Photos of the Guatemala MTC or CCM

Hermana Tuddenham's CCM District

Elder and Hermana Burbidge & Hermana & Presidente Cox

Guatemala CCM Kitchen Crew

Hermana Tuddenham & Hermana Jepson

week 5: I need to work on my spanish . . . . .

Okay, so first off, this week has been fantastic and has gone by so fast!! Seriously I can't believe I'm emailing again. I wish I could tell you guys lots of amazing stories of things that have happened, but this week not much as gone down. Just a lot of classes and lots of Spanish. Which I'm still terrible at. But it's okay, it's slowly coming and when I really need help, like in a lesson with an investigator, I know what to say. So that's been a blessing. And this week I have just been so happy. I'll wake up at 6:30 every morning and just be happy. I'll sometimes just sit here and wonder why I'm so happy. I honestly can't tell you why other than the fact that this is the true gospel and the Lord blesses His missionaries so much.

So I told y'all that I'm the leader of the hermanas. Oh my goodness, it is so hard. There are so many hermanas here right now and spanish really is a struggle for me. But I have a good story from it, so I guess it's alright that I can't speak it. So the first night, I'm explaining all the rules to them, in spanish of course, and we're talking and I say, "If any of you get sick or have any problems I have the medication kit for the hermanas and you can just come talk to me and we'll make sure you feel better."  the last group of hermanas here called medications 'drugas'. . . ya, these new latinas do NOT call medication drugas. So, I'll just give you a rough translation of what I told all these new sister missionaries. "If you are sick or not feeling good, I have drugs for you. There's a whole kit and I'll help you feel better." Yep. I told 30 sister missionaries that I'm a drug dealer. It was awesome. They laughed at me so hard and I'm sure my face was bright red. But once we got that cleared up they understood....at least I hope. La lucha es real. (The struggle is real). 

We are singing as a district on Sunday and the song we are singing is so beautiful. We almost had one of our teachers crying. We are singing oh my father to the tune of homeward bound by MoTab. It's so so so beautiful. Please look it up. I wish you guys could hear it. 

So I'm out of time, and since it's transfers on Tuesday, yes I'm going out into the real world of Guatemala. It's going to be fantastic. I don't know if I'll be able to email you guys next week, so it might be two weeks until you hear from me. So we'll just have to see! 

I love you guys so much!! Look for other people to serve. Please. That is huge. Someone always needs you to help them. Have an awesome week! I love you!

Love, 

Hermana Tuddenham

week 4: One month already?!

Hello my dear family! How are y'all? I hope so good! Thanks for all the emails and the updates! I love reading them and seeing pictures!

Okay so first off, how has it been a month? Like honestly. I feel like I've been here for only a few days...but at the same time I feel like I've been here my whole life. But to think there's only 17 months left just makes my heart race! There's so much to do and 17 months just isn't long enough to do it all! I only have two week left here at the CCM and I have only recieved one letter so far and it was from Grandma Jo (thanks! It totally made my night!) She used a global stamp and it got to me within a week, so mom try and use those. Hopefully the rest of the letters make it before I leave, but from now on send all your letters to:

Guatemala Guatemala City South

Apartado Postal 340-A

01909 Guatemala City

Guatemala

and if you're sending packages send them to:

Guatemala Guatemala City South

Ave. Reforma 8/60 Galerias Reforma

Torre 2 Nivel 6, 606 Zona 9

Guatemala

with packages, if you use a private courier you'll need to call 502 2331-8611. and just be sure to put a little something in for my companions because they'll almost never get anything from home. I don't think I'll need very many because I can get just about everything here. But I do want that ipod with music and I'll keep you updated with that.

okay, so this week has been 1,000x's better. Honestly. It went by so fast and I have been so happy this week. 

One of the things that stood out to me most in general conference and a bunch of our devotionals is the importance of partaking the sacrament. It really should be something we look forward to taking each week and something that we take with deep reverance in our hearts. It should be when we remember the Savior's sacrafice for us and that was not an easy thing to do. But He did it because He loves us. This Sunday I tried really hard to focus on the importance and significance of what I was doing and it was a very special experience.

