This is Guatemala, boys. Anything will grow.

Hola todos!

I don't have too much time to write today, because we've been doing a ton of really awesome things. We went to the temple this morning, which was great. After that we went to the Zoo and saw a ton of awesome animals and had a really awesome time. After the Zoo, we went to the market. Buying things in a place like this is very different from the US. At artisan shops, nothing has a set price. They'll give you one, but there really isn't one. So if you know that, you barter. If they say it's 100 qetz, you say 40. They say 80, you say 45. Eventually you have it for like 60 or 70% of the original price. I've learned a lot about bartering here. I got a really nice warm woven Gutaemalan jacket today for like a hundred qetz, which is like a bit over 10 US dollars. Good stuff. After that we went to Wendy's, which is a tradition here. We all got tons of stuff, cause it's honestly better here than it is in the US. Soda uses real cane sugar, and the food was higher quality. Pretty solid.

The reason we went and did so much today is because we're halfway done at the CCM. And that means that all the Latinos and older Elders left. It was pretty sad actually. I really made some great friends with the Latinos, and it was really sad to see these friends go. I got some emails and stuff, but even still...it's crazy how well you can get to know someone in three weeks, especially if they only speak Spanish. They're gonna do great though.

Anyway, I've got to go. I love you guys!

-Elder Cloward

Como un estrawberry

Hola amigos!

It's been so great here. There's so much that happens everyday and all the time, it's hard to think about what to write about. Literally everything is different from life in the states, but it's super fun, I learn a ton, and my companion can predict the weather.

So one thing that isn't widely known about the CCM is the sports. Every day we get to play sports or do stuff in the gym, and it's soo fun. You can't truly understand life here if you've never seen missionary volleyball. It's literally the most energetic thing ever, and we play everyday. Lots of crazy spikes, blocks, and wondering why there are only two people in wheelchairs. But it's so fun. There's also basketball. But never, under ANY circumstances, are you allowed to kick the ball. It's actually this huge joke here now, like I guess there were too many injuries from soccer, so now you aren't allowed to kick the ball, and we always catch people doing it out of instinct and roast them for it. It's kind of like when a band kid sets his soda down, if anyone knows what I mean. But yeah, the sports are so great here. 

I've met so many awesome people here. There's a group of gringos that's been here for about four weeks already, and they're hilarious. There's this really funny tradition they have that they're trying to keep under the radar, so don't tell anyone. We get to eat cereal every morning, in addition to whatever awesome breakfast they're serving. And the milk comes in little juice box size carton thingies with straws stuck to the sides. But these guys don't use the straws. Instead, we all give them to this one guy named Elder Hinkley, and he adds them to this massive stash he has in his room. There are literally hundreds of straws, all rubber banded together in his room. He got the stash from someone before him, and when he leaves he'll give it to us. They're writing this history of the straws, and it's really funny. 

There's also this Elder who does all kinds of really interesting things. If you need something fixed or sown, he's your guy. If you need to get beat in basketball, he's your guy. If you need to steal someone's missionary name tag off of their shirt without them noticing, he's your guy. If you need an actual full chiropractic adjustment without any equipment, he's literally your guy. It's crazy. He's also really nice and good at teaching lessons. Elder Roskelly is something else...

I have a ton of Latino friends too now. Most of them don't speak English, but some of them know a little bit. I spend a lot of my evenings just talking to them, and I learn so many things. One of them used to be a boxer before the mission, and he's really short but super strong. Another tried to sneak into the US but got caught by border patrol. Another one says he worked in a funeral home preserving dead bodies, but I'm pretty sure he was just making stuff up. I think. They're all super nice and funny though, and a lot of them have some really amazing stories about how they were converted to the gospel. They have a lot of faith. 

Every Tuesday and Wednesday this couple comes and brings their little shop. It's really awesome, like they have tons of things that missionaries might need, and a lot of them are custom made in Guatemala. Today I bought a new scripture case for my Spanish scriptures that's made of really nice leather and has some really great pictures of my favorite scripture stories embedded into it. They have to make it custom for me, so it'll be done in a couple weeks. It was gonna cost just under 300 Quetzales, which evens out to 35 US dollars. But I kinda bartered with them and got it, plus a nice tie for just $30. Fun stuff.

Guatemala has Spanish, but there's a huge population of people here who speak one of 20 something ancient Mayan Languages. Here at the CCM they teach the most common one, called Qekchi. We share a little casa with the Qekchi elders, and sometimes we ask them to share scriptures or lessons in their language. It sounds soooo cool. Lots of tongue clicks and crazy weird noises. It's nothing like Spanish, but it's really awesome. 

This place is so spiritual. I have learned and grown so much here, and my Spanish is getting so much better. Despite all the jokes, it's really amazing how close you are to God when you spend time serving and doing His work. I really love it, and I still have so much to learn. The gospel is so real, and it's changing my life. 

Love you guys!

-Elder Cloward

Month Three

Hola todos!

Hooooly cow. Life is incredible here. I don't even know where to start with this email, but I'll do my best to explain all the amazing things that are going on in the 20 minutes that I have.

