The Store, El Estor

Elder North and one of the pigs in his area

Date:  June 16, 2014
Area:  Kanlun, Guatemala
Companion:  Elder Barker
Week 26

I finally get to see this place called El Estor, it feels a lot more like home than any other place I've actually been in, and it has a lake by it, I havn't had a chance to get some pictures here yet, we ate at a place called Gardania's, it is amazing. Maybe I can find a new tie, we're always looking for new ties.

This week I actually don't have too much to say, which might change, I usually say that and end up writing a lot still. I completed my six month mark, half a year in Guatemala and still going strong, with no run ins with parasites like my companion, but he's all better now. I don't count they days, but I know that whenever it is the 11th of another month I have completed another month out here, so I count the months, this is also awesome because I am still writing daily in my journal, so that means I have a full half year of mission experience in that thing, and I'm still going, there's still things that don't get written in a journal, but it's better than just trying to remember all of it. Most of the other missionaries say, "Oh I stopped writing after the first change," Or, "After the CCM" things like that, not me, I'm going strong.

We found some new investigators this week, one family that we thought was going to be good, they had some questions and seemed to be interested in learning more, but then they asked if the church would be able to help them financially, I'm told that that is a little bit of a problem sometimes, that some people just expect the church to help them, but for this family a lot has to happen before the church will consider it. They need to get married, the father needs to stop drinking, they need to be baptized and pay tithing and be faithful members, then the church could probably help them. We havn't dropped them yet, we'll see what goes on.

Elder Barker being eaten by a dinosaur at Branch Pres House.

So, there's another family, we havn't met the father yet, we're kind of scared of that, because they generally say no to us, but we showed them the book of mormon, (Lix Hu Laj Mormon) and they seem very interested in it, we'll be visiting them tomorrow and see where it goes from there.

I got a lot of letters this week, nine to be in fact.

From: Dad, Mom (2), Sister Barnson, The Barnson family, Karoline, Grandma Mary, The Holdens and Ceaira.

Thank you all so much, and  also for sending some pictures as well, those are also really fun to get and look at daily as they sit on my wall.

It hasn't been raining as much as we would like, so it has been hotter than usual, but that's alright, we're kind of used to it, we have our fans and we live with those things, I still sleep with a fan, the difference in Kanlun to La Tinta is that I have a bug net, so I feel very comfortable to sleep without a blanket and expect not to wake up with tons of mosquito bites.

The weeks are going by really quickly in Kanlun, I'm getting better at the sacrament prayer in Kekchi, I'm getting better

Elder North with Branch Presidents Son

at Kekchi in general, but the third hour of church is so hard to stay awake in, it's a lecture type setting that I would have a somewhat difficult time staying awake if it was in English, but it's in Kekchi, so my mind starts wandering more easily and the Kekchi just turns into gibberish really in my ears and I find myself nodding off, I'm working on that. If you think it's hard to stay awake in English, it's twice as hard in a language you can't fully understand.

We did have interviews with President this week and those were really good, he seems impressed with my language skills and he gave me great counsel, Sister Curtiss gave me an assignment to work on with may help me have a more meaning full personal study, I'm excited to start it. What it is is studying by themes and I think I'll be studying the theme of the Priesthood. I'll be able to talk about my progress and results later as I study and maybe give a talk about it in a multi zone conference.

Hope you are all doing well,

I love you all even though me make me kind of jealous by saying how the weather can get a little cool back home even though it's summer, but hey, I might get to the mountains at some time in my mission and I hear the mountains are nice weather.

GO GETCHA SOME!

Elder Norte,

Laj Saqi Noq'

Being a duck in a duck cage

One of the members houses flooded.

Elder North sitting on the soccer goal
in front of our house in the church yard.

Write Elder North, it takes a bit for him to get his mail but he loves to hear from everyone.  He does a pretty good job about writing back too.  So drop him a line today!

Also if you are interested this is his companions blog and so it can be interesting to read what his thoughts are from the week.  http://grifeninguatemala.blogspot.com/

PLEASE WRITE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Please do not use nick names on letters or packages. They have to go to the mission home and then be forwarded on. If you have a nick name on the letter it may never make it to him. THANKS

Send mail to:

Elder Jered North
Guatemala Cobán Mission
Apartado Postal #34
3ra Calle 2-02, Zona 3
Cobán AV 16001
Guatemala, Central America

It costs $1.15 to mail a letter to him. You can use regular envelops and stamps just make sure they equal $1.15. If it weights more than a regular letter you should take it to the post office to have it weighed.

OR

Use Dear Elder (www.dearelder.com)

its Free to my mission. Just got to

dearelder.com, create an account

and it will track the letters you send

so you can go back and view them.

On the drop down menu just put in

Guatemala Cobán Mission and then

address it to Elder Jered North.

They get mailed out once a week.

This will be the best way to contact

me since I don't have that much

time on e-mail each week.