2/11/2013

Hey hey hey!!! Man I love you all so much!! Hahaha this week was pretty good! We had the baptism and confirmation of little "élder Alexander" but we also found out that the baptism counts for the Branch not us, cuz his mom is reactive (due to us!) and he is only 8 years old! So it’s a little bummer but I don’t care I’ll always remember him as one of my Baptisms. He picked my comp to baptize him, it was a good service!  

But ya like dad put in one of his letters I’m really looking forward to having one of those "I get it and I want to be baptized moments" not just kind of they get baptized cuz its right and what they should do... but I know it will come, but me helping anyone into the waters of baptism is good, whether they have the desire, and "want it" or they just do it cuz they know its "right" they will be grateful later. 

Thanks for your prayers for me to find a family! I hope you continue praying it helps so much I can tell!!   We have found two families! Kind of, one is the wife (well not wife but basically) and daughter of this less active guy! But she and the daughter really want to be baptized! So we are helping them work on the marriage thing (I think its just they haven`t had the money/time) but ya then we will unite a family in the church! And it will be great!! They are awesome! And we are really excited to keep helping them. And the husband and they have come to church the past two Sundays so they are progressing awesome!! Ya and the other is an actually family!! We door contacted the wife 2 kids and grandma last Monday, and had a lesson about the restoration with them!! And we invited then to church! but we didn’t have time to revisit them during the week, so we went to their house before church Sunday to see if they could come, but they were busy, so we told them we would come back later, so we came back at about 2:00 after church, and they let us in! They are real accepting! The dad works all week but is home on the weekends 7pm Sat. night to 6am Monday morning! So he was there, we gave the first lesson again!! they were real accepting and it was a great lesson, the only hard thing, (and it happens a lot here, is working on teaching people that this is THE ONLY CHURCH, everyone here kind of just believes that anything of god is good.... but we will work on teaching them more and more! but we are excited to have a big family!!! there was like 10 there Sunday afternoon! all listened to the lesson, but I think some were cousins and friends, but idk its all good!!! we are super super excited!! I’ll keep you up to date on them!!!

Other than that we just have been working hard!! We have a lot of investigators,

I think like 15, and that only including 5 out of the big family. And we have a bunch more potential investigators!! It’s exciting but hard to keep them all progressing! But we are putting the focus where we need to so it is good. 

My comp is ok... haha let’s just say, I have grown a lot because of him. (not necessarily because of his help) but ya  I’m just trying to be the best I can for him. Honestly he would be a fantastic solo missionary!... I say this because he doesn’t exactly like to share his plans, or thoughts or mind with me, like we will go through planning and put names with times, and then we get to the lesson, and I wait for him to start, cuz he has his little plan of what we are going to teach! and then I share my part of what ever lesson he planned. It’s ok, but I have told him like several time, lets plan better, what we are going to teach and how to apply it, and he will be like ok we are going to teach lesson 2 to them. And ok done, idk I just want more unity! More talking about what we are going to teach and how we can apply it to them, and how we can help them.  And every time I ask him for more, like sharing in our decisions and more discussion, idk he gets really impatient. and ya idk its hard to explain, but basically he has no patience... and it has helped my patience grow a lot!! And he does not take advice very well. But I love him and will keep trying to better our companionship. it’s just hard, I feel real, kind of alone in things, but it’s all good!

Today we had a zone activity and went to this sweet place call "Samau chimpe" its natural cascading pools of water and waterfalls,(or something like that I probably butchered it), but I’ll send and pictures.  Like it added to my companions frustration with me, cuz he didn't want to go, cuz it cost a lot of money, like 150 quets, which is about a third of the money we have weekly for food, and we had to use our mission money (the money we use for food, other things we need,) and it also took most of the day, we had to leave at 3 in the morning and it was like 5 hours in the bus then we spent a couple hours there and then came back! Anyway I made him go cuz I really wanted to not miss this opportunity, and more, it was a zone activity and no one else was skipping. but ya I thought it was one of the most gorgeous places ever!! But he was grumpy and angry the whole time... ya. But I know he is glad I made him go. So that added more to his frustration at me! :) Oh well he will live!!

Anyway, dad asked about our area! It’s about the size of the meadows, maybe more, I have no idea where our boundaries end haha but that’s ok. ,I’ll add a picture of a map of the city I found! Our area goes outside the map a lot but I labeled our house and stuff on it. We are zone Verapaz not Coban. 

The Zone leaders directed the zone meeting, no president; I probably won’t see him much really but that’s ok, I got like 10 dear elder letters from you guys!! Thanks they were great!! You can keep sending them that way, (but i didn’t get any other letters (snail mail), idk if you have sent any, if not, it’s all good) but ya, I’ll get dear elder and cards only about once a month! :(

Love you all so so so so so much!!!!

Be safe!

2/4/2013

                                                                            Jungle!

