Best Week Ever!

Sorry for not emailing when we were supposed too. Thats what happens
in 3rd world countries. The power goes out for like 3 days. No
biggie.  So, this week was awesome so much happened!! There were some
little kids that came on a tour of the ccm and they walked through out
classrooms and we got to talk to them all and I  can say right now my
spanish is about what they can speak and I think they are in like the
3 grade. I've got work to do. haha because my district wants to learn
spanish bettter we are only speaking spanish. (solo espanol) it is
super hard, but I can already tell it is helping me a lot! I also
experienced my first earthquake which was so weird. I was eating
dinner when it felt like I was going to pass out then I looked around
and poeple were moving and I had no clue then the mission president came in
and yelled for us to go out side. It was just under a 5.0 here in the
city, so where it was strong was around an 8.. not sure what that means,
but it was strong. We also had the oppertunity to go to the mercada
which is like a china town, but its 3 floors below ground level of
these china town shops. They have like a meat seccion where no joke
cows and animals are just hanging and poeple get there meat cut off
right there. So weird!! But it was super. The poeple are so short! I
cant tell how old anyone is!! We had lunch there... at the Wendy's
which is clean! They have seccurity guards and it is scary because
they stare us white people down. Doesn't help i'm the biggiest in the
hole ccm. My companion and I finished lunch and we had a LDM (BOM) and
so we went out and for 20 min with our broken spanish tried to place
it. Right when we about had to go back to the bus a family of 3 walked
past. We got to talk to them and I gave them a book of mormon and said
that in this book it talks about how families can be together forver
and the moms eyes got huge! It was so cool. They promised to read what
we asked and we went our ways. I forgot to get the reforal stuff so
oops...:(  so thats that. A couple more things. I still havent gotten
grandmas package.. Elder loveland is here!! When the bus pulled up i
stood next to the door and waited for him. It is so cool to see him
here!! Also you have heard the stories of people messing up spanish
words.. I did this week. I was teaching my teacher and I  meant to say
we are so excited for you and your babtism date. excited is
imotionado. Well I didn't know that, so I used my dictionary. I found
the work and it said excitado. It looked right, so I used it and well
no I know that exitado means excited, but in the not good way... also
ask glenny if she knows a vagas family for the DR there is an elder
here who is from there. He's from santiago. Oh and mom the reason i'm
not using paragrahs.. I don't have a return button!! sorry! I love you

guys so much!      Elder RIley

Hey Everyone!

Hey! This week has flown by! It is crazy how fast time goes! This week has been super awesome. I can understand more and more about the language. I learned how to do a street contact and place a Book of Mormon in spanish so that was super cool. I didn't even need a script.i talk super slow but I gotta start somewhere so I'm super excited.

Yes the investigator thing was fake, but they do it to all the new missionaries besides the hispanos because they are only here for 2 weeks.  She is now my teacher and I love her teaching so much. My teachers are very patient with me. I do have a hard time memorizing things like D&C 4 in spanish.. it is a killer,  but it a challenge and I will beat it. My  companion and I are working hard and about every 3 days we try to only speak spanish which is hard, but i know the lord will bless us for our efforts. Nothing real exciting happens here in the ccm besides us learning more and more everyday. I love god. I know he lives. I can see his hand in my life so much already and I know as I keep working hard and doing my best to serve others the lord will bless me. I had  diarrhea all week, but its gone now. I'm getting used to the small food portions and I'm starting to already love the hispanic culture.

Elder Riley's First Two Weeks

    Well, Elder Riley has made it safely to the Guatemala MTC. He has been there just under two weeks. I miss him so much, but I know he is doing what is right.

                               
Here are the first two letters home to me.
      #1 I feel like i'm in a spritual prison here. (12 hours of classroom study)  There are only 80 missionaries here in the Guatemala mtc, so it's pretty small. I love being a missionary. We have a investiagor and her name is Alegajra, she is a chef at the mtc. We have taught her 4 times and 3 of them we have been told to do as much as we can in spanish. I stink at spanish right now, but the lord will bless me as I work hard. We comminted her to babtism, so that was a huge blessing as I have been feeling alittle home sick. I love each of you and I cant wait to hear about what happens in sports and want to wish you the best as you continue to go to school. Make good friends. I miss mine like crazy, but they mean the world to me.

Just some of Elder Riley's friends at the airport. 

                                                     
  #2: My spanish is coming slowly, but I think I've learned more here than I did all 2 years of high school spanish. I know the gift of tounges is real and the lord called me here for a reason. Guatemala is so awesome! The weather is super nice and the humitity isn't bad at all, but i'm in the city. Out on the coast and where there farms it is super hot and alot of humitity. I love this gospel. The church is true.
          Elder Riley is such a great example to all of us here at home and hopefully to all of you readers as well. I'm sure he would love to hear from all of you, so write him and give him some encouragement.