Week of October 27th - November 3rd

hello my amazing family!

so about my week!! well we got to reu like 12 pm on tuesday and had a bunch of training things! and then we met with president! i love him! he is super funny and really awesome. we had dinner at his house on Tuesday night and it was amazing!!!!!! :) Wednesday we had change meeting. and i had to bear my testimony in front of like 150 other missionaries, in Spanish!!! it was so scary but i did it :) i also met my companion! her name is hermana beckstrand! she only has 3 months left, so she leaves after she trains me!!! but she is really awesome!!! and she is a gringa so she helps me with my Spanish when i struggle, which is a lot lol she is super good at spanish and is a really good missionary!!! also, i am in a zone with elder fillmore! (he is the one who came with me from provo!) so that is kinda nice to actually know someone haha im still getting into the swing of things..and idk when the feeling of being a new missionary will wear off, but i hope soon haha 

 

I am in an area called San Martin! its super awesome! we live with another set of missionaries and they are latinas so we get lots of practice speaking spanish! haha the area i serve in actually really big!! we cover like 4-5 small little towns, but they are all mushed together. i have a hard time deciding which is which lol but i love it! its definitely a culture shock!!! lol also, our house is SO nice!!!!!! it has running water and everything!! i am seriously being spoiled here!!!! i love the members here! they are super awesome, and we eat lunch with them everyday but sunday and monday!! i wish i knew more spanish so i could actually get to know them, but for now i will just do as i can haha also in every area of the mission the bishop of the ward gives the new missionaries a blessing, its super cool! i cried through the whole thing haha and i couldnt really understand what was being said but i did feel better afterward! 

 

we have some really cool investigators who we play basketball with everyday morning at 6! its super fun and is way better than normal exercise haha we have quite a few investigators! also this weekend was All saints day and day of the dead (nov 1) and there were tons of people! they all go to the cemetary and eat food by the graves of their family, its super weird but also really cool! we went and passed out plan of salvation pamphlets haha it was fun!!! but as soon as the sun went down..it got kinda sketchy!! so we ended up going home early! i had my first encounter with a drunk person lol and he was speaking in spanish so it was even better lol welcome to guatemala! and then yestderday san martin had this cowboy fest! and in front of our house is a big soccer feild! and they just set up this arena type thing in front of our house and had horse shows all day! and the music was SO loud! haha we didnt teach too much this weekend :( but hopefully this week we can get more!!! :) 

so funny story: we were going to a lunch appointment on friday! and we stopped to talk to some teenagers. after we were done talking to them we went to leave and as i stepped off the porch onto the sidewalk, i fell. there was like a huge gap between the sidewalk and the porch...and i fell right into it hahahaha i have a pretty good scrape from it! so that was a good way to welcome myself to guatemala!! haha also, i have like 35 mosquito bites (that will be my new weekly stat for you lol) 

today for pday we came to Reu to eat lunch and email!!! :) the buses here are so crazy!!! like pack like 30 ppl into a bus that should only hold like 10! but they are super cheap so its okay! i also rode in a tuktuk for the first time!! haha after we finish emailing we are gonna go buy some food, so i can hopefully stop eating corn flakes for every meal haha but hey! i dont mind corn flakes!!! :)) 

the mission is hard...my back and shoulders hurt almost always and i feel like crying almost daily because i dont understand! but i know that it will get better! i know that the savior is here to help me!! and the people are super patient with me!! so that helps! i love this gospel so much and i love you all so much too!! please stay safe and stay amazing!!!! i cant wait to hear from you again next week!!! good luck with everything this week!! I LOVE YOU SO MUCH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

with more love than you can imagine,

Hermana Canty

My Last Days Before the Real World

Hello my amazing family!!!

how are all of you?? i hope great! thank you so much for the emails! i love hearing from all of you!! :)

Well the week was really good! last Tuesday after emailing we got to go to a market here. it was super weird! i loved it but i was so scared bc people actually spoke spanish! after that we went and played volleyball..only it was cut short bc of the rain! it started to rain about 2:30..and it didnt stop til almost 6 pm..and im not talking a light sprinkle..im talking like BUCKETS were being poured on us for that whole time!! it was a neat experience to have!!! and im very grateful for my rain coat! haha i have used it like 3 times this week!!! it rained almost everyday!!!! but i love it!!! :)

on wednesday we got 6 new norte hermanas!!! its so weird having so many but they are in the other district so we dont see them too often! but its also really fun having them! also..we got roommates! they are latinas and they are so funny!! they help us with spanish!! i have learned how to say "im gonna turn on this really bright light at 6:30 every morning so be prepared" haha so i havent learned to say the whole thing..but parts of it haha also there is another hna..latina..who is going to my mission!!! YAY!!!!!!!!!!!!!