                                                                   

                                                                      First baptism!

Getting Ready

Machete....Mission issue .

Patojos (Kids)

Transportation?

Hey hey hey, well I’m still alive here!!! ha-ha this week was a lot better, we worked hard and Saturday we had our first baptism!! her name is Brenda, it was awesome except, well here is the story, so we told everyone that the baptism was at 3:00 and so we went early like 10:00 and cleaned the font, then filled it, then we went home had lunch and then did a little bit of trackting, till about 2:30 at 2:30 we went to the church and cleaned a little bit more and made sure everything was perfect for the baptism! At about 3:15 people started showing up! (typical Guatemala time!) And so ya, then we waited and by about 3:30 there was a good little crowd there. But we were lacking a member of the branch presidency, so we couldn't start till someone in the presidency came, and my comp had done his part of calling the ward mission leader on wed.  He said he would have someone in the presidency there for us, but apparently he didn’t do his part, so we tried calling him a couple times, then the members of the presidency, and finally we got a hold of the president, and he was like ya I’ll jump on my motorcycle and be there in an hour!(he lives in a different city) So ya then we waited! for like a whole hour! and at about 5:00pm we finally started!!! But it all went awesome! Her cousin who she lives with baptized her, (‘ill put a picture of me and them) then ya on Sunday she was confirmed. We had 14 investigators at church on Sunday!!!! mostly younger kids (but we have had at least one lesson with everyone of them. and two of them are a wife and daughter of this less active member! we are super pumped for her and her daughter, they are real intested! and they are a big focus of ours, and we have another baptism this saturday! his name is Elder haha funny right! but he is 9 and the kid of this less active lady, but she is not less active anymore she and Elder have come the past 3 Sundays in a row! 

ya and we have 4 little "Patojos" all about 12yrs old, who are set to be baptized on the 16th! they are awesome! Sunday they wanted ties, so we found some for them, they all had white shirts and there little BOM's and then after church they wanted to go visit people with us! so we took them with us, and taught a lesson to "elder" and his mom, and we taught another lesson with them, they each would like find a scripture and share about it, and bear testimony, and ya they are awesome!!! 

also a bunch of people this week have asked for blessings of health, so me and my comp have seriously given like 3 or 4! its way hard in Spanish! ha-ha and I need more practice! but it is awesome!
ya we have been working real hard, and this week hasn't been near as hard, (but it is still real hard!!) but thanks for the emails! I loved them! i don’t think I can print them off, but it’s ok if you send a couple, it will just be a little less time that I get to write!! But you can send picture by email, they don’t take like anytime to download! This week Thursday we have Zone meeting, so hopefully I’ll get the stuff you have sent!!! 
so ya this week to I have been getting all sorts of bug bites at night!!!! :( I don’t think its bed bugs, my comp thinks it’s some sort of mosquito thing but idk what he is saying really haha... but ya the past 5 days or so I have woken up with 6 or so new bites on my arms and legs... and they are real itchy!!! but I washed all my sheets and everything yesterday and used some pesticide, and I don’t think i had any new ones this morning, haha but we will see! I’m praying it will stop cuz its annoying!!

My comp Elder Gutierrez is from Nicaragua! He has only been out about 5 months, he is pretty chill, but we have had a few little disagreements, like when I plan, I like to go over everything and talk about every point, even if we talked about it 5 times during the day, I feel like we should reaffirm everything during planning. And he is more of a wel,l you should know that, (not rude, ) but just like ya idk, and I tried to explain what I would like it to be more like, but then there is the language barrier, and he didn't really understand me, but we will get it worked out, I just pray that he will have a little more patience with me!!! I bought a jump rope today, (he has one and loves to do that for exercise in the morning, and I wanted one cuz I like it too.) So now we can do that together in the morning.

P-day is not my favorite, cuz we have it together as a district!  So we have to take about a half hour bus ride, and then we usually play soccer for an hour, and then write you guys, but it’s a rule that we have to have p-day as a district every time... I feel like I could use my time a lot better if we didn’t have to, but oh well.
Anyways, this week has been a lot better, but I’m praying that it will get better, cuz it is still super hard, Anyway, love you all so so much! Be safe!
Elder Kumpf!

1/28/2013

                                                              Just a Little bit of Mud.

                                                                        In the Jungle!

                                           Hmmm Which one is Josh?  I think he needs a tan.

                                                                      A little friend.

                                                                   The sketchy Bus!

                                                                   Beautiful country!

                                                          Not quite the same as home.

