Week 3 at the Guatemala MTC: I'm on the Lord's errand and I'll go where he wants me to go and be what he wants me to be.

Alright, let's see. This week Elder Flygare and I got 4 new roommates. Elder Anderson and Elder Bos are from Utah. Elder Lemus is from Honduras and Elder Arimuya is from Peru. The Latinos here now outnumber the white people. Most of the Latinos now are from Honduras and they speak really quickly and it's hard to have a conversation with them sometimes but they're cool. We like writing stupid jokes for Latinos based on puns and they laugh at them so it's cool to know a language well enough where you can make up a joke that actually gets laughs.

I got two letters this week, one with my birthday letters and on with a family picture (the one where my head isn't cut off) Thanks everyone for the kind words and encouragement and thanks to my family and Grandma for the birthday gifts.

My birthday was pretty cool. I opened my presents in the morning and at lunch the nurse who works here played happy birthday on the flute and everyone sand along and I got a Hostess cupcake with an unlit candle in it for my birthday cake. Haha.

I like playing basketball with Latinos because I'm like a foot taller than all of them so I get guaranteed rebounds every time.

With the limited free time we have here we like to play the game where you put a piece of paper with a word on your forehead and guess who you are. I'm really good and have successfully guessed Lion Fish, Joan of Arc, and Ursula from the Little Mermaid.

Flygare farted in our classroom and then some Sister missionaries came in and Flygare had to give them his chair and they were freaking out about the smell and said they didn't want to talk to him for three days so that was funny.

Elder Gurksnis told a story about a Cat Lady in his ward back home who went up to the pulpit at Fast and Testimony meeting and said that she came home to her house and her cats had ripped up her scriptures. At first she was so upset but then she realized that they were just trying to "Feast on the Words of Christ". Needless to say, the congregation struggled to contain their laughter.

Umm, what else. Oh, in the lunch line the other day a Latino came up to me and started hitting my belly like a drum while struggling to sing the words to "Another one Bites the Dust" by Queen.

Devotionals and district meetings are always great. It's so easy to feel the spirit here and everyone knows that the work is true.

My biggest struggle right now is that on a Mission you're supposed to try really hard. You're supposed to wake up without complaining and pretend like you never get tired or stressed or discouraged. As a missionary you're never supposed to crave entertainment, you never sing non-hymn songs with your companion, you don't talk about movies, etc.

Don't get me wrong, I love being here and I study hard and work on Spanish day in and day out. But it's hard to adjust from the real world to the mission world. 

In high school I knew I was smart but I never wanted to be the Try Hard nerd so I just adopted an attitude of perpetual disinterest. I was good at what I did but I gave plenty of things half my effort and complained a lot. Let me tell you, in all honesty, I love complaining.

In the mission field you're supposed to sit up straight all the time. When you go to the supermarket and the supervisors say "No Coca Cola" but let other Elders buy a 12 pack of Dr Pepper you want to ask why. When you aren't allowed to take naps on P Days even though there's nothing to do you're not supposed to ask why. 

I wish I would have practiced obedience a little better before I left. Not like hardcore obedience like "Don't smoke" or "Keep the Sabbath Day Holy" because I was good at that but little things of obedience like doing things when you're supposed to or doing things without asking. It's super hard for me but I'm working on it. I'm on the Lords errand and I'll go where he wants me to go and be what he wants me to be.

Elder Dawson

sorry I have to answer these really quick

What did you get at the supermarket?

Sprite and Sour gummy worms and some study supplies (sticky notes, pens)

What is your favorite meal/thing to eat there?

tacos

Can you buy any extra treats or snacks at the MTC?

absolutely not, no food allowed. rats (they say, haven't seen one or evidence of one, we have seen giants moths though)

What have you heard about wearing/getting a rain type of boot there?  I think we should have sent you with some.

haven't heard. From what I hear East Mission is just a big desert so maybe not.

What has been your worst/least favorite experience?

First night away from home.

Has your leg pain been manageable?

Yep

What about a Wifi camera?

I'll think about it

Is it called the MTC or the CCM? 

Either really. CCM if you're speaking spanish. MTC if you're speaking english. CCM is Centro de Capacitaciones Misional I think. Most of the time we speak Spanglish so we probably CCM more often then MTC. Leaders will refer to it as the CCM.