turkey, gravy, mashed potatoes, and stuffing, and I hope pumpkin pie as well! We'll be playing (American) Football and some other games at the stake center, as well as eating our Thanksgiving dinner. It should be pretty fun, because it will be a little break. At least this week isn't like last week, where we were so busy with meetings that we only had 2 full days in our area! We had meetings, activities, and interviews with President Brough. It was crazy, but it was good.
We're in the process of helping the branch presidency plan some missionary activities for the branch. We're centering them on the theme of Christmas, because that's something people will be more interested in. Since just about everyone here is Christian, just about everyone celebrates Christmas. Since I'm the branch pianist, Elder Caceres and I are trying to plan a special musical number. We picked the hymn "I Heard the Bells on Christmas Day," which does exist in the Spanish hymnbook. Not many people know it here, and it's not too hard to sing, so we're pretty sure this is what we'll do for the musical number. The words, written by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, are absolutely amazing. I can tell you from personal experience that verse four is truth:
"Then pealed the bells more loud and deep,
God is not dead, nor doth he sleep.
The wrong shall fail, the right prevail,
with peace on Earth, good will to men."
To the 12-year-old Primary class in the Manila 9th ward:
Thank you so much for your letters! It was an absolute pleasure to be surprised with such a great envelope in the mission office last Friday!
I am enjoying the weather here at the moment. Yes, it's November 21st, and I'm outside with a short-sleeved shirt and loving it! It's more humid here than in Utah, so when it's cold, it feels colder, and when it's hot, it feels hotter, but it's pretty comfortable right now. It's probably about Spring or Fall weather for Utah, without the occasional snow. Everyone here is complaining of the cold! :) Spanish is coming. It's hard to speak at first, then speaking gets easier. Understanding what other people are saying is the hard part for me. But I'm still praying for the gift of tongues, and trying to practice a lot. My companion is from Honduras, so he does a lot of the talking. The work is hard sometimes, especially since the area I'm assigned to is pretty much built on the side of a mountain, and all the streets are really steep. But even when it's hard, it's worth it. Knowing that I'm helping someone to change their life and come to Christ is an amazing feeling. The Spirit is with us a lot, because Heavenly Father is guiding us to do the work in the way he wants us to do it. Always remember that you are a Child of God, and that he loves you, and no matter what hard things you are going through in your life, your Savior is there for you. I hope you all have the chance to serve missions, and experience the joy and peace I'm feeling, and we haven't even baptized anybody yet! If you have more questions, please tell my parents, and I will be happy to answer them next week.
Thank you for your faith, thoughts, and prayers. You are all excellent individuals.
Until next week,
Elder Nicholas Banks
Monday, November 21, 2011
Monday, November 14, 2011
First Full Week in Jerusalem
Dear Family and Friends,
This week was pretty good. Elder Caceres and I are getting along pretty well, and the work is good. We're really busy, because a lot of people we meet accept appointments, and we already have a good number of contacts. Our district has set goals to contact more new people, so we have to find time for that in between our appointments.
This week wasn't quite as productive as last. We got new contacts, but a lot of people weren't home, and a lot of our appointments fell through. We only had one investigator at church. We know what we need to work on, and we're working on it, so we can better serve the people of the holy land :)
I played the piano in church yesterday for the first time. The church has a glossy black Kawai piano in the chapel, and it's the only piano in the building. It's nice, but I won't be able to take it to the apartment to practice! I took the cover off the piano, and I had a new experience. I think it was the first time I've ever found a spider in a piano. I didn't have time to practice this week, but I was able to play the hymns more or less by ear for the meeting. President Brough said that I can only practice on P-day, which is Tuesday. Mondays we have a district meeting, and we're in an area with a good internet cafe, so that's why I write on Mondays. P-day is just an hour shorter (it ends at 5pm) because of it, but it's almost like having 2 p-days, so I'm fine with that. I'm going to try and talk to President Miron (branch pres.) tonight to arrange a time on Tuesdays when I will be able to get into the church to practice, and be able to get the hymns for the meeting to practice.
Saturday was Elder Caceres' birthday, and since we don't really have time to do a lot of stuff, we just bought and ate some cake. Then, we had a lesson in the home of one of our investigators, and she had bought a whole cake, candles, and something to drink, and we sang to him and ate cake. It was a really neat, and humbling experience. I could tell that this particular sister doesn't have much, but she remembered his birthday, and felt impressed enough to buy a cake for Elder Caceres.
Elder Caceres has been teaching this sister for almost the whole time he's been in Jerusalem, which is about 4.5 months. She's really nice, but she hasn't made up her mind about if and when she wants to be baptized. Her name is Reina. We've been trying to remind her to come to church as well. She told us about a dream she had, where she actually talked to Joseph Smith, and he told her she needs to keep coming to church. It was a really neat experience, and it strengthened my faith in this gospel. Elder Caceres says dreams like that really aren't a rarity here in Guatemala. A lot of people receive answers to questions in prayer in the form of a dream.
Also Saturday, the branch arranged a trip to the temple open house in Quetzaltenango (ketz-all-ten-ongo). The new temple is finished, and the open house is where they let people of any religion come and see the inside of the temple, because it's closed to the general public once it's been dedicated. They do the same thing in the United States, and all over the world. The members really enjoyed it, and I think a couple investigators went, but not many. They were gone from 5am until about 9pm, because Quetzaltenango isn't really that close. After all, there is a Quetzaltenango mission. This was really neat, and a lot of people asked us if we were going. Sadly, we weren't able to, because it's a full day where we wouldn't be doing missionary work. It's a really exciting time to be here in Central America for the church, because it is growing so much. This summer, a temple was dedicated in El Salvador, the new one here in Quetzaltenango, Guatemala will be dedicated soon, and early next year the temple in Tegucigalpa, Honduras will be dedicated. Elder Caceres is from Tegucigalpa, and he just showed me in a picture of the temple under construction more or less where his house is. How cool is that! He'll be able to see the Honduras temple out his window just like I can see the Mount Timpanogos out my window at home! ¡Que Pilas!
