A Spoonful of La Verdedera Capacitacion Missional: Guatemala Mission- week 11

Hello world!

 My bus didn't roll over the road, but I do have a different surprise. My visa didn't go through and so I'm in California waiting for it--San Francisco to be exact. It's kind of sad because I was really looking forward to meeting my President and my real trainer, but things like this happen and I just have to keep a positive perspective. 

April fool´s! I hope none of you were so easily fooled by that. And I know that technically april fool´s was yesterday but with the combination of it being conference it completely slipped my mind, so I figured I give it a shot in my weekly email. I'm celebrating a working enter bar so this might be a long email. 

So my first week in the field in three words would be: I LOVE IT! It's like exactly what I wanted if I had any idea of what it would be (which I really didn't), but I have a Latina trainer, Hna Ramirez from Honduras. She's fantastic. Obedient, patient, and open to suggestions. I really am in San Francisco, but it's an area in the zone of Mazatenango which is about one hour from Reu. 

I loved meeting President Maravilla. He's an enthusiastic man and they gave us all a warm welcome as well as a good laugh. We ate at his house the first night and he told the cooks to give the two Norte elders (who you should know would easily eat 2 plates of lunch or dinner at the CCM) a ton of food but when they saw them loading their plates. They couldn't finish their plates for probably the first time in their lives and to all the Latinos it was funny because they were always asking them for food or ice cream. I will admit I was laughing pretty loudly too, but partly because of President Maravilla's attitude about it all. 

In other news, I love my area. It really is named San Francisco for a reason. It's  built on a hill so we're either walking up a hill or down a hill no matter where we're going. We also have a village called Buena Vista which is a good walk from our little casa and it's in the jungle practically. Well, there are roads, there's just a ton of trees too. I inherited all of 1 investigator. The others were baptized before we came and so we had to focus a lot on finding finding finding. Families in particular. And we did find but we're now in the process of visiting which can be a tricky thing because people have such tricky schedules around here. 

Conference was perfect, wasn't it? I honestly loved all of it and could go on and on about it, but I've just chosen a few to highlight. First, Elder Andersen's talk in Sunday Afternoon. The question he posed at the beginning, "What does Christ think of me?" was something completely different by the end of the talk, anybody else experience the same thing? How the question was transformed by the Spirit to mean something so much more than the sum of it's words. So cool. And then President Uchtdorf's about not judging seemed to go hand in hand with Elder Holland's about how life isn't a competition. Elder Christofferson's was funny with his little nod to the interpreters. I was watching it in English so I don't know if they translated it or not. Hermaneutics, eh? I really appreciated Elder Hallstrom's as a missionary because it's so true. How I wish sometimes we could just go around a say "Look at our church. Look how well organized it is. Look at all the fruits of our labors. Look what the Church can help you do." But I realize how silly that wish is, because if an investigator is going to join the Church, it should be because they're truly converted to the Gospel of Jesus Christ, not the Church. The Church is merely a tool in the goal of salvation for every human being. 

Life isn't so primitive here. We walk a lot, yes, but we also take a bus a lot and even tuc-tuc's which are small taxis that can fit 6 missionaries if you squish. There's a ward member that we pay for lunch and she's a good cook. There's also a ward member who does our laundry and we have a warm shower. My first day in Reu it rained super hard. And it rained again on Friday pretty hard and it looks as if it will rain today too. I'm totes fine with that too because it helps cool this place down. 

The humidity really isn't that bad, but after walking a mile, you can feel pretty icky. What keeps getting my goat is the bugs. Apparently my blood is a hot commodity around here because everyday I have new bites. And even though white people aren't new to San Francisco, I'm 99.9 percent positive I'm the only one there right now which means I get noticed a lot. Some of my titles here are canche, canchita, hermanita, among others. None of them are inherently offensive, just a bit annoying, but that's life in Guatemala for nortes I suppose. 

