Game Over, Hello Darling Family!

Hello Darling Family;

How are you? I hope you are very well, thank you very much for all the letters and photos during all this time. They mean a lot to me, you are incredible!😊👍

The mission changed my way of seeing things, I even think it was a blessing to have paralysis at half mission, it was an opportunity to learn! I have learned to see life in a way that allows me to see each moment as opportunities to learn. 

I have tried to contact an old friend, so he can give me lodging for 4 or 5 days in a city where I lived some years ago, I hope to succeed with that. I will take advantage of that time to be able to meditate and organize my life and I will see how to get the money I need to buy my plane tickets to go to Costa Rica for my papers that are my title as a Primary Education Teacher and some diplomas, I left them recommended with friends in San Jose.

In other news, we have been teaching Maria Conchita, a young mother with a great testimony of this gospel, she will have her baptismal service on Sunday afternoon, I am very excited because I can still be for this important event for her and for the Father Heavenly. To end my last missionary letter, I can repeat the words of the Prophet Joseph Smith at the beginning of this dispensation; "The standard of truth has been raised, no unholy hand can stop the progress of the work, the persecutions may become bitter, the populaces may come together, the slander may defame, but the truth of God will go on, courageous, noble and independently until that has penetrated every continent, covered every climate, visited every country, resounding in every ear, until the purposes of God are fulfilled and the great Jehovah says that the work is finished "

I love you very much and I wish with all my heart that you have an excellent week,

Bye! Bye!💚

My penultimate missionary letter! That's crazy!

Hi guys!

Can not be! my penultimate missionary letter! That's crazy!

This week has been good, on Sunday we had Sister Conchita as a researcher in the Gospel Principles class, she moved to our area on Friday night, in the same class was Sister Iris de Pineda and she shared her testimony to the other sister so she could have her own spiritual experiences. That was great, since it reminded me of my first months as a member of the church; the testimony of many faithful members strengthened me to be able to build mine and although many of those members are no longer in the church, I know that what they shared is true and that I should have my eyes set solely on the kingdom of God and that I should always aspire and keep in mind: "To the kingdom of God, or nothing!

The weekend we were where will be the chapel of the branch of Sumpango I am very excited about that, although I will not be there to see the final result ... I know it will be a great place! Then, we took the opportunity to eat with the members of the branch to commemorate the anniversary of the Relief Society hahaha the best was when we sang As Sisters in Zion😂😂

I am so grateful for the life of having Salsa Lizano, that has been his secret for these last days (lack of budget hahaha) I have been cooking for the members, and the specialty has been Gallo Pinto (Food of Costa Rica), with that no We have missed lunches and dinners hahaha, how crazy!😇😁

Well, I do not know how to thank you for all your advice and support during all this time ... They have helped me a lot, thanks for always writing ...

I'm very confused and I do not know what to do with my life afterwards, apart from what I apparently have to learn a lot more, the people where I was supposed to live at the end of the mission They can not help me anymore, so I was left homeless again. I know that I must take these last two weeks, learn and give the best of me in the remaining time of mission, but I can not help thinking that I will do later, at the moment the only thing that occurs to me is to make a loan and get an apartment , while I'm looking for a job that allows me to start over! I do not know what I was thinking about when I decided to sell and donate my things before the mission ...

President Cluff called me last week indicating that you wrote about me, I want to thank you for that, also for your prayers. I still do not know what to do with my life and I do not know how long it takes to make all the decisions. 

I hope you have an excellent week!

 Bye! Bye!

Getting Very Close to the End!

Hi! Darling family! how are you?

Well, I'm two and a half weeks away from finishing the mission, and I honestly do not know what I'll do with my blessed life after being released!

Wow! The general conference was awesome! I had a great time and I learned a lot, now I must make an effort to put into practice what I have learned ...

At the moment I have two friends proposals where I can stay at the end of my mission, one is Puntarenas and the other in San José (the capital), I still do not know what to do ...

