Blake in Guatemala: Working Hard in Racanda

This week has been incredibly difficult. It rained all week as we trecked up the mountains to find someone who wants to hear our message. I'm sending pictures so that you can see how far we walk each day just for a chance to teach a lesson. We are usually are lucky if we can get just that. Last week, one of our investigators, Blanca, agreed to get baptized on the 22 of October, but she can't go to church because her husband is almost always drunk and won't let her. We see that a lot here: the women are much more likely to accept us, but their husbands are often very drunk and don't let them go to church. It's extremely sad because the family lives in poverty enough already, and there's absolutely no room in the budget for beer. That just goes to show that we can always make room for our priorities.

Last night it was pouring and we were called to give a blessing at a members house. It was my first blessing in Spanish and was a very special experience. The family humbly gave us some corn to eat and we talked in Quiche. The whole time I kept thinking of the infinite nature of the open sky, and the love that God has for all his children. There, on the dirt floor, chomping on some corn and rice, I mused at the reality that this will be my life for the next two years.

At church this week, a man came who hasn't come for a long time. We talked to him and agreed to visit that afternoon. We went to his house, and it was one of the most humbling experiences of my life. After a 30 minute trek up the mountain, he scurried away his chickens and asked if we could come share a message. He talked about his problem he has with drinking, and so I shared the end of Romans 8 with him, implying that no matter how many drinks he takes, there is always a way to get back to the grace of God. As I read that scripture in my broken Spanish, the spirit filled the room and he started crying. Then, In an ancient Mayan dialect, he wrote down some words on a paper and handed it to us, saying that those were the names of his children and he wanted us to mention them in our prayers. We left his house and made the long walk back the church: what an experience.

The days are long, and packed with small, extremely spiritual experiences. We taught English class on Saturday to a bunch of kids. It was the best haha. I just want to pick them all up, put them on a plane to America, and give them a way out of their poverty. I know that leaving Racana is their only way to make money, so I do my best to teach them a new, relevant language.

Much walking means much thinking, and there are times when I don't understand why these children are put in such bleak circumstances, but still, radiating in the back of my mind, I know that God has a plan for them the same way he has a plan for me. and then I think of their smiling faces, and loving gestures, and I start to realize that they might be happier than most of the people in America anyways!

So, here I am. Writing on a computer in a small, random Internet cafe in some town in Momostinango. I took a fleet (back of a truck) full of 40 people (yes, forty people in the back of the truck) and drove for over an hour to be here and say these short words to my friends in the States. These two weeks in the field have changed my perspective on life forever. I've learned more out here than I have in all my high school years and previous years combined. I'm just beginning to comprehend the scope and breadth of life, and just glancing the surface of the unknown.

Godspeed,

Elder Young

Look at the birds on each hand!

The Book of Mormon In Spanish

Elder Young and his companion Elder Hawkins (from Pima,Arizona)
Pima is right by Bryce Arizona where many of our relatives are from. Blake's Great Grandma grew up in Pima.