so this week was crazy! haha one of our investigators told us that he didnt want to take the lessons anymore and that we should come back later..but he woulndt set a date..so we went back a few days later to see how he was doing..and he let us in!!!! we had a great talk with him!! we read him some scriptures and just tlaked! we bore our testimonies that we knew this church was the only way to return to live with god and the only true church here. we told him how we wanted him to have all the blessings that god has in store!!! and he agreed to let us teach him again! we taught about hte plan of salvation and it was kinda hard bc he had so many questions that i dont even know the answer to in english..much less spanish! but after the lesson our teacher, who is also our investigator, told us that we did great!!! so that was really comforting!!! :)

also we went street contacting this week...it was TERRIFYING!!!!!!!we were so nervous! but i prayed that heavenly father would help us be able to give a libro de mormon out! and he did!!! there was this girl that was getting her car towed..probably not the best time but hey! i was told to do it lol and it was super quick and we didnt get any contact info her but we gave her a l de m and bore testimony to her...in spanish!! i was so scared to do it but i knew that if i didnt act on the gift that was placed in front of me..i wouldnt get anymore!!!! it was scary but i cant wait to do it again and to actually get some contact info!!!! :))) im becoming a missionary!!!

so my teacher challenged us to write our letters in spanish this week and since i dont know too much i will just leave my testimony with you..in spanish!! google translate it :) i love you all so much and pray every day for you!!!!

yo se que jesucristo es nuestro salvador y redentor. yo se que el sufrio para todas nos pecados y que el expiacion es real! yo se que mediante la expiacion podemos ser perfector y vivir con Dios otra vez. se que el don del lenguas es verdadero y que sin no puedo enseñar los personas! yo se que mi mision es el mejor cosa para mi ahora. se que podemos vivir juntos para eternidad!! yo se que la ilgesia de Jesucristo de los santos de los ultimos dias es verdadero!

thats all for now!! i love you so much!! Remember God loves you and wants you to be happy!!! just like i do!! :)

CON MUCHO AMOR,

hermana canty

Fotos

 Guatemala Temple

Hemana Canty & her MTC District at the Temple

Livin la vida en Guatemala

Hola Famillia!! 

I am so happy i get to write you!! I love reading your emails because i miss you all so much lol you are seriously the best family in the world!!! also..its fun to see how things are back home! sounds like everyone is  super busy oh my goodness..2 semanas..CRAZY CRAZY! im so excited! i would like some  pics please! haha but speaking of pictures...i dont have any because here in the Guatemala CCM we are not allowed to have cameras...but we took a rama picture yesterday and they are supposed to send it to us so when i get that i will forward it to you! but other than that..no pics from hermana canty for the next little while! lol  

Well a little about the  ccm here..its tiny! like a very small hotel..except its the ccm! there  are 2 ramas (branches) and like 10 districts..so its super small! i  think in total there are only 116 missionaries here..and only 22 hermanas! and guess what is even crazier..there are only 6 norté hermanas.. that means only 6 Caucasian\north american sisters! its so crazy! there is also another rule here that we have to sit with the Latinas at every meal..which isnt too hard because there are only 6 other caucasian hermanas haha but we also have speak to them in spanish because a lot of them dont know any english. we are supposed to help them with english and they are to help us with spanish..but we hardly ever do the english because we are too busy trying to learn spanish haha so needless to say i have spoken more spanish in the past 6 days then probably ever...i have also gotten very good at acting out what im trying to say hahaha but there are tons of norté elders here and almost an entire district is going to my mission!!!!! whoooooo!!! but...no hnas haha another rule we have here is we can only talk to the elders in our district..its to help prevent the whole flirting  thing! its weird but we do it anyway and besides my district is pretty cool!  