 This is very personal, for some reason I feel so confused and I do not know what to do with my life after the mission, a little over a year ago I went through that, although at that time it was temporary and the situation was different; Now my relieved mission call is final ... When we decided together with the mission president that I could end up here in Guatemala after the trial period regarding my health we had agreed that the mission would cover my return to Costa Rica. However, my Costa Rican certificate is expired, for this reason the area presidency denied the request. Now the expenses will have to run on my own, as far as my education still do not know what I will do, in fact I have not made any plans nor have I set any personal goal. I'll see what I do with clothes, food and lodging at home later, to see what happens hahaha

[Editor's note: Pedro began his mission in Costa Rica, had to come home to Guate for a while due to health reasons. When he got back to health, he was allowed to continue his mission in Guate. He had hoped to be released to Costa Rica after his mission, but since he's not Costa Rican, he can only go back as a visitor, not a permanent resident. That's what he was talking about when he said his return was denied. He doesn't have a family to go to home to in Guate, so is looking to stay with friends he met while on his mission in Costa Rica.]

Yesterday we cooked at the home of the Zacarias family, and it went very well, so well that we almost came back home rolling hahaha We made Taiwanese empanadas, well at least that was the idea ...

It is likely that I will visit them some day, I do not know when, I think I will need at least a few days after the mission to put my affairs and my life in order!

I wish you have an excellent week! Bye!

General Conference! yeah!

Are you encouraged by the General Conference?

On Sunday we met together with the members of the Sumpango Branch Council and the stake presidency to carry out our branch council, it was very edifying since we were reviewing the annual plan of the branch and setting the corresponding goals for carry out the missionary work ... I can only say that we have very good leaders building Zion here.

As for my goal to be more genuine, I'm improving although I think it is necessary to improve a lot ... Last week I handed a card and a postcard of Jesus Christ to the grandmother of a new convert, we had tried to teach him several times; for some reason she almost never attended us ... the surprise is that she sent us to call us on Sunday afternoon so that we could teach her; We teach restoration and she is willing to accompany her grandson to the conference this week ... Another event that has me very excited! There is always something new and a lot to learn.

I'm four weeks from finishing the mission, I feel happy, sad, worried, excited; mmm I do not know! Mixed feelings! I think

Brother Rob, when you returned from the mission as was your adaptation process, you have some suggestion, this time is definitive, although I went through a similar process while I was at home to recover my health, I know that this stage in my life will not be part of I have to start from scratch and continue with my normal life. I think nothing will ever be the same again!

Sister Erin, do you have any suggestions to keep up with a firm testimony and move forward in such a crazy world! I do not know why I write these things, I think I'm getting melancholy hahaha, please, I would appreciate it so that it does not affect me in these last weeks

Darling family, I love you very much! and I hope to see you one day not too far away.

With love,💚​

How are you?

Hi guys! how are you?

As I told you last week! the forecast was a great weekend! and yes it was! On Saturday morning we went to the Temple of Guatemala with the Pineda Family, Julio could not accompany us for personal reasons ... Those of us who had a great time ...

In the afternoon we had the baptismal service of the Pineda family, many people attended, more than we had planned, we have very good local leaders ...

At the end of the baptismal service both brother and sister Pineda shared their testimonies, they are incredible! they talked and talked as if they were members of many years! It did not seem like they were baptized 20 minutes ago ... I have to confess that I secretly cried of emotion on Saturday afternoon! Sunday is not far behind, it was very spiritual during the confirmations ...

Oz, congratulations for having taught that human that he should not litter anywhere (by the way, I love going to Walmart hahaha). Simon will be an excellent teacher when you serve a full-time mission.

How happy that the kids could practice Spanish with the missionaries and have had a good time

* FRIENDSHIP is not about whom you have known you the longest; it's about who came and never felt your side. Thanks! 😎

Last Transfer of my Mission! That's Crazy!!

Hey! Hey!

From what I see they had a week of adventures, not to mention a week of chaos! Hahaha

Yesterday there were transfers, the good news is that I will continue in the same place and with the same people! I am very excited we have obtained a special permit to attend the temple in Guatemala in the company of the Pineda family and Julio (recent convert) the Pineda family began to investigate the Church a month ago and have a strong desire to improve their lives, we will have the baptismal service on Saturday afternoon and confirmation on Sunday; 

On the other hand, Julio joined the Church a month and a half ago and is making impressive progress, he is very punctual to bless the sacraments and he is progressing very well as a new member!