A Spoonful of Semana 10ish: El Gran Día: Guatemala Mission Week 10ish

Parentals! Tomorrow I'm leaving the MTC for the real mission life. Get
excited!! Here comes the big leagues. They gave us a whole 30 minutes
to write to you because I guess we don't get to write again until next
week but it's kind of funky because I just wrote on Saturday. So
whatevs, I'm writing again.                              I feel pretty
ready for the field, I can understand Spanish pretty well and speak it
well too. And I know how to work hard and am dedicated to this work.
To be honest, I'm mostly worried about my companions. I met an hermana
today who is from my mission who spoke about how sometimes in order to
avoid contention she just went with whatever her senior companion did
even if she had been told otherwise. I don't want that. Wouldn't it be
great if I just had a super obedient trainer?? I guess the real key is
just to be firm in my obedience and also learn how to be loving in
demeanor. It's going to be a challenge, I know it, but it's something
I'm going to have to figure out sooner or later.                Well
my President's wife should be emailing you tomorrow with a picture and
telling you that we made it safely to the mission, if that doesn't
happen you can just assume our bus rolled off the road and I died
somewhere between Guatemala City and Retalhuleu. Just kidding. I'm not
completely sure she emails you tomorrow so don't freak out if you
don't get an email.             Hope you're all doing fine. Oh, and I
have a challenge for you! They always say that the families of
missionaries are extremely blessed. I won't really get to see the
blessings, but you will, if you look for them. So try every night to
write down one blessing whether small or large that you saw in the day
and that way not only will you be aware, but you can give thanks to
God for his generosity and love. I love our Heavenly Father so much.
And will be eternally thankful to Christ for his love and sacrifice. I
love you both and hope you're safe and blessed. Until next week!!!
                   -Hna Cappuccio

A Spoonful of La Ultima Semana en el CCM: Guatemala Mission- week 9

Sadly it's true. My time in the CCM has come to an end. I'm not really
sad about much because I'm so excited to be out in the field, but it's
always incredibly hard to say goodbye to the people you come to love
and all my friends are heading out to their respective missionaries.
On the other hand, I've been quite annoyed by some elders in our
district so it will be nice to not have to see them. Annoyed is a nice
way of saying it. It does give you a greater perspective of the range
of missionaries there are and I have a better idea of what to expect
in a returned missionary.                                      This
week we got to go contacting in the street again and it was amazing!
It was just me and my norte companions but wowzers was it an awesome
experience. As far as numbers, we did a lot worse than our last time,
but yet at the end of the day I felt a feeling of peace as if the Lord
had accepted my efforts and I didn't worry about the people I
contacted and if they would join the Church because of what they felt
while talking to me. I know that God is aware of them and will not
forget them. We were able to teach a lesson. We had just literally had
the door slammed in a our faces when a man on a bike directed us to a
woman waiting in a window with her daughter. We talked to her a bit
from outside and then asked if we could teacher her and she said yes!
We shared with her about the Plan of Salvation and we were blessed to
be able to teach by the Spirit. We know she felt it because we were
feeling it too. We invited her to church and she accepted the
commitment. We had to pass on all the information to the Guatemala Sur
Mission President because it's their responsibility, but I actually
didn't worry about it much.                      It's fun to think
that I will have that kind of opportunity every day starting Tuesday.
I'm sooo excited to be out in the field. I'm already imagining what my
trainer will be like and my first area. I am ready to get to work.
They made us take this grammar test that had an introduction about how
MTC teachers should get all or most of the questions right and that
missionaries shouldn't expect to really do well unless they had been
exposed to Spanish grammar before. Can anybody guess how I did? Haha,
let's just say I think I could get a job at the MTC when I get back if
I wanted, which is great, because I do.                            I
would like to request everybody's address if they have never given it
to me. I give you permission to just send it in an email to me at
amy.cappuccio@myldsmail.net so that if I want to write to you, I can.
Which, trust me, I do. I've lamented over not having many people's
addresses already and would like to have them. If you want to just
give me your address by writing me a letter, that's just fine by me,
but make sure to send it to my mission address. Which should be on my
facebook...maybe. Anywho, I hope you're all doing well. I pray for you
daily, for your health and good spirits and your growth in the good
word of God. I love you all!                            Love,     HNA
Cappuccio