Hello, hello from a dinky little computer tienda in Guatemala!!! Ha-ha this week has been really good! but I’m not gonna lie it’s really hard...like after last p-day I’ve been getting pretty home sick, which is weird cuz I like never get home sick, and ya idk, it’s only for the first couple hours in the mornings, but it’s like every morning, I just really really miss you all a lot!! I hope you all know how much I love you all!!! Ya it is real real hard in the mornings, but as soon as I get out and work, that all goes out the window!!! The work is great here!!! We are working hard and it is showing!!! We have one baptism this Saturday! A girl named Brenda she is 15, she and her sister live with their aunt and her family "who are members" Her sister is a member too.  Her parents are working in the US and that why she lives with her aunt! But she is super excited to get baptized! And we are really excited for her! Then next Saturday the 9th we have a baptism of this little boy Alexander, his mom is a recent convert of about 5 months, so we have gotten her reactive, and are preparing Alex for his baptism!! Then the next week the 16th we have 3 little "Patojo´s" (that’s what they call kids here) with dates to get baptized! Named Christian, Alex (different Alex), and Erick. Alex and Erick are brothers, and are neighbors to Christian! Christian is awesome!!!! He is like a machine and just sucks up knowledge and has the biggest heart, and an even bigger desire to follow Christ!! I’ll send a picture of me and him!! Alex and Erick also have another brother, and their mom that are our investigators, but they aren´t progressing quite as well, but we are working on that!!!  We have a bunch of others we are working with!!  This week our branch had nearly 100 people there!!! It was awesome! And 7 of them were our investigators. The only thing I wish is that we could find a family.... like a whole family to teach! cuz family´s are so so important to the Lord, and when a whole family joins it’s so much stronger, but we  are working on it!!
Like I said it’s real hard in the mornings, like I did not think it would be this hard to be away from my family, and all the creature comforts that we don’t even think about in the states.  Like hot water, everything being clean, abundant food, dish washer, car. here it is a lot different to just live life, like the shower for example, it has knobs like ours but they don’t do anything, it has a steel pipe that sticks out of the wall, and an electric heater type shower head thing with dangle sketchy ductaped wires attached to it, :/ haha.   Or the busses, we don’t take them often but when you do, there’s like 50 people jammed in this tiny little bus, rocking and rolling and bouncing down the street!  like its fun, and I love the ghetto, get things done mood it has, and it’s fun the first few time, but consistently have to shower in the crappy shower and ride in the crammed bouncy bus, and kill cockroaches in the kitchen, and use a water bottle to brush your teeth, it wears on you after a while... and you get real real greatful for all the blessing you had in the U.S.!!  But, no worries I’m a big boy and am toughing it out!!!
The language is ok, it’s hard and embarrassing when people are trying to explain something to you, AND YOU HONESTLY JUST DO NOT UNDERSTAND!!  But you get used to it, and I have been trying to talk more, and more, but I honestly feel like my Spanish has gotten worse since I got here, but I’m working on it, and praying for the gift of tongues every day! and I know it will come, but for know it’s real hard... and my comp helps a little, but I keep asking him to try to correct me every time I say something wrong, or don’t conjugate something right, but honestly he doesn’t help me very much, and honestly I feel like he just blocks out what I’m saying sometimes. like I’ll give some advice in planning, and he just keep going with what he wants, and I’ll have to say it like 3 times for him to pay attention to what I’m saying, and a lot of times he will say, sorry I don’t correct you sometimes, its because your saying it right, but I know he could help me out more, cuz when I’m with other people, they will help me understand what I’m saying wrong, and correct me...}
but you know I know he is doing a lot for me and I am honestly real grateful for everything that he does for me! And I know that if I want to progress it’s up to me, not other people! So yup, I’ll just keep working!
At times, I really really look forward to the end of my mission, and coming home and seeing you guys... but I know that I should be focused on the people here and how I can help, them, and I know I’ll get over the home sickness soon, but ya, I’ll just keep working away!!!!

So I just found out today, that we like only receive pouch 1 time a month!! :/ I think that is making it hard to, (not hearing from you guys every day,) so ya I will be looking forward to that day!!! But ya the mailing address I gave you, is the one that they told me to give you the first day I was here, so it should be good! And I got the pictures mom sent! They are awesome!!!! The wall looks sweet!!! So ya feel free to send me pictures of things you do, and a picture of the family every once in a while!!!

Well I miss you a lot!! Like a lot a lot!! I hope you all know how much I love you!! And I hope your safe and all doing well!!! And thanks for everything that you do and have done for me, I really really appreciate it!
Love you all so much!!
Elder Kumpf

1/21/2013

                                   