So the forecast for this weekend is: A fantastic weekend and very hectic, but; The reward will be that I will see more happy people. I've always said it, it makes me happy to see people happy! It's something strange! Hahaha

I do not want to think that I am very close to finishing my missionary service, although I also understand that life is to enjoy and live healthily, so it makes me excited to know that soon it will be April. 

Rob, there is a phrase that says when he sends captain (Erin) does not govern sailor... hahaha

* Some old photos, my camera does not work at the moment

I hope you have an excellent week!

Bye Bye!

Elder Diaz

Elder Cook

Hello!

How are you? This has been a normal week without much to tell, although I'm still enthusiastic about the idea of having one more change in the mission ... I must make the most of it ...

Rob, I'm sorry you're having a hard time being sick, I hope you recover soon ...

Tyler- Ann's Happy birthday !, I remember when I was a kid, I thought that people my age were adults hahaha Welcome to the group of adults hahaha I hope you have a great time!

[Responding to questions] I like the paches (tamales) of Guatemala and I love patacones and the Churchil de Puntarenas in Costa Rica,

And ... everywhere I go I always look for root bear! and Vinea (it's a soda) hahaha

Tomorrow we will see Elder Cook, that has me very animated! even if it's the fourth time I've seen him! I hope and have an excellent week!

Hi Guys!!

Hi guys!

This week has been great, last Sunday the Pineda family attended the Sunday meetings, they are incredible, one of the reasons why I feel very happy ...😍

Yesterday we went to Panajachel, and we had a great time ... how are you? We are two days from the end of February and when they ask me when I return home I will have to answer "Next month" hahaha 

It was a bit difficult to adapt to my new area, but now I am starting to see it much better, we have an incredible missionary leader and very collaborative like the rest of the local leaders ... A little over a year ago I thought I would have a failed mission !, then, sometimes it seemed mission impossible! The good news is that we can say "mission accomplished"!😎

Do you like horror movies? of action ?, I love cinema! which has been the best movies that have come out a year ago, which is the one that they like the most !, I'll have to catch up on my return home hahaha🎬😎

On Wednesday of the other week we will see Elder Quentin L. Cook, that has me very excited! I've seen him several times, but I know there's always something new to learn ...

Have an excellent week, have fun! until next time!😉

Thank you all for your support, thank you Darling family for your great friendship, I love you very much, and I hope to see you all soon!❤

Hi! Happy Week!

Darling Family,

I had changes a week ago now I am assigned to the El Tejar ward of the province of Chimaltenango and the Sumpango branch of the Sacatepequez province.

Brother Rob, good luck with all your occupations, Texas is very warm, good luck with that too ...😎

This weekend was good, we had a week in opening area and we have found more people to teach. Yesterday we met with the Pineda family (family of 4) from Tejar to teach them the plan of Salvation, which they understood very well ...

At the end of the lesson we asked Katherine the 10-year-old daughter for the last prayer, she was doing it and for some reason she was speechless, after a short lapse of time Daniel (the dad) began to help him; Although I have witnessed similar situations, yesterday was a fantastic moment, the spirit could feel, seeing and hearing a father teaching his daughter how to address his creator, it was a moment in him that I thought I would have had the opportunity to This girl has her father teach her the path to follow, like the hymn. Although later, I thought that it is part of life to learn and discover sometimes by oneself the path that brings us closer to the Savior ...

Dalton, I'm sorry about your teeth😷🤕 , I hope this is better ... Congratulations to Simon for launching the new shower hahaha 👍

Sister Erin, yes, we will keep in touch when I return home, I hope you have an excellent week!

With love,❤

Elder Díaz

Happy Valentine's Day!

Hi Darling family!

This has been a crazy week! I do not have much time to write!

I had changes, now I am assigned to the El Tejar neighborhood and the Sumpango branch in the province of Chimaltenango.

I do not know where I am! hahaha I have read your letters, I will tell you everything that has happened during all this time! next week...