Another rule we have is that we have to eat EVERYTHING on our plates....normally that would be fine..but the portions here are HUGE! you have no idea..i wish i had my camera to show you but youll just have to trust me when i say that! ive never eaten so much food! It feels like thanksgiving everyday..3 times a day!! but the food is equally as delicious! they have a 5 star chef here who cooks full course everyday...ive gained a lot of weight since being here.... haha but its okay! 

Another thing about Guatemala is that it rains almost every day! and when it rains..it pours! the first day we were here it rained and the thunder sounded like a bomb! it still scares me but im gettting more used to it! it is the cool time of the year..and i feel like im gonna melt sometimes..so i cant wait to see what the hot time is... hahaha but guatemala city is beautiful! we dont go outside very often because everything is inside but we have lots of windows to see out of! there is a window by the stairs that we walk everyday that is directly facing the temple..it is beautiful!!!!!!!!!! we do get to go outside for deportes..which is fun! i usually play volleyball with one other hna and the elders! its super fun!!

The first day we got here we got to the airport like 6 am and no one from this ccm knew we were coming..so we waited at the airport until a nice shoe shiner man let us use his phone! he called the ccm for us because he saw our name tags and knew we were lost...the church really is true! we got picked up and then came to the ccm! they let us sleep til lunch which was amazing! we then met the presidente and his wife! they are Presidente and Hna Cox! they are super cool and really great! we also go put into a district of just elders...10 18 year old boys in one  room..just think about it! haha they are super crazy but also really cool! and they all have super strong testimonies which helps mine grow even more! my companion is the hermana i came with! her name is hermana campbell! and she is from seattle!! she is amazing! she is super cool and is basically fluent in Spanish..so whenever the latinas talk to us i look to her if i dont understand..which is alot of the time hahaha but its really nice! she helps me a lot with spanish and we have gotten really close in the short time since being here bc we are both still adjusting and getting used to everything here! but i really like her!! 

Our teachers are both natives from guatemala but they do know english..they have to explain some stuff to us still but it is getting better to understand!!! also..if we want to talk to any of the workers..we have to do it in spanish because like 99 percent of them dont know english..back to the game of acting lol but my spanish is improving! it definitely helps being immursed in it!! but for general conference we got to watch it in english! it was so good!! i seriously felt like a little kid on Christmas morning during conference! I appreciate it a lot more now! but how cool was it that they gave their talks in the native language!!!!! i loved that! my favorite talks (if i had to choose bc they were all amazing!) were president monsons talk on Sunday Morning when he talked about walking as jesus did not just where jesus did!! and also elder bednars talk about why we share the gospel! they both just hit me to the core! they were all about my purpose as a missionary and explained what i need to do and why i do it!!! also..elder hollands was great too!!! i hope you all got to watch it and if not..do! haha it was amazing! Also i knew like 20 elders who sang in the priesthood choir! crazy haha!

We got to go to the Guatemala City Temple today!! and because there were tons of norte missionaries..it was in english! this temple is tiny!! like seriously but nonetheless the session was great! it is always comforting to go to the temple!!! It is a beautiful temple!! i wish i had my camera (again haha) to take pics!! but oh well...i will just have to come back after my mission and takes pics haha but im sorry my email is so spacey and crazy! 

I feel like i have tons to tell you and not enough time! in order to make the email go faster im on a super simple format..and i dont have any idea how to work it haha but i want you all to know that i know this church is true! and i have felt the spirit empower me to teach and to understand spanish! i feel the gift of tongues work everyday! and i know that the lord answers my prayers!! you all are the reason i serve! i want others to be as blessed as i am! just know im thinking of you all and pray for you protection everyday! i love you all and cant wait to talk to you next week! con mucho amor 

-- Hermana Kelli Canty

Picture time

 Hermana Canty's first selfy as a sister missionary

 from left to right: Hermana Davis, Me, Hermana Harmon, Hermana Adamson, Hermana Dungan, and Hermana Ward..my comp! :)

 

  Hermana Ward and I after our running experience and we were twinning! :)

Our district with Hermana Bair (she is the short one in the black shirt)!! :)

 The toilet

The elders in my district (from left to right): Elder Thompson, Elder Oswald, Elder Farnsworth, Elder Cazier)

My Adventures in el CCM

Hola! Como esta? Yo soy muy bueno!! :)) 

I was trying to speak more Spanish but i couldn't think of any more so that's what you get! haha but how was everyone's week!? i hope good!!! :) Thanks for the pictures everyone! i love you all and love seeing the pictures!! i miss you guys a ton but don't worry, I'm not coming home! instead.. I'm being shipped further away! 

