DECEMBER IS HERE! TRUMP THROWS A KING IN THE WORK, A MOMENT OF FLUENCY, AND A BITING PARROT!

Hola Mi Familia,

This week has been really good! I can`t believe that the first week of December has come and gone already... Time is flying by out here!!! I can`t believe that I am coming up on my 4th month here shortly! That will be on Christmas Eve... That`s so weird!!!! The homesickness is starting to die again, which really helps with every aspect of being out here, so I`m really glad about that, I am getting really good with the language, nowhere near perfect, but I can understand a lot, and speaking comes more and more easy every day. It`s really cool to think that I can now speak another language. The guy who does our laundry told me there are missionaries that have been out more time than I have and he thinks my Spanish is better than theirs. It was a big confidence booster. It really helps to have Foster with this because he is amazing with the language! He says he isn`t fluent yet, but he definitely is, his Spanish is amazing. He also really helps me to be able to unwinding. He has been an awesome first companion and it`s going to be pretty hard to say goodbye to him, possibly at the end of this month.

I`m glad you were able to have a good time with family at Amber and Curtis’ wedding. I can’t believe they have been together for 10 years.  I’m glad they are happy. I really miss being home and getting together with the family. Saying that, the homesickness is dying down, which is really good because it makes it a lot easier to do everything I need to do here. So I am happy about that.  I`m really glad that you guys were able to go down to Salt Lake and see The Savior of the World and just spend time as a family!!! That`s really awesome!!!! I wish I could have been there. The principle of putting forth the effort in gaining or own knowledge and testimony of Jesus Christ and this gospel is so true, and something that I have had to develop while being out here, but I have gained such a strong testimony about how if we do everything we can, even though we might not KNOW something is true, God will see our efforts and he will bless us and those around us. It has been a really cool thing to see while being out here for the past 3 and a half months. It is definitely knowledge that I count myself lucky to have come to know firsthand the way I have. It`s really cool and a really humbling experience. The quote you shared is so true:

If you only had 2 minutes to bear testimony to somebody who knew nothing about the gospel, what would that person learn?  Would they learn about God's love for them, about the Savior's sacrifice on their behalf, and about the purpose of the Holy Ghost? Would they learn about the doctrines and principles of the gospel? Would they learn about prayer, fasting, and the scriptures? Would they learn about the worth and nature of their own spirit?  Would they learn about the plan of salvation? Would they learn about agency?  Would they learn about the purpose of life and the pourpose of trials? Would they learn about life after death and that all mankind will be resurrected? Would they walk away pondering and thirsting for more knowledge?  Testimony:  You have to know what it is, before you can share it.    - Anonymous

It`s a little hard for me here to share a testimony like I would back at home just because my Spanish is still very small and simple which sometimes are the best kind of testimony. It`s really cool though to think that I can share this gospel with the people of Guatemala in their own language, and that I have the opportunity to learn this language. I can`t believe that I can speak at least some Spanish. It`s a really cool feeling. That is one thing that I have learned being out here, is that even if we can`t see something, but we have faith, and we act on that faith, the Lord is going to see our efforts, and he will bless us immensely. Thank you for your testimony, Dad. It`s awesome, and it`s so true. We just have to do our part, and we will see the many, MANY blessings, and rewards later down the road. It`s like in Doctrine and Covenants where it says, "I the Lord am bound when ye do what I say, but when ye do not what I say, you have no promise." And it`s so true. He watches over the people who obey and follow Him.

So on P-Day, we start off by waking up and we kind of just relax and chill for a while, and then we will either go to the internet for a little bit, just see the emails we got and things, and then we will go grocery shopping, and depending on if it`s a zone activity or a district activity, we play soccer or basketball, or like when I was first here, we went to the lake in the volcano, but most of the time we just relax and unwind from the pressures of missionary work. We have one Zone Activity and one District Activity every month, and those just depend on what people plan on doing. This month it will be a service activity for Christmas, but I`m not quite sure what we are going to be doing, so I`m excited for that.  We have a multi-zone conference in 2 weeks and we are going to have talks and watch some videos I believe, but we will see. It should be really cool. I`m excited! Transfers are going to be the 27th of December, and I think I am going to stay in Calvario, and Foster is going to be the one who changes areas because he has been here longer, and there needs to be someone to show the new companion around the area and things, so that`s what I think is going to happen. I`ll let you know though. We never know until the Sunday before change day though, so I`m not sure.

