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
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