I'm fine! Happy Valentine's Day less a day, have a good time!🤗

Love,

Elder Díaz

I Have a New Toy :)

Hello! How are you doing?
This week we felt bad because we did not have any investigator in the chapel, we went through our investigators and most of them hid or did not open the door, that was very sad for me. On the other hand, we took a month teaching English at the Rodeo on Saturdays, as a result of that we managed to activate a family of two people, it was gratifying on that side to see that hno. Ricardo and hna. Teresa was able to attend after a long time ... they started attending English classes, last Saturday we showed them that it is more important that they attend the Sacramental meeting than the English classes, they understood that part.

I also received a good gift from the González family, I always looked for Masha and finally, they gave me a gift ... hahaha
I have a new toy, that makes me happy, before the misón my best moments were spent watching Masha and the Bear, a Russian fable.

For those who love God, all things work together for good, that is, for those who according to their purpose are called (Romans 8:28), this was a scripture that I found in one of my Christmas letters two years ago. years and finally I could understand the meaning ...
No matter how many difficulties we have in this life, everything will be a matter of learning and for our good!

I hope you have an excellent week, 
Until next time!

Hello People!

Hello! all good? How are you doing with everything?
This week was good! is incredible! On Saturday I had 15 students in my English class and every time people are more encouraged to attend, even if it seems crazy! I had 12 women and 3 men in my class, all of different ages ... I do not know what happens with that ...
On Sunday, after a long time brother Angel was able to attend after more than 3 years of being inactive because of a negative comment from another member, to our surprise in the afternoon when visiting him and his family they were busy lining notebooks for their children , we helped them, after that Sister Marissol told us that her youngest daughter had not been baptized and that if it were possible for her to prepare for her baptism, Viviana (the daughter) will be baptized on February 14, since on this date Brother Angel celebrates his years of joining the church ... Sister Marissol told us that she did not dare to confide her daughter months ago to other missionaries because they wanted her father to baptize her, it is wonderful to see that by disinterested service Lord puts people on the road so they can fulfill their covenants ..
Brother Rob, you are a very good builder! and I think it has good taste! hahaha, good job!


Sister Erin will be a pleasure for me to visit you in Washington after the mission, it's crazy since I do not know what my life will be when the mission is over, when I returned for the first time it was different since I was sick and I knew it was only for a while now it will be definitive and I will have to go on other things, maybe the change and my adaptation will be different now; there's still a long time to think about that ...


Tomorrow I am 4 years since I joined the Church, this simple and important decision at the same time completely changed my life, I learned long ago that "It is good to be important but it is more important to be good", This is true, join the Church my life changed completely and now my way of seeing life is with more hope and light ... I know that these things are true and that when we are at the service of others we are only at the service of our God .. .


I love you Darling family, thank you very much for all your support! you are incredible!

P.S. This week I had several e-mails sorry not to write much ... hahaha

Hello! All good?

This week I had a great time, I attended the Rodeo group and the attendance improved significantly, I am trying to practice my English and we are teaching on Saturdays; it's not going so bad because being the second class I had 5 students hahaha
Today I had an interview with the mission president and he reminded me that I have 3 months of missionary service, time goes by very fast; I do not even want to think about what I will do after the mission, I would like this to be longer hahaha


Last Wednesday we had a multi-zone conference, I was able to greet Elder Whelan; I also sang along with Elder Peacock and Elder Davis "Joseph Smith’s First Prayer", Sister Cluff liked me very much, she came to tell me that we did very well after the meeting, President congratulated me for that today and I made a comment that It makes me feel very happy ...

"Useless wisdom only differs from the foolishness in that it gives much more work."

"A shared joy is transformed into double joy, a shared sorrow, in half grief"

My friend shared these Swedish proverbs, I like them a lot; and my goal this week is to put them into practice. In fact yesterday I cooked a Chocolate Cake with Orange for the Family Reyes and for the Familia Lobo, in total they were two hahaha cakes it was funny I missed cooking hahaha The best of all is that they enjoyed it a lot. I do not know why? but I still have some Christmas money left! I think I'll keep buying more candy the next few days, I love the sweets! By the way, hno. Rob Thanks for your advice, congratulations on the new shower! good job! I think I can never do something like that, I'm very bad at building, it's easier for me to destroy! hahaha
I hope you have an excellent week!

The Sweet Life!