I just wanted to share one of my favorite scriptures, that I've already used in a lot of lessons, and I use in my life regularly. The scripture is found in the Book of Mormon, in the book of Ether, Chapter 12, verse 27. "And if men come unto me, I will show unto them their weakness. I give unto men weakness that they may be humble, and my grace is sufficient for all men who humble themselves before me, for if they humble themselves before me, and have faith in me, then will I make weak things become strong unto them." I find that whenever I find a weakness in myself, whenever there's something I don't like about myself, or anything about me that I want to change, I find that when I can muster the humility to get on my knees and offer a prayer, recognizing my weakness and asking for help, I am strengthened, and I am helped to change. Know that if you want to change, if there's something you want to change, something you don't like about yourself, or you have a weakness (for we all have many), help is only a prayer or two away.
Also, I wanted to give you a translation of the lyrics to Hymn 88 in Spanish, "It is Pleasing for Us to Work."
1. It is pleasing for us to work
In the vineyard of the great king Jesus
And we are honored to preach
to his people his law and his light
for his light, for his light, it pleases us to work
for his light, for his light, we will die in God without sorrow
2. Listen to the work of God
with zeal, loyalty, and fervor
and always remember for ever
his purity, truth and love
with love, with love
listen to God's word
with love, with love,
seize the flag of God
3. Oh brothers, goodbye, and goodbye
the moment to leave has already come
if we keep the faith in the great God,
we will see each other on the other side
on the other side, on the other side,
oh brothers, good bye and goodbye
on the other side, on the other side,
we will dwell with God in love.
I am glad to hear that my family is doing well, and I always look forward to hearing from you every week. Letters and DearElders are much appreciated as well! You are all great people.
I love you all, and I hope things are going as well for you as they are for me!
Until next week,
Elder Nicholas Banks
This week was pretty good. Elder Caceres and I are getting along pretty well, and the work is good. We're really busy, because a lot of people we meet accept appointments, and we already have a good number of contacts. Our district has set goals to contact more new people, so we have to find time for that in between our appointments.
This week wasn't quite as productive as last. We got new contacts, but a lot of people weren't home, and a lot of our appointments fell through. We only had one investigator at church. We know what we need to work on, and we're working on it, so we can better serve the people of the holy land :)
I played the piano in church yesterday for the first time. The church has a glossy black Kawai piano in the chapel, and it's the only piano in the building. It's nice, but I won't be able to take it to the apartment to practice! I took the cover off the piano, and I had a new experience. I think it was the first time I've ever found a spider in a piano. I didn't have time to practice this week, but I was able to play the hymns more or less by ear for the meeting. President Brough said that I can only practice on P-day, which is Tuesday. Mondays we have a district meeting, and we're in an area with a good internet cafe, so that's why I write on Mondays. P-day is just an hour shorter (it ends at 5pm) because of it, but it's almost like having 2 p-days, so I'm fine with that. I'm going to try and talk to President Miron (branch pres.) tonight to arrange a time on Tuesdays when I will be able to get into the church to practice, and be able to get the hymns for the meeting to practice.
Saturday was Elder Caceres' birthday, and since we don't really have time to do a lot of stuff, we just bought and ate some cake. Then, we had a lesson in the home of one of our investigators, and she had bought a whole cake, candles, and something to drink, and we sang to him and ate cake. It was a really neat, and humbling experience. I could tell that this particular sister doesn't have much, but she remembered his birthday, and felt impressed enough to buy a cake for Elder Caceres.
Elder Caceres has been teaching this sister for almost the whole time he's been in Jerusalem, which is about 4.5 months. She's really nice, but she hasn't made up her mind about if and when she wants to be baptized. Her name is Reina. We've been trying to remind her to come to church as well. She told us about a dream she had, where she actually talked to Joseph Smith, and he told her she needs to keep coming to church. It was a really neat experience, and it strengthened my faith in this gospel. Elder Caceres says dreams like that really aren't a rarity here in Guatemala. A lot of people receive answers to questions in prayer in the form of a dream.
Also Saturday, the branch arranged a trip to the temple open house in Quetzaltenango (ketz-all-ten-ongo). The new temple is finished, and the open house is where they let people of any religion come and see the inside of the temple, because it's closed to the general public once it's been dedicated. They do the same thing in the United States, and all over the world. The members really enjoyed it, and I think a couple investigators went, but not many. They were gone from 5am until about 9pm, because Quetzaltenango isn't really that close. After all, there is a Quetzaltenango mission. This was really neat, and a lot of people asked us if we were going. Sadly, we weren't able to, because it's a full day where we wouldn't be doing missionary work. It's a really exciting time to be here in Central America for the church, because it is growing so much. This summer, a temple was dedicated in El Salvador, the new one here in Quetzaltenango, Guatemala will be dedicated soon, and early next year the temple in Tegucigalpa, Honduras will be dedicated. Elder Caceres is from Tegucigalpa, and he just showed me in a picture of the temple under construction more or less where his house is. How cool is that! He'll be able to see the Honduras temple out his window just like I can see the Mount Timpanogos out my window at home! ¡Que Pilas!