The CCM is located in Guatemala City, probably southeast of the mission where I'll be serving once I finish training here in about a month. It's pretty darn small. Like there are probable only 200 or so missionaries here, maybe less. Most of them are Latino from places like Guatemala, Honduras, Peru, etc. Those guys are amazing. It's super fun to sit with them at meals and talk to them about all kinds of stuff. Almost none of them speak english, which makes it hilarious when they try. We give them all kinds of tongue twisters and see if they can say all these dumb english words that don't make any sense (My companion and I spent like 15 minutes trying to find the words to explain what a peck of pickled peppers is haha.). And they do the same to us, with all their tres tristes tigres and stuff, and I learn so much spanish talking to them when they literally don't understand English. 

There are probably like 20 gringos that came on my flight from LA (there were so many of us) and we are divided into two "districts." A district is a group of about 10 missionaries who do everything together. My district is amazing. There are six guys, or Elders, including me who are in my room, and we are super close already. They are some of the funniest people I have ever met, and I haven't laughed so hard so often in a really long time. We all have different and unique personalities, and we fit together so well. There are also three girls, or Hermanas, in our district. They are super funny and great also. 

So when I said last week that it was a long day...it was literally the longest day of my life. Without question and by far bar none nothing else even close. And so was the next day, and the next. Not because it's boring or sad, but because we do sooooo much everyday. In band we used to rehearse for like 9 hours a day with some free time here and there. This isn't like that. It's a different lifestyle. Every single hour of the day is planned with learning spanish, learning teaching, planning, teaching, eating, going to meetings, doing sports, and like everything ever. It's mind boggling how much stuff we get done everyday. Any free time I have, I spend it reading the Book of Mormon or sometimes talking with my district. It's life, and I love it a lot. So we always joke like "yeah it's crazy that we've been here for three months and haven't even left the CCM yet." It literally feels like time is warped here; we all swear we've been here six times as long as we have. It was pretty great trying to get our Guatemalan teacher to say the word "warped" by the way.

I've already learned soooo much more spanish. A lot of the day is spent with people who don't speak any english, and I'm getting a lot better at having conversations with them. Our teachers are pretty much all from Guatemala, and they have varying levels of English ability, ranging from pretty good to almost none. It's soooo funny when they do speak in English though. Like they'll be funny by inserting english words into their sentences, and it's like the funniest thing ever. They teach pretty much all in spanish, and I am learning an incredible amount. My district's classroom is in this little casa right next to the CCM, and we love it a lot.

This country is so cool. It rains pretty much every day after lunch, and the jungle is so green and beautiful. The air feels incredibly fresh, and it never gets about like 85 degrees. I love it. 

So I have some really great pictures, but it doesn't look like I'll be able to send them while I'm here. I'll see what I can do, but there probably won't be a way to send pictures until I'm out of the CCM in about a month. 

So I've got to go, but I'll say more next week. I'm loving life, learning a ton, and becoming much, much closer to God. I know that the church is true, and if you pray to ask God if he's real and loves you, I know that you will feel him there. 

I love you guys!

-Elder Cloward

Ya no tengo pelo

Hi! 

There is like almost zero time to write this because we're doing a ton of stuff and it's really amazing. Guatemala is beauuuutiful. It's seriously one of the most amazing places I've ever seen. The jungle is so lush and green, and the houses fit perfectly into the landscape. I took some pictures but honestly I was too amazed to remember to pull out my camera with some of the things I saw. I really love this country already. I think it's Wednesday, but it feels like Tuesday still because my flight was at one in the morning and I've pretty much been awake since then. I met some really awesome people on the flight, some in English and some in Spanish. The food here is really really good. There are some super exotic fruits that I really like. Just ate what I thought was dinner, until I looked at the clock and saw that it was only 1 pm. Crazy...

Anyway, a lot has happened and hopefully I'll be able to say more some other time. Lotta really funny stories that I'll have to tell, like how las personas en el CCM cortaron toda el pelo de todos los elderes. Muy chistoso.  We kinda took over the plane here with like 20 elders and sisters on the one flight, and we were all friends. I didn't know the meaning of the word goofy until I met some of these people. They're some of the funniest people I've ever met. Anyway, talk to ya later!

-Elder Cloward

A Method to the Madness

Hi everyone! I am writing this about two hours before I leave for the airport, so I don't have too much time before I have to finish last minute packing and stuff. I will write emails every week, but it's easier for me to have this blog that the emails are uploaded to so that I can just send them to some family members and have them upload what I write so that everyone can see. Hopefully my dad can update it consistently, but know that I'm still alive if the blog isn't edited perfectly weekly.

I decided to name the blog "Make Their Eyes Shine," after a quote I heard in high school. This simple phrase means the world to me. I really believe that the eyes are the window to the soul, and you can see true happiness in the countenances of others. Making people light up with joy and excitement is more important to me than almost anything else in life. The idea that I can go to another country and work my hardest to bring happiness to the people there is so exciting to me, and I want to always remember that this is what it's about; bringing eternal happiness to as many people and families as I can.

Over the course of my mission I'll send pictures, stories, and updates about the things I'm doing. I'm not sure how much time I'll get to write every week, but I'll definitely have enough time to say some interesting things about the people I'm teaching, or how I'm failing at Spanish, or maybe how I get mugged by criminals. Whatever the case, I hope you enjoy keeping up with the things that are going on in the next two years of my life. Feel free to email me if there are things you're wondering about with the church or my mission, and I'll do the best that I can to get back to you. You can reach me at icloward@myldsmail.net. Thank you!

-Isaac