I love teaching! There are people you find who are just so prepared to receive this gospel, but then you get the people who just want nothing to do with you and it gets frustrating sometimes, but it`s a really cool experience to see how the Lord really prepares people for us to go teach. As for getting involved with the people here, it`s kind of hard. Don`t get me wrong, I love the people we are teaching and the members I am close with, but it`s a little different here for me and Foster to start playing with the kids or things. One reason is because our President is very strict and doesn`t want us "wasting time" I guess on playing with the kids or things, but also, because we are in a different country, especially with people who aren`t too fond of white people, ESPECIALLY after the win of Trump as President!  We have to be extremely careful on what we do around and with people or else people can twist what we are doing and we could end up in jail. It`s hard sometimes, but I try getting involved as much as I can.

Now, along with me saying I have a very strict President, I am experiencing Guatemala as much as I can be here in Calvario. One, it`s a really small area, REALLY small! Also, we can`t just get together with our District or Zone to do things all the time. We only have 1 time a month with each and that`s it, the rest we are in our area, and we can`t do a whole lot more. He says that we aren`t here to look around and things, we are missionaries and we need to be missionaries always, not tourists. It makes sense but it`s hard sometimes. So as much as I can be, yes I am. But don`t worry, Foster and I have plenty of fun. He is very good at that! He`s been great, and I am going to be very sad when we have to say goodbye. Yes, I am building very good relationships with my zone. They are all awesome people! I even have one Elder in my zone who was in my same district in the MTC, so that`s really cool. We get to see each other every week for meetings. But yes, we are getting really close, and it`s really cool to see these relationships building. I am especially close with my zone leader Elder Van Kat Wyk and my companion Elder Foster. They really help me unwinding and have fun, looking up and taking in the moments sometimes. They are great!  Now to answer the weekly questions: 

1. PEAK MOMENT:  Getting to December. It`s something that is really small, and not important at all, but the time out here is flying so fast, and I can`t believe we are in December and that 2016 is almost over already. It`s so weird!!!!

2. PIT MOMENT:  Probably Karem changing her baptism date. She is still for sure being baptized which is why it`s not too bad, she just got offered a new job and couldn`t have us teach her at all this week, so she just said she would rather be ready with the lessons then just jump into it. So that`s really cool, but it still kinda just sucks.

3. SOMETHING INTERESTING THAT HAPPENED: (2 stories to share) First one is, is that I started talking with one of our investigators and I didn`t even realize that I was speaking the most fluent I ever have!  It was just a really cool moment with the language and another testimony building moment for the gift of tongues. It was really cool.

Another interesting thing that happened was I probably broke my finger from being bit by a PAROT!  Yup, you heard me right, a parrot!  We were trying to teach someone, and they were showing us their pet parrot, and they said it was very friendly.  WHATEVER!  Foster went to pet it, and it tried to bite him.  So I tried, and the parrot let me pet it for a bit.  Then all of a sudden, CHOMP!  It totally bit my finger!  It hurt like crap!  I truly think it broke it, but I obviously won't be going to the doctor here!

4. SOMETHING I LEARNED:  I learned in Moroni 7 (A very good chapter by the way) verse 18 that we shouldn`t judge wrongfully of people, which sometimes is hard for me down here, because there are people always doing stupid things, that I kind of just silently judge them, but that we need to leave that up to the Lord, and everything will be ok.

5. SOMETHING TO PRAY FOR:  Please pray for Paty again. I have no idea any more what is going on with her. We have done everything we can with her, and honestly we have no idea what to do now with her. It`s pretty frustrating, but we are trying. Just pray to help her get her answer, because that`s all that she says is holding her up, but I`m not sure.

6. SOMEONE YOU MET:  Someone I met was a man today by the name of Luis.  He had apparently has been taking lessons, but then the missionaries left the area, and the new missionaries never went to visit him again.  We talked to him a little bit, and so we called the sisters from that area, and asked if they knew who he was and if they would go visit them. He seemed really cool. This was a testimony builder to me of God putting prepared people in our path, because as we were riding a bus before that, and we had the option to keep riding the bus for a little bit or get off and just walk back to the house.  For some reason, I just felt we should get off and walk.  That is when we happened to run into Luis! So we will see how things go. It was a really cool experience though.

7. WHAT IS YOUR MISSION PRESIDENT LIKE: My Mission President is great, but he is really strict, and to be honest he kind of scares me. J I just get so nervous when I`m around him. I don`t know why, but I do. His wife is amazing! She is so nice and loving. She`s great!

8.  WHAT ARE YOU DOING FOR CHRISTMAS:  For Christmas, we are going to visit families for a little bit, Skype home, and then we are probably just going to go home and watch the fireworks from there, have our own little party, whatever we decide to do.

I love you so much, and don`t worry about me, I am having a blast out here. I still get the most surreal feeling when I think that I am an 18-year old kid living in Guatemala for the next 2 years and this is a once in a lifetime opportunity. It`s weird to think about, but yes. I am loving it here. It`s awesome!!!

I hope you have an awesome week!!!! I love you and miss you so much!!!! 20 days until we Skype!!!! I am so hyped!!!!

Love Elder Harward