A Spoonful of El Tiempo Vuela: Guatemala Mission- week 8

El Tiempo Vuela...At least here in the MTC. We only have about 10 days left here and

that seems crazy to me. I'm quite excited to be getting out into the
mission field but it's hard to believe how fast time goes sometimes.
In a week and a half I'll be with my trainer in my first area teaching
real people...it's going to be great.                            If
there is anybody out there who doesn't believe in the gift of tongues,
then let me explain to you a little something that has happened. I
didn't speak any Spanish before coming to the MTC. I knew some
vocabulary words, but on the whole, nothing that could get my by in a
conversation. After only 8 weeks of studying Spanish, I can have a
complete conversation in Spanish, can teach the Gospel completely in
Spanish and understand almost everything I read. To compare, I studied
French for 3.5 years at BYU and spent 2 months in Paris and I now
speak as good in Spanish as I ever could in French. Naysayers will
point to the fact that I speak French as the reason why I could pick
it up so quickly, but I know that I've had divine help. I remember in
my setting apart the Stake President telling me that the Lord wanted
me to really learn this language and he has made me equal to it. I
don't know the purposes of the Lord in this, but I am willing to use
my skills in any capacity to help build the kingdom which is what I
intend to do.                           I don't have too much to share
about life in the MTC this week because it hasn't been too eventful,
but we do have another proselyting activity on Monday and we won't
have Latino companions this time. So, prepare to hear about our
awesome experiences with that next week. I hope you're all safe and
happy. And I love you all. :)                         Hna Cappuccio

A Spoonful of La Tierra del Libro de Mormón: Guatemala Mission- Week 7

This week we had the amazing opportunity to go to an outdoor relief
map of the whole country of Guatemala. It's pretty big so they had to
build small towers so that you could see all the parts of it. It's old
too so some of the original functions don't work anymore, like the
water that's supposed to be flowing for the rivers, lakes, and oceans,
but it was cool none the less. We had one of the MTC Presidency
Councilors explain to us how this land fits the description of the
Book of Mormon land. He went through a lot of the history and pointed
out different places like the place where they landed (which is
actually in Mexico on the border of Guatemala and also where Christ
appeared to the Nephites), Zarahemla, the river Sidon, and the land
Northward. It was such a neat experience. He also explained that when
they say ´´and they went up to the land....´´ it means up in altitude
which is common because there are so many hills and mountains (and
volcanoes) here.
                 We also got to go to a mercado in the city. It's kind
of like the streets in Rocky Point but it's a complex and all the
vendors have tiny stores with a lot cooler stuff. As you walk past
they all ask "¿Qué está buscando?¡Pase!" They were all really
down-to-earth and it was fun talking to some of them. I definitely
think you'd like the market, Mom. You're able to bargain them down and
everything is pretty cheap but they have some sweet table runners and
place-mats and, my favorite, hammocks.
         This week was a little hard because all of our friends from
the last 3 weeks left and besides being lonely for a day and a half,
we really missed them. They were all fantastic people and so funny and
I know they're going to make great missionaries. We got a huge new
group of missionaries though and they're great too and what's better
is there are actually more missionaries going to my mission! It's been
cool getting to know them and also the other missionaries that are
from there and finding out a little bit more about what it's like.
                                 This is a rather long email, so I
apologize. I hope you're all doing well and enjoying your March. It's
crazy to think that I only have 3 weeks left here in the MTC, but I
already feel ready to be out in the field. I'm just trying to learn
patience and find ways I can help build others in my district which is
actually harder than you'd think with the personalities we have. Ha.
Well, until next week amigos y familia!
Love, Hna Cappuccio