I am so happy that the Lord has given me the opportunity to be a missionary today, I am celebrating 21 months of service to bring people to the true and restored gospel of Jesus Christ.
Congratulations to Dalton for this calling, I'm glad that the guys are having a great time... Thank you sister Erin for the recipe, I'll try to do it!
Brother Rob, that's crazy! I never thought that President Monson was going to die while I was serving a mission, although I could never meet him in person, I can say that he was a prophet of God, I love it when he taught that we do not have to be Presidents of the Church, to identify the needs of the the rest.
Perhaps one of the moments in which he paid close attention to President Monson was when he quoted one of my favorite phrases: "Those who do not know how to manifest their love, do not love" (William Shakespeare)
You are a great family! with very good appeals, while they were at home; almost always I was secretary! that's crazy! my first call was secretary of young men, then secretary of the neighborhood and finally secretary of quorum of Elderes.
Yes, I read the biography of Martin Luter King Jr. He was an admirable person and a great warrior of life! Its use is very interesting and it seems very funny ... hahaha
I firmly believe that we do not belong to any religious social club, we belong to the Church of the Savior Jesus Christ, at some point in my life I wanted to leave everything aside, even the Church ... One of my friends asked me a great question that made me think ... If you leave the Church, where will you go? Then, I regressed that there is no other true church and that I had nowhere to go! At that time, I understood the scripture of Romans that says: "For those who love the Lord, all things will work for their good."
I love the banner of the truth spoken by the Prophet Joseph Smith, it is something that I had to learn by heart in my other mission, I try to apply it often in my life and in my mission.
I've been buying candy and lots of goodies with Christmas money! "The sweet life! Hahaha
Yesterday we went to the Pacaya Volcano and it was very fun! we had a great time, we were there as a prayer and it was very good, this was the fourth time I went up to that volcano and every time I did I could appreciate many of the wonders that only our God could create, being there I could understand that no matter where we are, it will always be possible to feel the peace and love that only Christ gives!

with love,
Elder Díaz

These are some sweets and drinks that I bought with Christmas money. And a speaker too hahaha

Hi Darling Family!

Hello Darling Family!😉 

I hope you are well! This week has been good! After 3 weeks I had to go to the rodeo this Sunday, a new church group, we had divisions with the local leaders of the church, to see that all the members in this place have less than 5 years of joining the church. feel very excited to be part of this group since many could share their testimony. 

The Cañas family are converts of 4 years and are great pioneers in this place

They support the work a lot and visit and twin the members without being asked and that is very good since that is one of the keys of our religion👍
I am about to complete 21 months of missionary service, and that is very rewarding! I have learned to love people again and that makes me happy, for some reason it makes me happy to see people happy hahaha. From past experiences I had to learn to appreciate people again, Elder Whelan was one of my examples and teachers in this task here in the mission ...
How nice that they could have a great date at Home Depot and then they could eat! Happy birthday to Simon! And congratulations for sharing your testimonies!
You are incredible! Have a great week!
Until next time!😁

P.D. A good sunset in Canaveral, hahaha I feel there are not many pictures for now, my camera stopped working

My Friend Hellen Flores!

Happy New Year!

Hola! espero se encuentren bien! Tuvimos un fin de semana grandioso! Elder Whelan tuvo permiso y juntos bautizamos a Yessenia y Leyla Lobo, fue muy loco! ya que tuvimos muchos contratiempos... Pero al fin pudo llevarse a cabo, lo mejor de todo es que pudimos almorzar con nuestros comañeros, después de eso Elder Whelan tuvo que irse a su respectivo área.

Me quedan menos de 4 meses para terminar la misión... y estoy emosionado por eso; aunque de igual forma no me gustaria terminar...hahaha

Mi nuevo compañero se llama Elder Cabrera, es de Ecuador, Vivio en Heredía Costa Rica. Es genial que toda su familia conozca aunque usted no hahaha. 

No importa si escriben en Inglés en español (Ahora estoy escribiendo español porque ya no tengo mucho tiempo hahaha)

Gracias por el Blog, eso es genial! 

Si, recibi el sobre con Dinero, Elder Whelan me lo entrego el Domingo, Muchas Gracias, aun no se que compraré, estoy pensando en eso! EStas son mis finanzas dulces por el momento, amo tanto los chocolates y estos son mis favoritos después de Whatchamacallit

Hasta la próxima y feliz año 2018!