I just wanted to share one of my favorite scriptures, that I've already used in a lot of lessons, and I use in my life regularly. The scripture is found in the Book of Mormon, in the book of Ether, Chapter 12, verse 27. "And if men come unto me, I will show unto them their weakness. I give unto men weakness that they may be humble, and my grace is sufficient for all men who humble themselves before me, for if they humble themselves before me, and have faith in me, then will I make weak things become strong unto them." I find that whenever I find a weakness in myself, whenever there's something I don't like about myself, or anything about me that I want to change, I find that when I can muster the humility to get on my knees and offer a prayer, recognizing my weakness and asking for help, I am strengthened, and I am helped to change. Know that if you want to change, if there's something you want to change, something you don't like about yourself, or you have a weakness (for we all have many), help is only a prayer or two away.
Also, I wanted to give you a translation of the lyrics to Hymn 88 in Spanish, "It is Pleasing for Us to Work."
1. It is pleasing for us to work
In the vineyard of the great king Jesus
And we are honored to preach
to his people his law and his light
for his light, for his light, it pleases us to work
for his light, for his light, we will die in God without sorrow
2. Listen to the work of God
with zeal, loyalty, and fervor
and always remember for ever
his purity, truth and love
with love, with love
listen to God's word
with love, with love,
seize the flag of God
3. Oh brothers, goodbye, and goodbye
the moment to leave has already come
if we keep the faith in the great God,
we will see each other on the other side
on the other side, on the other side,
oh brothers, good bye and goodbye
on the other side, on the other side,
we will dwell with God in love.
I am glad to hear that my family is doing well, and I always look forward to hearing from you every week. Letters and DearElders are much appreciated as well! You are all great people.
I love you all, and I hope things are going as well for you as they are for me!
Until next week,
Elder Nicholas Banks
Friday, November 11, 2011
Wednesday, November 9, 2011
First week(ish) in the field!!!
Hello!
It's been an interesting, and great week, and it's been really eventful, so I'm just going to dive right in.
Last Tuesday morning, we left the CCM, and went right to the mission home for some meetings. We had interviews with the president, and learned a little about the mission. There are a little under 200 missionaries in my mission, and last month, they had a record 180 baptisms!
Anyway, the mission home is a 14th floor apartment, which is kind of neat. It's a really nice apartment, and apparently they put the mission presidents up there because it's safer for them. President Stay of the Guatemala City South Mission lives across the hall from President Brough.
Unfortunately, they didn't tell us at the CCM to pack for 24 hours outside of our luggage, so we didn't have the opportunity to change our clothes. They bought us toothbrushes, soap, toothpaste, and shampoo so we could have a decent night. The mission has a bunk house where we stayed for our first night. The next day, there was a transfer meeting, and we all got our trainers and went to our areas.
But before we went to sleep in the bunk house, we got to go proselyting with the elders who work in the office. I went with Elder Cruz, who is a really cool guy. He has some similar interests to me, and I hope I get to work with him again. We contacted a little, and we taught two lessons to his investigators. I didn't really say much, but that's okay. I'm improving every day. One gentleman we taught is in his 50s, and isn't sure he wants to change his religion. I shared with him Ether 12:27, and told him that if he desired to change and would humble himself enough to pray, the Lord would help him to do so. The spirit was really strong. We taught another guy as well, who we just kind of talked to about faith and stuff. He thought it was neat that the temple is a place where not just anyone can go, except people who, as he described, are really dedicated to serving and worshipping the Lord.
The thing that really hit me that day, was when Elder Cruz, who has been out in the mission for 7 months, said something to me. He speaks a little English, but he said to me in Spanish "Don't ever change." That really hit me hard. Here I was, green as a greenie (new missionary) can be, and he was telling me to keep it up. Wow!
The next day we had the transfer meeting, at a chapel that's probably almost as nice as most of those in the United States. None of the chapels have real organs here, but this one had a digital piano that can sound like an organ. Oh, how I have missed the sound of the organ! The spirit was really strong in the meeting, and president Brough told us that we will have a mission conference in December. It will consist of a service opportunity, an evening he said we will never forget (general authority?) and an opportunity to go to the TEMPLE!!! The entire mission is going to the temple at 6am on a particular day, which is something I am really looking forward to. Normally, we only have permission to go every 6 months for a good reason, like a recent convert in our current area is going. Normally, we won't get to go at all, so this is really exciting.
Now on to the actual area, and my actual companion. At that transfer meeting, I met my trainer, Elder Caceres. He's from Honduras, and he's a pretty neat guy. At the moment, he and I are still getting used to how each other work, but it's not anything major. It's just two different people who don't know each other well yet! He's been teaching me, and really pushing me to do better. The other day, I actually taught a significant part of one of the lessons in Spanish to an investigator. It was really neat. The thing for me right now is knowing what to say in the context, and understanding the people. If I know what I want to say, and I know the vocabulary, I can say it, but I just need to know what I'm supposed to say!
We have a sister in the branch, Sis. Soto, who does our laundry and cooks lunch for us. Breakfast and dinner are on our own (usually not very big, but lunch is so it's fine). The members in the branch are really great and helpful. They like to come with us to lessons, and Elder Caceres says he's received a lot of referrals from them. At the moment, there is one person who lives within the branch boundaries who knows how to play the piano. His name is Elder Banks and he's from Utah. Perhaps you know him? :) I talked to the branch president, Pres. Miron, about playing in church, and he seemed excited, and that he would get me the list of hymns early. I just finished emailing president Brough so I can know if there's a time I can practice during the week, to be prepared for Sunday. I'm excited to be able to help invite the spirit through music to the meetings of the Jerusalem Branch. Jerusalem is the name of our area as well. It's really hilly, so by the time I leave, my legs wil be really strong! :) We usually have at least 2 lessons a day, and they're great.
