Week 79 - January 30, 2023

 What's up, yall.  This week has been so crazy.  Started off by saying goodbye to San Juan and my comp.  That morning I woke up at 6am to get ready and watched the sunrise as I worked out a little and stretched.  It was a really cool moment that I'll never forget.  Just the thoughts and feelings about everything going on in my life during that moment were special that I really can't put into words.  And those who have read my letters from the beginning know how special sunsets, and now sunrises, are for me and what they mean to me.  I'll have a picture below of it.

Now with my new area.  Toto is so cold I can't describe it.  But we've been settling in with me getting to know as many members as possible as fast as we can.  Since the first day, we've been packed with things to get done.  I forgot how much stuff there is to do as a Zone Leader, and all the reports/ meetings that come with it.  But they've all been good.  

In our Zone Council this week, we planned how we can work with members and church leaders better.  And just a couple days later, the stake leaders asked us if we could help inform the ward leaders in the stake on what they can do better in the wards to work alongside the missionaries.  And work better in an initiative that we are doing as a mission that they haven't started at all on.  It was really cool because I was leading and speaking for most of the time, telling other leaders throughout the stake what our mission president has asked us to do to help them out with their work--which will be later passed on to the Area Seventy leader.  Pretty cool to be the one assigning people what they can do in their wards, so that the info can be passed on to him directly from me.  I've seen and felt this week that I was sent here to ToTo to help this stake get up and running with this plan that we have for all of the stakes here. Plus with the experience that I had while in HueHue with this same plan, I'm able to build from what went well and what can be improved, here in this stake now.  It's really exciting.

 

The ward here is great and has accepted us well.  We've been filled up every second with family home evenings or plans to have citas with everyone.  But soon we'll know everyone and be in a rhythm.  I'm really excited for this transfer and to see how much progress we can get done by the end.  Even though it's probs 15 degrees every morning...

Also, my comp is from Honduras and loves to play fútbol, and last Saturday we got to play a game with other members in a little cancha (field).  We were carving everyone up and making them look silly.  Afterwards, they said we weren't allowed to play anymore unless we gave them futbol lessons hahah.  It definitely helped us make some relationships quickly with some members, and also some less-actives.

Lots of stuff happening and we are super busy, but everything's going great.  Love you all!

     - Elder Copeland

Week 78 - January 23, 2023

Another six weeks bye.   I feel like I just got here to San Juan, but just received news this morning that I'll be leaving my comp and area behind and leaving.  I was not expecting transfers, so it's been a super-fast six weeks, but I'm proud and happy with what we were able to get done in that time.  Starting from a branch that wanted nothing to do with missionaries--to now this week having more than six citas set-up with members to have lunch or family home evenings or going out with us.  And creating relationships with each one of them.  Always bittersweet leaving an area that you work so hard in, but I'll be going to Totonicapan and be a ZL there now.  I'm excited, but Toto is known as the coldest area in the mission, so going there in January will be fun...

A cool experience from the week; we were heading home one day when I felt like we should visit a less-active family home before it got too late.  So, we went, and it ended up that the grandma of the family was sick and needed a priesthood blessing.  She chose me to give it and it was super spiritual.  I was definitely led by the Spirit to visit that family and use my priesthood power to help them.  There's nothing better than being guided by the Spirit. 

Sadly, I have to leave my Cuate basketball team behind here in San Juan, along with all of the people that I've met in my time here, but I know my impact of just being a friend to everyone has left a little seed in each one of them about the church. Hopefully, one day they'll remember that one missionary that played basketball with them and have the missionaries over down the road. 

I'm excited for this next area and to get to work, it should be a good one.

Love and miss you all!

     - Elder Copeland

Week 76 and 77 - January 16, 2022

What's up everyone?  It's been a super busy and fun past two weeks.  Lots of stuff going on.

 We finally were able to have a member go out with us and show us where everyone lives.  The Branch President hasn't really been much help, which is tough, but there are a couple selective people/ families that have helped us a lot.  We went all around the area finding less-active families and finding people that are unbaptized.  There are like 10+ but most of them live far or their families have completely dropped the church.  So, over the next little bit, we will be finding those that are interested in coming back and helping them grow in their testimonies.

Fun story, two weeks ago my comp and I went contacting at night when we passed a big building that sounded like there was a basketball game going on, so we went in and just started shooting around with some kids that were in there. They asked if we wanted to play a little game and we did. Afterwards, they asked us to be on their "team."  We got all the details and turns out that in San Juan there's a big bball tournament going on with like 14 teams haha.  So, we said sure and have played a couple of games with these 14-17-year old kids that are still learning how to play, who are playing against adults.  So, now whenever we walk around to citas to contact, literally everyone in the street knows me and yells something at me like, "When do you play next?" or "Look, it's Curry" or something funny.  So, yeah that's fun.  We've contacted more than 75 people from just getting to know some kids playing basketball one night and have made some good relationships.  Most of these people have asked about the church and have learned more about what we believe from us just being around them.  Next step is getting them to church, but it's going well.

Things are going great here in Guat, lots of possibles and work that we have to do, and I'm loving it.  I wouldn't want to be anywhere else.

Also, the Elder that I trained in Chicorral baptized a kid that I found and started teaching when I opened the area!!!  So cool.

Love you and miss you all!

    - Elder Copeland

Week 75 - January 2, 2023

Happy New Year, everyone!  I remember thinking how crazy it was to be around missionaries that have been in the field for two Christmases and New Years, and now that's me with not too long to go.  It's going fast.

This week was a breakout week in the area.  We had three members come out with us on three different occasions to show us where other members live and show us to non-member families.  We got a lot done.  We also went to another aldea about 30 mins away, and it was so foggy it felt like we were in a snow globe.

This week, me and my comp were asked to speak in church. We both spoke about missionary work and spreading the gospel as members.  But I talked a little bit more about Joseph Smith and the Book of Mormon.  That when we have strong testimonies of those two, we will want to share the gospel more with those around us.  After reading the first book of, "Saints," and now in the 2nd one, I've learned so much about how the church had to grow in the early stages and pass through trials.  It makes me grateful to be a member today and more a missionary.  There is no possible way that the Book of Mormon isn't true, that Joseph Smith wasn't a prophet, and that the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints isn't true.  I love being able to testify of that to everyone that we teach and invite them to come and participate in this happiness.

Super excited for 2023 and how different my life could be by the end.  Make the most of it and see you guys soon.

    - Elder Copeland

Pic of the Week