On wednesday we got the opportunity to go out and do actual street contacting. But first let me clear up confusion about when I talk about my investigadors, sorry I thought I explained this the first week. They aren't real investigadors, it's just our teachers acting like investigadors and at first I thought it was really stupid because it's pretend. But we have a special part of the building called CRE and there are 6 rooms that are decorated to look just like living rooms and we have to knock on the door and act like it's a real house. Our teachers use people they know to act and pretend they have the same problems and needs. It's crazy how much you end up loving these people and want them to be happy. We pray for them and really feel like they're real. So sorry for not explaining that earlier. So anyways, they opened up the gates and said go talk to people. I was so scared. I struggle with spanish more than most people in my district and get down about that sometimes, but it's okay. So we go and talk to this one lady and she just completely blows us off. But then we went up and were talking to one of the guards that was outside one of the stores and placed a book of mormon!! That was the best feeling in the world. And after that conversation we didn't know who to talk to and I saw this man probably in his 50's walking down the street. He was outside of the boundary we were given, but the second I saw him, I knew we needed to talk to him. So I said, "Hermana Jepson. We need to wait for him to get to us and we need to talk to him." So she said okay and we stood and waited for him. We walked up and said hello and asked how he was and he replied quickly and kept walking past us and then all of a sudden just stopped walking and turned around and walked back to us and started talking to us. He said he lives near by and walks past the CCM and the temple every day and has wondered for the longest time what they are. So we explained....IN SPANISH...real live spanish! He took a Book of Mormon and said he wanted to meet with us again! I love contacting! It is the greatest feeling in the world, to know that your message can bring someone so much happiness and to see the Lord working inside them! It's amazing! Look for experiences to share the gospel, they are everywhere!

We had a devotional by Jeffery R. Holland and something he said really struck me. He said, "What organization puts it's future on the backs of 18 and 19 year olds? What government does that? What buisness does that? What church does that? Unless it contains the absolute truthfulness of the gospel.' So that's just a neat quote to think about.

So there have been some funny things that happened this week. First off, we were outside on the basketball courts teaching each other and practicing how to contact and it was at night and we were standing in a big group and when it gets dark it cools off and bugs come out. So we're standing there and this giant moth lands on my shirt and I brushed it off because I didn't realize how big it was. And then it came and landed on me again and this time I realized how huge it was and screamed and started running around trying to get it to leave me alone, but it wouldn't! Oh my gosh the bugs here are so big! It was terrifying. My district was laughing so hard at me. It was not funny at all. Scariest thing ever. But then it turned out to just be a butterfly.....but it was still a giant monster bug. 

One of the other funny things that happened was last night at dinner. We had chicken drumsticks and the latina sitting next to me was just going to town and I have no idea how this happened, but while she was eating it the top part of the chicken launched off of the bone and smacked me in the face and rolled down my arm and landed in my lap. It felt like someone had just slapped me, except there was wet stuff running down my face. The look on that latinas face was priceless. One I realized what had happened I was laughing so hard. None of us could eat because we were laughing so hard.

So there's this elder in my district and he acts just like Ellie. Not even kidding. It's like I never left home and Ellie just came with me and is a 19 year old boy. It's the funniest thing and kind of nice to still have El with me all day. I want them to get married. I won't ever babysit their children because they'll be so wild. But they're perfect for each other.

So I'm still the tallest hermana in the whole CCM. The last group of latinas we had were very very very short. Like don't even come to my shoulder. One night we were standing there and I felt like buddy the elf. You know how in the first part of the movie he's in the north pole and everyone else is tiny and he's huge. that's how I feel every day of my life. I seriously am a giant. A giant with a very strange last name. Oh I wish I could take a picture of everyone's face when I say what my last name it. NO ONE can pronounce it right and it's hilarious. We'll be in class or at a devotional and the person in charge will be asking people to say prayers or lead music or something and they'll look at me and say, "Hermannnnaaaaaaa.......Jepson! Will you say the prayer?" It's so funny because they were going to pick me, but Tuddenham is just too hard for them to say. I love it because then I never have to do anything. Okay that's not entirely true because I just got called to be the leader of all the hermanas in the CCM. I am scared to death. We have our biggest group coming today and tomorrow of hermanas and I'm supposed to take care of them and guide them and help them and I can't even speak their language...so this is going to be a challenge. But I'm sure with the Lord's help I'll be able to speak a little spanish. 