Our apartment consists of most of a small house in a gated community (for safety purposes). I'll try and send some pictures soon from the CCM, MTC; and my first area.
Also, here's the final word on emails: immediate family only. Technically, I can receive mail from other people, but I only have an hour to read and write, and there's really not a chance to print, so I would appreciate letters if at all possible. The pouch mail works great (and you only need a US stamp!), as does dearelder.com, or you can send it right to Guatemala if you like. The address is a PO box, so you'll need to send anything you send US mail, or get the phone number from Mom (in the call packet) and use another courier. Thank you family, for your messages. It was a great surprise to get them when I arrived at the mission home! And thanks to those of you who have sent me other messages as well.
To my family, email will normally be on Mondays, this week is just an odd one.
Thank you for your love, thoughts, and prayers. They are much needed and much appreciated.
¡Les amo mucho! (I love you all very much!)
Until next week,
Elder Nicholas Banks
It's been an interesting, and great week, and it's been really eventful, so I'm just going to dive right in.
Last Tuesday morning, we left the CCM, and went right to the mission home for some meetings. We had interviews with the president, and learned a little about the mission. There are a little under 200 missionaries in my mission, and last month, they had a record 180 baptisms!
Anyway, the mission home is a 14th floor apartment, which is kind of neat. It's a really nice apartment, and apparently they put the mission presidents up there because it's safer for them. President Stay of the Guatemala City South Mission lives across the hall from President Brough.
Unfortunately, they didn't tell us at the CCM to pack for 24 hours outside of our luggage, so we didn't have the opportunity to change our clothes. They bought us toothbrushes, soap, toothpaste, and shampoo so we could have a decent night. The mission has a bunk house where we stayed for our first night. The next day, there was a transfer meeting, and we all got our trainers and went to our areas.
But before we went to sleep in the bunk house, we got to go proselyting with the elders who work in the office. I went with Elder Cruz, who is a really cool guy. He has some similar interests to me, and I hope I get to work with him again. We contacted a little, and we taught two lessons to his investigators. I didn't really say much, but that's okay. I'm improving every day. One gentleman we taught is in his 50s, and isn't sure he wants to change his religion. I shared with him Ether 12:27, and told him that if he desired to change and would humble himself enough to pray, the Lord would help him to do so. The spirit was really strong. We taught another guy as well, who we just kind of talked to about faith and stuff. He thought it was neat that the temple is a place where not just anyone can go, except people who, as he described, are really dedicated to serving and worshipping the Lord.
The thing that really hit me that day, was when Elder Cruz, who has been out in the mission for 7 months, said something to me. He speaks a little English, but he said to me in Spanish "Don't ever change." That really hit me hard. Here I was, green as a greenie (new missionary) can be, and he was telling me to keep it up. Wow!
The next day we had the transfer meeting, at a chapel that's probably almost as nice as most of those in the United States. None of the chapels have real organs here, but this one had a digital piano that can sound like an organ. Oh, how I have missed the sound of the organ! The spirit was really strong in the meeting, and president Brough told us that we will have a mission conference in December. It will consist of a service opportunity, an evening he said we will never forget (general authority?) and an opportunity to go to the TEMPLE!!! The entire mission is going to the temple at 6am on a particular day, which is something I am really looking forward to. Normally, we only have permission to go every 6 months for a good reason, like a recent convert in our current area is going. Normally, we won't get to go at all, so this is really exciting.
Now on to the actual area, and my actual companion. At that transfer meeting, I met my trainer, Elder Caceres. He's from Honduras, and he's a pretty neat guy. At the moment, he and I are still getting used to how each other work, but it's not anything major. It's just two different people who don't know each other well yet! He's been teaching me, and really pushing me to do better. The other day, I actually taught a significant part of one of the lessons in Spanish to an investigator. It was really neat. The thing for me right now is knowing what to say in the context, and understanding the people. If I know what I want to say, and I know the vocabulary, I can say it, but I just need to know what I'm supposed to say!
We have a sister in the branch, Sis. Soto, who does our laundry and cooks lunch for us. Breakfast and dinner are on our own (usually not very big, but lunch is so it's fine). The members in the branch are really great and helpful. They like to come with us to lessons, and Elder Caceres says he's received a lot of referrals from them. At the moment, there is one person who lives within the branch boundaries who knows how to play the piano. His name is Elder Banks and he's from Utah. Perhaps you know him? :) I talked to the branch president, Pres. Miron, about playing in church, and he seemed excited, and that he would get me the list of hymns early. I just finished emailing president Brough so I can know if there's a time I can practice during the week, to be prepared for Sunday. I'm excited to be able to help invite the spirit through music to the meetings of the Jerusalem Branch. Jerusalem is the name of our area as well. It's really hilly, so by the time I leave, my legs wil be really strong! :) We usually have at least 2 lessons a day, and they're great.
Our apartment consists of most of a small house in a gated community (for safety purposes). I'll try and send some pictures soon from the CCM, MTC; and my first area.
Also, here's the final word on emails: immediate family only. Technically, I can receive mail from other people, but I only have an hour to read and write, and there's really not a chance to print, so I would appreciate letters if at all possible. The pouch mail works great (and you only need a US stamp!), as does dearelder.com, or you can send it right to Guatemala if you like. The address is a PO box, so you'll need to send anything you send US mail, or get the phone number from Mom (in the call packet) and use another courier. Thank you family, for your messages. It was a great surprise to get them when I arrived at the mission home! And thanks to those of you who have sent me other messages as well.
To my family, email will normally be on Mondays, this week is just an odd one.
Thank you for your love, thoughts, and prayers. They are much needed and much appreciated.
¡Les amo mucho! (I love you all very much!)
