First Week

Hey guys! when I arrived to LAX I met up with 24 other missionaries. When we got here we were able to take a nap and then went straight into the Spanish lessons.  Oh and right when we got off the plane and got out of the airport, we first see this super small Guatemalan dude with no legs and he used a skateboard to get around and he just pushed himself every where. Then another Guatemalan dude came up and asked if I wanted my shoes shined. and i was trying to practice to say no but he kept asking over and over again so I finally asked how much would it cost and he said it would cost 1 dollar. and so i thought and I ended up giving him the dollar to shine my shoes, but I just realized after that, that he does that for a living and he just goes around asking to shine peoples shoes for a dollar. To us a dollar is nothing, but to him that was the only way he could get money to buy food.  It has been such a hard time here. Learning Spanish is so difficult, especially when you can't speak to your teachers and they want every question you have in Spanish. The second day we had to give our first lesson and I would like to say that Elder Dawson killed it! haha. He gave most of the lesson and I read stuff from the scriptures and from the preach my gospel, but he just is so fluent in Spanish! By the first day we had to learn how to say a prayer in Spanish and by the second day we learned how to bear our testimonies in Spanish. It's crazy how fast you learn Spanish. The gift of tongues is real.

Also we went to the Guatemalan City Temple today and the room is only big enough for like 30 of us and we were squished. It wasn't chairs either, but it was benches and since I am talking about the temple I would like to say that I am in the best room of the MTC (CCM). I get to look out my window every night and see the temple. I get to see where I am striving to get myself after a mission. The only night that I couldn't see it was last night though, because there was so much fog that we couldn't see the temple and the temple is one building away from us. There's a gas station in between us and the temple and then a small street. It's crazy how close we are to it! and I love the Guatemala City Temple's baptismal font. It's so small which is perfect for the Guatemalans but it just is so cool how they have it set up.

I know it might be surprising but the food here is still good! haha. To be honest we haven't had much beans or rice, which is really weird because some of the Guatemalan elders say that they always have beans and rice, but the beans don't go right through me, It's the juice. The juice is so strong that if you drink more than one glass a day and you aren't use to it, then you will have the runs the next day. It's not good at all. 

To end my first letter, I would like to say how much I love you guys and that I couldn't ask for a better family. and even though the days may seem long, the weeks seem like they are fast. I cant wait to write to you guys again! I love you guys so much and cant wait to be out in the mission field.

Love you,
Elder Flygare