I was so happy to hear the USU beat BYU!! Go Aggies!! My comp. is a die-hard Utah State fan as well. She lives in Vegas but went to USU last year and we were both very happy to hear of that victory! She said that they are tearing down the golden toaster thought! How sad is that?? 

Dad, we didn't feel that massive earthquake here. But we are right by the boarder of El Salvador so I'm sure some parts did, I just didn't because I was out cold last night. Sleep is pure gold. I love it.

Mom, I'll be sure to write you that letter you asked for. I'll stick it in the mail today or tomorrow. Sorry I'd write it now but don't have much more time. So be looking for that.

I love you guys so much! Thank you for all your prayers. You truly have no idea how much of a difference they make. It's such a blessing to have such a supportive family!

I love you!

Con mucho amor,

Hermana Tuddenham

week 3: This too shall pass . . . .

Hey family! 

So this week has been super hard and discouraging. But hey we all have tough weeks don't we? It's good for us to have some rough and sad times so that we can more fully appreciate the good times! So this must be a blessing in disugise right?

So I'll just hit the highlights from this week:

Good news! The tests from the hosptial came back negative, which is a blessing that there is nothing seriously wrong. They put me on some medications for 6 weeks that I take twice a day and that has been helping a ton. I still get pretty sick sometimes, but I'm able to still go to class. I know that the priesthood blessing I was given really helped me alot. The power of the priesthood is amazing.

So the market was a blast! This city is gorgeous! There are so many neat things! I found some cool things for y'all that I'll send home for Christmas! Wendy's was amazing. The frosty's down here are so much better than at home. Seriously, they are to die for! 

We committed our first investigador to baptism! That was honestly the greatest part of this entire week. The spirit in that room was so strong testifying of the truthfulness of this gospel. That moment in and of itself makes all the crappy times worth it. I am so happy for Frederman. He's ready for this and so willing to learn! 

So the funniest thing happened at one of our devotionals. An elder in my district fell asleep and was out cold. We all stood up to sing the last song and he was still out. His comp was being super loud and yell singing and he still wouldn't wake up. So after all the nortes (us white people) got in a big circle around him and just laughed for like ten minutes and he was still out cold. So one of the elders said on the count of three sing called to serve as loud as you can. So we did and not even 5 words into the song, which was exteremely loud by the way, he jumped out of his chair, his glasses went flying off, he said some words a missionary shouldn't say and had the look of pure terror on his face. We all laughed for probably twenty minutes about that. It was so funny!

I can't remeber what day of the week it was, but we had the worst rainstorm Presidente said he's ever seen down here. It was amazing! The thunder was so loud it shook the entire CCM and set off every car alarm in Guatemala City and made me scream, it scared me so bad. Then all at once it just started to pour. The definition of pouring rain here and in the United States is completely different. You couldn't see becuase it was raining so hard. It's the most wonderful thing to fall asleep to. It's not so much fun when your room floods because you forget to shut your window....that was an adventure to clean up....

So we got to watch General Conference in english and it was amazing!!! Such a good conference. I don't know if you guys noticed or if it's just because this is all I think about every day, but all the talks were perfect for investigadors. Please please please send me them when they get printed next month. There are no english ones here, and if they have them they are so expensive. I loved Elder Bednar's talk on the Saturday afternoon session. That was simply amazing. The story was so funny and so sweet. I could go off on all the talks forever! And how cool was it that they got to speak their native language! Dad, did you catch on to anything the chinese speaker said? Or was the english voice too loud? 

This week the most important thing I've learned is to rely on the Holy Ghost. Even when you're having the worst day ever and everything is getting you down, the Holy Ghost will lift you up in your darkest hour and will help everything seem okay. With my 16 hour days learning spanish all day and not understanding basically anything and then dragging my feet to bed at 10:30, the only thing that makes it worth it is the spirit and love I have for my Savior. I love Him. This is His work and it is amazing. I really cannot describe to you the love I have for Him. I wouldn't be out here if I didn't know with certainty in my heart and mind that this gospel is 100% true. This is truly God's true church. Never take advantage that we have this happiness in our life and have so many advantages of living in Utah and having so many temples near us.

I love you guys so much and miss you dearly.

Love,

Hermana Tuddenham