Until next week,
Elder Nicholas Banks
Monday, October 31, 2011
Early Letter
Hello!
I found out yesterday that I would be writing today. I would have let you all know sooner if I could have.
I leave the CCM tomorrow morning at 8am. I have been assigned a new companion for travel since Elder Najarro isn't going to my mission. My new companion is Elder Mendoza, and he is from Nicaragua. He and I appear to have quite a bit in common, and he's really nice. He'll probably only be my companion for a couple days, since we'll both get trainers on Wednesday, and actually go to our assigned areas.
My time in the CCM has been great. I've become really close with my district, and we're already making plans to meet up after we all get home.
Sister Forman was the only one in our district serving outside of Guatemala, so she left today. She's going to the Managua Nicaragua South Mission. The rest are going to my mission apart from two, who are going to the Guatemala City South Mission, so the rest of the district leaves tomorrow.
Last night, we continued the tradition of singing hymn #88 in the Spanish Hymnal, "Placentero nos es trabajar," to the elders who are departing that week, which is me this time. This song is pretty neat, and the words to it were written by a couple of missionaries in Mexico. The title means "it is pleases us to work" and it's only in the Spanish Hymnal, not in any of the others.
We've sung English hymns a couple times as a district, to enjoy our last little bit of time to sing in our mother tongue. The spirit always comes really strong when we sing, and it's really cool. I find myself thinking more about the meaning of the hymns when I'm sing in Spanish, because I'm translating them into English as I sing, whereas in English, sometimes they're just memorized words and I don't think about their meaning very much.
I've been feeling sick for the past few days. It just feels like a bad cold, and I got some pills so it's not really a problem.
I'm excited and scared to go out to the field. We had a presentation about security and safety last week, which made me a little nervous, but I think everything will be fine. I'm nervous, because it's an unknown, but I know there will be help for me to be able to do the hard things that the Lord is requiring of me.
Yesterday was really good. We got to go take pictures at the temple, and the spirit was really great during our church meetings.
To be honest, I'm just sort of rambling. I don't really know what to write about, because it doesn't feel like much has happened since Wednesday.
And I told you, I'll send some pictures as soon as I get the chance, they won't let us hook up any cameras to the computers here.
It's hard to believe that I've been out here for two months today. It's been going fast, yet in a way it feels like it's been going really slow.
As soon as I find out President Brough's rules for e-mailing people, I will let you know. I will email you again on my next p-day.
Thank you for your love, your thoughts, and your prayers. You are all awesome.
Sincerely,
Elder Nicholas Banks
I found out yesterday that I would be writing today. I would have let you all know sooner if I could have.
I leave the CCM tomorrow morning at 8am. I have been assigned a new companion for travel since Elder Najarro isn't going to my mission. My new companion is Elder Mendoza, and he is from Nicaragua. He and I appear to have quite a bit in common, and he's really nice. He'll probably only be my companion for a couple days, since we'll both get trainers on Wednesday, and actually go to our assigned areas.
My time in the CCM has been great. I've become really close with my district, and we're already making plans to meet up after we all get home.
Sister Forman was the only one in our district serving outside of Guatemala, so she left today. She's going to the Managua Nicaragua South Mission. The rest are going to my mission apart from two, who are going to the Guatemala City South Mission, so the rest of the district leaves tomorrow.
Last night, we continued the tradition of singing hymn #88 in the Spanish Hymnal, "Placentero nos es trabajar," to the elders who are departing that week, which is me this time. This song is pretty neat, and the words to it were written by a couple of missionaries in Mexico. The title means "it is pleases us to work" and it's only in the Spanish Hymnal, not in any of the others.
We've sung English hymns a couple times as a district, to enjoy our last little bit of time to sing in our mother tongue. The spirit always comes really strong when we sing, and it's really cool. I find myself thinking more about the meaning of the hymns when I'm sing in Spanish, because I'm translating them into English as I sing, whereas in English, sometimes they're just memorized words and I don't think about their meaning very much.
I've been feeling sick for the past few days. It just feels like a bad cold, and I got some pills so it's not really a problem.
I'm excited and scared to go out to the field. We had a presentation about security and safety last week, which made me a little nervous, but I think everything will be fine. I'm nervous, because it's an unknown, but I know there will be help for me to be able to do the hard things that the Lord is requiring of me.
Yesterday was really good. We got to go take pictures at the temple, and the spirit was really great during our church meetings.
To be honest, I'm just sort of rambling. I don't really know what to write about, because it doesn't feel like much has happened since Wednesday.
And I told you, I'll send some pictures as soon as I get the chance, they won't let us hook up any cameras to the computers here.
It's hard to believe that I've been out here for two months today. It's been going fast, yet in a way it feels like it's been going really slow.
As soon as I find out President Brough's rules for e-mailing people, I will let you know. I will email you again on my next p-day.
Thank you for your love, your thoughts, and your prayers. You are all awesome.
Sincerely,
Elder Nicholas Banks
Wednesday, October 26, 2011
Last email from the CCM
Hello Everyone!
This will officially be my final email from the Centro de Capacitacion Misional. I love it here, and I know I'll miss it, but the field will be a whole new adventure. To be honest, I don't think I'll miss living with a whole bunch of other elders, but I know I'll miss the temple. The Guatemala City Temple (along with the CCM) is in the Guatemala City South Mission, which means I probably won't get to go to the temple, unless a recent convert is going through and wants me there. This is literally the closest I have ever lived to a temple, and I'm really going to miss it. To those of you who are so near a temple, I encourage you to visit it, even if you are only able to walk around the grounds. The temple truly is the House of the Lord, and you can feel it.
