One Year in the Mission!

K'alen (hello) from beautiful Taktik! Hope that you are all doing well and are enjoying your trip to Utah/ enjoying time in the house alone haha. How's the weather in Utah? Hot? It's pretty much just rainy here in Taktik. Today it's been drizzling pretty much all day. Hope that all of the extended fam out in Utah are good, healthy, and happy.

This week has been a good week- a little hectic, but good. In my district leader's area, they had a baptism yesterday, but since they were both new they didn't even know where their investigator lived that was getting baptized. The other elders had shown me where it was, and since the girl getting baptized spoke Q'eqchi' they had me go with them to show them where she lived and to help get her ready for her baptismal interview. Then they decided that they wanted me to be there to be a translator for the interview the next day. So I had to travel a little bit and we lost a bit of time in our area. And my comp got sick for half of a day. Luckily I didn't get sick at all though. Things are going really well here in Taktik. My companion is good. We get along well and we are working pretty hard. He leaves next change but he's not too baggy (yet). He is 24 years old and is a little more of the quiet type. But once you get to know him he opens up a little and so we are having a good time in Taktik. Taktik is a really beautiful area. I love it because lots of people here wear corte! It's mostly all Poqomchi' here, but there are a lot of people that know Q'eqchi' as well, so I have been talking a lot in Q'eqchi' with some people. We have a lot of different towns that are smaller than Taktik that are part of our area: Puruhla, Tamahu, Pansinik just to name a few. So we have a lot of different areas and a lot of little villages to work in. A lot of the really small villages mostly only speak Poqom, so I'm really trying hard to learn it so that we can work in those areas. We just barely found a bible in Poqomchi' which will help a lot. I am starting to be able to talk a little bit in Poqom, but sometimes it's hard because I am really used to talking in Q'eqchi', so I want to start saying things in Q'eqchi'. But I'm learning a lot. It's pretty hard to learn with the limited resources we have, but looking at all of them together and with the help of some members I'm able to translate a little bit the grammar book for Q'eqchi' that we have as missionaries into Poqom. President Watts say that they are thinking it through in regards to any kind of Poqomchi' program. But I've decided no matter what that I'm going to learn Poqom during my time here and I'm going to try to help the other elders in my district to learn it a little bit so that if the Lord wanted to do any kind of a program that we could start it fairly easily. I just think it would be awesome because there are so many little villages of Poqomchi' that don't know anything about the gospel and I know that we could have a lot of success! So we'll see how it goes. We were supposed to have a baptism this week of that little girl, Kennia, that I told you about last week BUT as it turns out she's only 7 years old according to her papers. The mom says that her papers are wrong, and we believe her, but she doesn't have any kind of proof to say that she really is 8 years old, so as for right now we are just going to have to wait until her birthday in October. I'll most likely still be here, so I can still baptize her maybe haha. IN OTHER NEWS: The family of 6 that I had put a fecha with in Yalijux (Victor Caal and his family) are getting baptized this Saturday!! I am really really excited for them, but I'm also super sad that I won't get to be there to see it. But that's just how it is. I'll watch the replay in heaven I guess haha. I'm just happy they are finally getting baptized.

Some suggestions for you guys at home that I have been thinking about lately: This week I have started writing in my journal every day and I have been writing a specific experience every day that I have had as I have felt and acted on a spiritual impression and the blessings received for doing it. It has really helped me a lot to recognize more easily the Spirit and has helped me to be more in-tune with the Spirit to do what the Lord wants me to do. You should try it! Also, mom and dad, we had a lesson yesterday with a family and something important came up: praying as a couple. We talked about how we need to pray in our families, personally, and also as couples and about how that helps the parents to always have more love and more of the Spirit together. So, will you commit to praying as a couple every day (once you get home)? :)

On to some personal shoutouts.

Dad- haha hump day? Kind of weird, but I get the point. Yeah I definitely have a lot more things to do in this next year. I have to get prepared to be a dad in the next year! Yesterday in Sunday school we talked about responsibilities as fathers and we talked about saving money and having food storage and just a bunch of different things and I just started thinking about what kind of person I need to be in order to real provide for my family and to be a good righteous father. I have a ways to go! But I'm learning so much already and I just want to keep learning and changing so that I'll be ready to get back into the real world. How did you feel when you had a year in the mission? Oh and sorry about the money thing...I ended up without any money somehow because I bought groceries for the week that I got the e-change and then had to buy groceries again here in Taktik so I kind of lost a weeks worth of money. But I needed to take some out of my personal account. I checked the balance thinking that I would take out money at the same time so that it would charge me the same but it said I had no money in my account so I didn't want to take anything out. Eventually I figured out that the ATM just didn't work with telling how much you have and so I had to go back to take out a little bit of money. Yeah sorry though for that. Maybe you could figure out a way so that the bank could send me a blanace report every week or something? And I'll also try not to spend anything. Thanks for everything dad. Love you!

Mom- haha that's awesome that you guys got to go and meet Twoody's family! Loved the picture. I got a letter from Twoody when I was in the hospital so I'm going to try to write him back today. It sounds like you guys will have fun in Utah. Maybe this time you'll have more room to take all of your crafty things home with you haha =P. Haha and that's really funny that you guys are going to go and hang out with Tayler "kaxlan" Larsen and his family. Tell everyone I said Hi! Have fun in Utah and tell Tayler's family "hey" for me. Hey also, things that I need are just shoelaces and socks. My shoelaces broke the other day on a pair of shoes, and somehow I lost almost all of my socks! So that is what I need most. Also I could used another spiral notebook, the scripture marker pencil, and some chocolate covered cinnamon bears ;) Thanks mom! Love you!

Alright, well my time is spent. This week I'll have been out one year in the mission. Thanks for everyone that has supported me this far and to everyone that will keep supporting me for another year. Love you all tons and hope you travel safe and have a fun time there with grandma. Love you guys!

Elder Norton