I AM GOING TO THE GUATEMALA MTC ON TUESDAY!!! yeah! that's my big news...i got my flight plans on Monday and they told me i was leaving!! i am super sad because I'm just getting into the swing of things here at the MTC and my teachers and companion and district are amazing! but when i signed that acceptance letter, i signed away my travel plans! ;) so besides my whole mtc world being turned upside down this week has been really good!! :) 

To start it off...last Saturday night it was about 10:25 pm so we were all getting ready for bed..when all of the sudden we here Hermana Ward (my companion) screaming from the bathroom "HERMANAS! HERMANAS! I NEED YOUR HELP!!" the toilet was overflowing with water..it was so bad it ran out into our hall!! and we were trying to help her turn it off but we weren't explaining it very well and we couldn't get in the bathroom because she had no clothes on!!! So after she finally got her clothes on and unlocked the door i ran to the toilet and PUSHED the black lever!! it finally stopped over flowing but we were left a bathroom covered in 1 in of water and a wet hallway! needless to say we didn't get to bed on time that night..a plumber came about 11:15 to help and check out the toilet!!! we were all laughing so hard..but i felt so bad for hermana ward!! its the joke in our apartment now!! :) so a few lessons i learned that night..1) DO NOT PULL THE BLACK LEVER..it will dump every drop of water into the toilet..and 2) never use the bathroom with out clothes on... (also..i have a mini heart attack every time i flush the toilet!!!) 

Our district must have a curse when it comes to toilets because Elder Cazier broke the mens toilet in the classroom! he says that someone "put a pen in the toilet and that's why it broke" but we all know it was because he drank the orange juice that morning!!! we have lots of fun times with the district!! :) its a good thing i have a journal because there is NOT enough time to tell you every funny thing that happens here..but when i get home we will read my journal!! :)

This week we also continued to teach Felipe and the lessons went WAY better than the first! he actually told us he wanted to be baptized and we set a date (pretend of course) for the 18 of October! it was so cool to see how the spirit touches people! and its crazy how real the gift of tongues is...i was able to speak Spanish in those lessons! well Thursday was our last lesson with him though... :( we were so sad!! but have no fear family..we saw Felipe again..only this time the perfect wonderful investigator we taught about the gospel was standing in front of us as Hermano Vargas!!! yeah that's right...WE WERE TEACHING OUR TEACHER!!!!! i was freaking out!! poor hermano vargas had to struggle through our bad Spanish! (sorry i ruined it for you chance..i just had to tell you!!) (whit: WHY DIDN'T YOU GIVE ME A HEADS UP!?) anyway..hermano vargas is super cool and i like him a lot but he is very intimidating..he is Mexican and has a British accent..scary! haha but hes really good! On Friday..we had to take running shoes to his class..yeah he made us run too!! but its was all to help introduce our lesson..stress management haha it was a much need lesson after the night before!!!!! 

also! on Sunday i got to watch the re-dedication of the Ogden temple!!! its was amazing!!!!! i have never been to one before and so it was so cool..we got to hear president monson speak and elder bednar!!! :) also that night we got to watch a video of elder bednars! it was called "The Character of Christ" and whit..i think this is the same devo he gave on the Christmas you were at the MTC!! on my 4th day in the MTC i watched the same talk you did on your 4th day at the MTC!!!!!! :) it was an amazing talk!! :) For Tuesday devo we heard rumor that president uchtdorf was gonna come speak to us! but it was actually Elder Ballard..and was AMAZING!! the mtc is a spiritual power house!!!! :) i love it!!!! :)

i love the hermanas in my district..we all get along really well and are all progressing with the language! we try to Hablo Se Idioma (speak your language) a lot but we cant do it all the time..yet!! :) today i am doing laundry and packing for Guatemala...i thought i just did this 2 weeks ago! :) but esta bien!! :)

 

Time fly's by during email time so i have to go! but i love you all so much and i pray for you each everyday!! and our district always prays for our families (partly because that's all we know how to say in Spanish haha but still!) so know i think about you everyday!! and i cant wait to talk to you on tuesday!!! you are the reason i am serving my mission!!!!!! Yo Amo ustedes mucho!!!!!! :))))

Con mucho amor,

Hermana Kelli Canty