This week has actually been pretty eventful. Every Saturday, we have something called CRE (the Provo equivalent is TRC) where we get to talk to a member, less-active member, or a real investigator and teach them a lesson. There's a building near the Temple called Casa CRE (pronounced "Cray") where we do this. It's basically a house with about 5 living rooms, a waiting area, and a bathroom. It's really fun, and we've been teaching a guy named Javier who just got his mission call to the Dominican Republic. Then, after we taught him, we went to the temple grounds to go ask members for references. We talked to a young man named Omni, and he got his mission call to the Dominican Republic, and goes to the same MTC as Javier, and on the same day! How cool is that?
The other thing that was really cool about talking to Omni was that I was able to speak Spanish with him. I know, that sounds kind of obvious, but I became living evidence of the scriptures in D&C that say "open your mouth and it will be filled" and "then shall your tongue be loosed (11:21)" I was just having a conversation with him, and a minute or two into the conversation, I realized that I had been speaking decent Spanish, with some words I know didn't come from me. I will be the first to tell you that the gift of tongues really is a gift from God, and it really works.
Yesterday was pretty eventful too. First, we went proselyting. Elder Najarro and I went with the rest of the missionaries in our branch to the central park to talk to people, and get references. We ended up talking to one lady for the whole hour, or rather, she ended up talking to us. She had a lot of misinformation about the Church, and it sounded like she was a very staunch Catholic. She told us that we like to kill people, and that we don't believe in the Bible, neither of which is even remotely true, and we were able to show her a couple things and give her a pamphlet on the Plan of Salvation, as directed by the Spirit. It was really hard, because I barely understood a lot of the things she was saying, and I didn't really have the Spanish to tell her the truth about it. Thankfully, a member recognized us as missionaries, and came and talked to her with us. She kept going on about how we weren't trying to teach her, but, to be honest, it was difficult to get a word in edgewise. It was probably the hardest thing I've done yet on my mission. When I got back, I read some scriptures that were given in a devotional a few weeks ago, and it told me not to contend, which means we did the right thing. I think that because we listened to this sister, and because she got the chance to talk to a "normal" person who is a member of the church, she may have had some different impressions. I felt like it was the right thing to do to listen to her, and it feels like we planted a seed of faith, that may grow sometime in the future.
Then, we got back, and the entire MTC was in a ruckus, because all the mission presidents of the central american missions were here touring the ccm and they had gone to the temple with Pres. Steimle earlier that morning. We sang a great hymn for them, #305 in English (but we sang in Spanish), and then we had a few minutes to meet our presidents. President Brough and his wife seem really nice, and pretty cool. He explained to us how our first couple of days in the field will work, schedule wise, which was a comfort for me. He explained that he has absolutely zero tolerance for disobedience, which is a good thing. I'm still nervous to leave (a week from yesterday), but all good things must come to an end, and it's time to go. There's not much more progress I can make here at this time.
Then last night, Bro. Martinez gave a talk, which was planned as purely instructional about inviting people to come to church, but it ended up being one of the most spiritual experiences of the week. He told a lot of stories from his mission in Honduras, and I could tell he was really speaking from the heart. He said some things that really touched me, and reminded me that everything will be alright, and even great. "I will go before thy face, I will be on thy right hand and on thy left, and my spirit shall dwell in your heart, and mine angels round about you to bear you up." (D&C 84:88) "Wherefore, be strong and of a good courage. Be not afraid, neither be thou dismayed, for the Lord thy God is with thee whithersoever thou goest." (Joshua 1:9) D&C section 31 is also all about missionary work, and has brought me great comfort.
Thank you for your thoughts, prayers, and mail. They help me a lot, and brighten my days in more ways than I can count.
I wish you all the best, and I hope things are as well at home as they are here!
Sincerely yours,
Elder Nicholas Banks
This will officially be my final email from the Centro de Capacitacion Misional. I love it here, and I know I'll miss it, but the field will be a whole new adventure. To be honest, I don't think I'll miss living with a whole bunch of other elders, but I know I'll miss the temple. The Guatemala City Temple (along with the CCM) is in the Guatemala City South Mission, which means I probably won't get to go to the temple, unless a recent convert is going through and wants me there. This is literally the closest I have ever lived to a temple, and I'm really going to miss it. To those of you who are so near a temple, I encourage you to visit it, even if you are only able to walk around the grounds. The temple truly is the House of the Lord, and you can feel it.
This week has actually been pretty eventful. Every Saturday, we have something called CRE (the Provo equivalent is TRC) where we get to talk to a member, less-active member, or a real investigator and teach them a lesson. There's a building near the Temple called Casa CRE (pronounced "Cray") where we do this. It's basically a house with about 5 living rooms, a waiting area, and a bathroom. It's really fun, and we've been teaching a guy named Javier who just got his mission call to the Dominican Republic. Then, after we taught him, we went to the temple grounds to go ask members for references. We talked to a young man named Omni, and he got his mission call to the Dominican Republic, and goes to the same MTC as Javier, and on the same day! How cool is that?
The other thing that was really cool about talking to Omni was that I was able to speak Spanish with him. I know, that sounds kind of obvious, but I became living evidence of the scriptures in D&C that say "open your mouth and it will be filled" and "then shall your tongue be loosed (11:21)" I was just having a conversation with him, and a minute or two into the conversation, I realized that I had been speaking decent Spanish, with some words I know didn't come from me. I will be the first to tell you that the gift of tongues really is a gift from God, and it really works.