A Spoonful of La Vida de una Misionera: Guatemala Mission Week 6- Mar. 3, 2012

I can't help but comment on the speed of which time seems to fly by
here in Guatemala. It seemed to drag a bit in the Provo MTC,
especially the first and the last week, but ever since we got here it
has been going so fast. Our Latino friends that got here at the same
time as us are leaving on Monday and Tuesday and I'll be sad to see
them go, but I guess we'll be getting another batch so I shouldn't be
too sad.                                                           The
most exciting thing about this week is that we were about to go
proselyting!!! It was awesome. They took us out to Zona 5 of the city
and then let us loose all on the same block. Luckily they gave us
gringos Latino companions. I was paired with Hna Ramirez who also
happens to be my roommate and she was awesome. Whereas I was nervous
and unsure, she was bold, compassionate, and knowing.
                                      We ended up just contacting on
the street about 15 people. Out of that bunch we got the reference
information of about 11. We placed 2 Books of Mormon as well as
various other pamphlets. What surprised me was the willingness of
everyone we stopped to give us 5 to 10 minutes of their time. It was
such a neat experience to be able to look into their eyes and know
they were missing something that I could give them. Yet, I only felt
as if 3 or maybe 4 of them actually intended to follow-up with our
invitations. But that's how missionary work goes.
      Besides that, our scedule has been like normal, meaning chaotic.
They give us a schedule every week like they did at Provo, but then
procede to not follow it strictly. The only thing that is constant is
our meal times, which I still LOVE. A little too much, I think. I was
able to try a new fruit called a Jocote which is a size in between a
grape and an apricot with the taste between a pineapple and a mango. I
also got my first taste of mango yesterday! They just pealed them and
stuck all the mangoes into the fruit bar whole. It was awesome, though
difficult to eat.                               I have really been
impressed this week by Nephi. He really did have so much faith, both
in the words of his father and the words of the scriptures. He didn't
complain about the timing of the Lord in revealing his will or giving
him revelation. I think we  can all learn a lot from him. I hope
you're all doing well and staying out of trouble. I appreciate your
prayers and hope you know I pray for you all too.
With Love, Hna Cappuccio

A Spoonful of H-S-I: Guatemala Mission Week 5- Feb. 25, 2012

Those of you who have served Spanish-speaking missions will know what
HSI means, for those who haven't, it means Hable Su Idioma, or in
other words, Speak Your Language and it refers to speaking your
mission language all the time while in the MTC. As youc an imagine,
this can get pretty hard when you're a newb to the Spanish language,
but it does pay off. I've learned a ton in the last week and can
understand almost any Gospel discussion. It's harder when it comes to
discussions about pastimes because I've never learned a lot of that
vocabulary.                 The teachers have taken notice of my sweet
skills and have asked me to teach my district certain grammar
concepts, but I'm still learning a lot too so I'm not the most
thorough or knowing teacher out there.                          Our
devotional this Tuesday was with Elder Martino of our Area Presidency
with his wife. My headphone jack wasn't working so I listened to the
whole thing in Spanish and actually understood most of it. I found it
slightly amusing because during the end of his wife's talk, Elder
Martino began to doze off and didn't wake up until he heard everybody
say "Amen" and so he had to take a few seconds to reorient himself for
speaking, you'd think it would have taken him a while to speak with
power and the Spirit, but nope, he gave a powerful discourse from the
get-go. Thus, he supported my idea that the Church needs to put more
of an emphasis on Revelation through Descansar, or Sleep/Rest,
especially here at the MTC. That's something me and my companions came
up with this week and now it's an inside joke of a sort.
       We also got to go to the Guatemala City temple because it's
literally a block from us. Closer than the Provo temple is to the MTC
(And no hill! Haha). It was a really neat experience as it's a smaller
temple than any one I've ever been in and it's neat to see the temple
in a distant land so bustling with people.                      Well
we have about 4 more weeks here at the MTC which possibly could be
shortened (a sister in the group before me left in the middle of her
4th week here). DearElder letters get to us by Wednesday if submitted
by Sunday at noon Utah time and I'm pretty sure it's free. I hope
you're all doing well and remember that power comes from faith and
faith comes from a pattern of study and prayer. The Lord loves you
all very much, of that I am sure.  

Love, 

Hna Cappuccio