Yesterday was pretty eventful too. First, we went proselyting. Elder Najarro and I went with the rest of the missionaries in our branch to the central park to talk to people, and get references. We ended up talking to one lady for the whole hour, or rather, she ended up talking to us. She had a lot of misinformation about the Church, and it sounded like she was a very staunch Catholic. She told us that we like to kill people, and that we don't believe in the Bible, neither of which is even remotely true, and we were able to show her a couple things and give her a pamphlet on the Plan of Salvation, as directed by the Spirit. It was really hard, because I barely understood a lot of the things she was saying, and I didn't really have the Spanish to tell her the truth about it. Thankfully, a member recognized us as missionaries, and came and talked to her with us. She kept going on about how we weren't trying to teach her, but, to be honest, it was difficult to get a word in edgewise. It was probably the hardest thing I've done yet on my mission. When I got back, I read some scriptures that were given in a devotional a few weeks ago, and it told me not to contend, which means we did the right thing. I think that because we listened to this sister, and because she got the chance to talk to a "normal" person who is a member of the church, she may have had some different impressions. I felt like it was the right thing to do to listen to her, and it feels like we planted a seed of faith, that may grow sometime in the future.
Then, we got back, and the entire MTC was in a ruckus, because all the mission presidents of the central american missions were here touring the ccm and they had gone to the temple with Pres. Steimle earlier that morning. We sang a great hymn for them, #305 in English (but we sang in Spanish), and then we had a few minutes to meet our presidents. President Brough and his wife seem really nice, and pretty cool. He explained to us how our first couple of days in the field will work, schedule wise, which was a comfort for me. He explained that he has absolutely zero tolerance for disobedience, which is a good thing. I'm still nervous to leave (a week from yesterday), but all good things must come to an end, and it's time to go. There's not much more progress I can make here at this time.
Then last night, Bro. Martinez gave a talk, which was planned as purely instructional about inviting people to come to church, but it ended up being one of the most spiritual experiences of the week. He told a lot of stories from his mission in Honduras, and I could tell he was really speaking from the heart. He said some things that really touched me, and reminded me that everything will be alright, and even great. "I will go before thy face, I will be on thy right hand and on thy left, and my spirit shall dwell in your heart, and mine angels round about you to bear you up." (D&C 84:88) "Wherefore, be strong and of a good courage. Be not afraid, neither be thou dismayed, for the Lord thy God is with thee whithersoever thou goest." (Joshua 1:9) D&C section 31 is also all about missionary work, and has brought me great comfort.
Thank you for your thoughts, prayers, and mail. They help me a lot, and brighten my days in more ways than I can count.
I wish you all the best, and I hope things are as well at home as they are here!
Sincerely yours,
Elder Nicholas Banks
Wednesday, October 19, 2011
Another Great Week - and Leaving Soon!
Hello everyone!
I'm under two weeks left now in the MTC. It's kind of scary in a way, but I'm excited to get out and work. Our mission presidents will be visiting the MTC next week, and we get to sing a choral number for them, and get to meet with them a little. We're singing President Steimple's favorite hymn, #200 in Spanish, or #305 in English. It's really pretty, and I encourage you to look it up. I'm excited for that. And Dad, you guessed correctly: I will indeed be leaving the CCM on Tuesday, Nov. 1st, 2011. Also, please send anything you are going to send me to my mission home address starting today. Thanks!
We haven't had as many opportunities to teach our investigators this week. Due to our awesome field trip last week, helping the new group of missionaries get settled, and some other people's lessons going a little long, Elder Najarro and I have only been able to have two lessons since my last email. It's hard, and I feel like we're getting a little rusty, but we're still getting good feedback from the teachers who are acting like the investigators. I really like that they talk to us here, in Provo we literally got NO feedback from our investigators, and I don't think my teaching really improved while I was there. Here, I feel that I've really learned how to teach people the gospel, and it's fantastic.
I still love my district and my companion. The district is already talking about having a reunion road trip or something when we all get home.
Since my last email though, the only thing that's really changed is the people here at the MTC. My new Latin companion, Elder Torres, is from Chihuahua Mexico, and he's really cool. He even speaks some English, so we're able to communicate really well (though usually in Spanish). My new roommates are pretty cool too. Also, I met an elder who lives within the Mexico City East mission, where my good friend Elder Cody Ashcroft is currently serving. He was my Elder's Quorum president at BYU. I asked this elder if he knew him, and he did!! Elder Ashcroft was one of the missionaries assigned to his stake.
I've also met a couple of missionaries from Guatemala, who live within my mission. I've especially been talking to Elder Soto, who is from Antigua! In case I didn't mention this already, Antigua is, to my knowledge, an area only for sister missionaries right now, so I won't be able to serve there, though I'll probably be able to see it on a P-day much like today.
Last night we got to watch a devotional given at the Provo MTC by Elder Russell M. Nelson, and his wife, Sister Wendy Nelson. It was really great. They talked about obedience. Sister Nelson said that Obedience brings blessings, and exact obedience brings miracles. As you know, I'm generally a pretty obedient person, and I know that I have been feeling the blessings of my obedience as I am here. Elder Nelson spoke of many things, always reminding us that we are representatives of the Lord Jesus Christ in all we do.
At this time, I am able to speak and understand Spanish well enough to survive, and maybe even teach a few lessons, thanks to the gift of tongues. I'm not going to stop learning, though. I want to master this language. We went to get referrals from people at the Temple this past Saturday, and we talked to one sister who talked really fast. I was able to catch about 80% of what she said, which was really cool. Elder Najarro is even farther along than me, because both of his parents are Latino, so he's heard Spanish all his life, though not spoken it much. We tried to do a day completely in Spanish yesterday, and our district didn't do quite as well as anticipated, though I believe Elder Najarro and I tried harder than some of the other missionaries. It actually wasn't as hard as I thought it would be, probably because It's a lot easier to understand North Americans speaking Spanish than it is native speakers! We're trying again Friday, and I'm excited, and looking forward to success!
Today we're going to the temple again, and it's always one of the highlights of my week. I'm really excited to feel the spirit there again, it's always refreshing and edifying.
Also, we get to leave the MTC again, I believe next week, to go proselyting again, but this time I'll be with Elder Najarro, not my Latin companion. I'm nervous of course, because that's how I am, but I'm super excited. Last time, it was really cool, because we weren't even in the good part of town, and I didn't feel in danger ever. The Lord was watching over us. Also, I wasn't tired when we were finished, even though we had just spent three hours walking around in the hot sun. My legs hurt a little, but it wasn't a big deal. But this time, I won't forget my sunscreen.
I just want you all to know how much I love you, and how much you all mean to me. I miss you, but there's no place I'd rather be right now than sharing the Gospel that has brought me so much Joy in my life. In the words of President Dieter F. Uchtdorf, "I am doing a great work, and cannot come down."
And if you're ever having a bad day, or a hard time, look up the scripture Joshua chapter 1 verse 9. It helps me a lot as I'm trying hard to do this great work.
Thank you for your love, your letters, your thoughts and your prayers. You are the best!
See you in less than two years! :)
Sincerely,
Elder Nicholas Banks
I'm under two weeks left now in the MTC. It's kind of scary in a way, but I'm excited to get out and work. Our mission presidents will be visiting the MTC next week, and we get to sing a choral number for them, and get to meet with them a little. We're singing President Steimple's favorite hymn, #200 in Spanish, or #305 in English. It's really pretty, and I encourage you to look it up. I'm excited for that. And Dad, you guessed correctly: I will indeed be leaving the CCM on Tuesday, Nov. 1st, 2011. Also, please send anything you are going to send me to my mission home address starting today. Thanks!
We haven't had as many opportunities to teach our investigators this week. Due to our awesome field trip last week, helping the new group of missionaries get settled, and some other people's lessons going a little long, Elder Najarro and I have only been able to have two lessons since my last email. It's hard, and I feel like we're getting a little rusty, but we're still getting good feedback from the teachers who are acting like the investigators. I really like that they talk to us here, in Provo we literally got NO feedback from our investigators, and I don't think my teaching really improved while I was there. Here, I feel that I've really learned how to teach people the gospel, and it's fantastic.
I still love my district and my companion. The district is already talking about having a reunion road trip or something when we all get home.
Since my last email though, the only thing that's really changed is the people here at the MTC. My new Latin companion, Elder Torres, is from Chihuahua Mexico, and he's really cool. He even speaks some English, so we're able to communicate really well (though usually in Spanish). My new roommates are pretty cool too. Also, I met an elder who lives within the Mexico City East mission, where my good friend Elder Cody Ashcroft is currently serving. He was my Elder's Quorum president at BYU. I asked this elder if he knew him, and he did!! Elder Ashcroft was one of the missionaries assigned to his stake.
I've also met a couple of missionaries from Guatemala, who live within my mission. I've especially been talking to Elder Soto, who is from Antigua! In case I didn't mention this already, Antigua is, to my knowledge, an area only for sister missionaries right now, so I won't be able to serve there, though I'll probably be able to see it on a P-day much like today.
Last night we got to watch a devotional given at the Provo MTC by Elder Russell M. Nelson, and his wife, Sister Wendy Nelson. It was really great. They talked about obedience. Sister Nelson said that Obedience brings blessings, and exact obedience brings miracles. As you know, I'm generally a pretty obedient person, and I know that I have been feeling the blessings of my obedience as I am here. Elder Nelson spoke of many things, always reminding us that we are representatives of the Lord Jesus Christ in all we do.
At this time, I am able to speak and understand Spanish well enough to survive, and maybe even teach a few lessons, thanks to the gift of tongues. I'm not going to stop learning, though. I want to master this language. We went to get referrals from people at the Temple this past Saturday, and we talked to one sister who talked really fast. I was able to catch about 80% of what she said, which was really cool. Elder Najarro is even farther along than me, because both of his parents are Latino, so he's heard Spanish all his life, though not spoken it much. We tried to do a day completely in Spanish yesterday, and our district didn't do quite as well as anticipated, though I believe Elder Najarro and I tried harder than some of the other missionaries. It actually wasn't as hard as I thought it would be, probably because It's a lot easier to understand North Americans speaking Spanish than it is native speakers! We're trying again Friday, and I'm excited, and looking forward to success!
Today we're going to the temple again, and it's always one of the highlights of my week. I'm really excited to feel the spirit there again, it's always refreshing and edifying.
Also, we get to leave the MTC again, I believe next week, to go proselyting again, but this time I'll be with Elder Najarro, not my Latin companion. I'm nervous of course, because that's how I am, but I'm super excited. Last time, it was really cool, because we weren't even in the good part of town, and I didn't feel in danger ever. The Lord was watching over us. Also, I wasn't tired when we were finished, even though we had just spent three hours walking around in the hot sun. My legs hurt a little, but it wasn't a big deal. But this time, I won't forget my sunscreen.
I just want you all to know how much I love you, and how much you all mean to me. I miss you, but there's no place I'd rather be right now than sharing the Gospel that has brought me so much Joy in my life. In the words of President Dieter F. Uchtdorf, "I am doing a great work, and cannot come down."
And if you're ever having a bad day, or a hard time, look up the scripture Joshua chapter 1 verse 9. It helps me a lot as I'm trying hard to do this great work.
Thank you for your love, your letters, your thoughts and your prayers. You are the best!
See you in less than two years! :)
Sincerely,
Elder Nicholas Banks
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