 Hey hey hey!!!!! Guess what I’m in freaking Guatemala!!!! Man oh man it is awesome here!!! So we like go off the plane, and then literally got in ghetto old school bus that took us to the mission president’s house! It’s more of an apartment but anyway, ya then we had a few intro meetings and stuff and met president Watts and his wife for just a minute! But that was cool! Then we had some more meetings about just the rules and standards and things to do, you know the usual, then they were like ok we are sending you into the city to work! And we are like "yeah sweet"!! And so we got back in the bus and we went to a different part of the city! We got to some missionaries tiny little house thing and ya we dropped our bags off and ate some food, then they let us take a sweet 3 hour nap! cause none of us had really slept on the plane or really sense 6:30 the previous morning! So ya then we got up and split up with a bunch of missionaries that were in that district!! And we went out and taught for a couple hours!!From about 5:30-8:30 Wed. it was sweet!! I taught some investigators and it’s just so so cool! Then we went back, and crashed!!! But the next morning (Thurs) we got up and went back over to the building that the president lives in.  We had some more mtgs. and we had interviews with him and his wife!! They are super super sweet people I love a lot!!! Then they gave us our assignments!!!!!! IM IN SAN CRISTOBAL, VERAPAZ!!!!!!  So then we got our bags and heading to this big meeting that was being held!!!! It was awesome Elder Christofferson, of the 12 was there!!!!! (PS I know my spelling is sucking hard, but there is a lot to tell you and not a lot of time!! :/ ) It was an awesome meeting! There were elders there from 3 missions, Guatemala city north, south, and center, but like one of the missions had the city in their zone, so like it wasn´t like all the missionaries from all three, but there was a ton of missionaries there! And the whole thing was in Spanish! I guess Elder Christofferson speaks Spanish!! And he does soo good too!! ya so that was awesome!!! and then literally right after the meeting about 5:30, me, my companion and this hermana (Sister) and another elder who had been here for a while jumped in a cab with our bags and headed to the city of Coban! the hermana and the other elder were serving in Coban, and my old companion Elder Brindle is in my same Zone of Verapaz, but a different area about 2 hours South east  of my area, anyway, so we all get to the bus station and you know its kinda hectic the whole time! haha but we get there and then it’s a 5 hour bus ride to Coban so from 6-11pm Thursday we were in this bus driving to Coban, and there is no chance of sleeping cuz its all windy and twisting, and you trying to stay in your seat with all you got, but it was fun, then the buss drops us off and we walk down the street and find the house of the ZL’s in Coban, and the hermana gets taken to the Hermanas house, then we like crash!!! Thursday about 11:30! Whew, oh and I meet my trainer! His name is Elder Gutierrez so ya he is awesome and we talked a little! But then the next morning we pack up and I throw my stuff in the back of this little red pickup truck, and we get in and take the about 30 minute drive to San Cristobal and ya we get to our house and I unpack and stuff ya! So let’s see, oh ya the little lady that picked us up, we call her "Hermanita" no se porque but ya we live like in this side section of her house, and she does laundry for us and cooks for us at times! But she is super super nice! But she is not a member! The missionaries have worked with her a little, but we will get her there!! :) Ya then we have been teaching and stuff ever sense!! it’s awesome !!!
 Ok let’s start with the people!! They are super short!!!!! Ya but they are super sweet everyone says hi and are always smiling really nice! The people in San Cristobal are I hear about 80% indigenous, and a ton speak Quechi but no missionaries speak that here, only in the Polochque do the speak Quechi! But I hear that missionaries who go here have a really good chance of going to the Polochque and speaking Quechi, I think that would be sweet!"!!
The country is gorgeous!!! Guatemala city is super hectic and crazy and not very jungley, but man people drive like maniacs here, its nuts!!! But they are good at driving crazy!!! haha and ya but out here in Verapaz its Jungle!!!! Man is it gorgeous!!!! Mountains and trees and forest and ya it’s like exactly what you would think of when you think of Guatemala!!!!! We have a tiny little branch and there were about 45 people there this week! 5 were our investigators!!!
The food is good!!!! Lots of beans and eggs!!! and tortillas!! with everything!! But my stomach hasn’t been upset so that’s good!!! we make breakfast and dinner, but we will either have hermanita make lunch for us or go somewhere, the plate of food I’ll send a picture of cost us 15 Quetzals  (8 Quetzals to 1 dollar).  and we are not supposed to drink the water, but we get 5 gallon jugs of pure water, and it’s good to drink and ya, but to wash dishes and stuff they just have this big cement thing with 3 sinks basically, it holds water in the middle (not pure water just tap water) an then on the left you clean stuff by splashing water on it and scrubbing it, then you put it in the  right one to let it dry! Sanitary right!!!
The weather is ok! I guess it varies a lot on where you are! Up in the Peten its like 100degrees all year long and humid! But here it is kind of chilly actually! And they have this thing called "chipi chipi" which is like this constant light mist rain! like seriously every day, almost all day! But it’s not bad!! 
ya there will be more in my next letter, but you can send letters and stuff to the pouch thing through Dear elder or send it to the mission office their address is: 
Mission Guatemala Norte
Apartado Postal 951-A
Guatemala, Guatemala C.A.
and they will then get the stuff to me somehow!!! :)

um oh I can probably open pictures on these computers now so you can send pictures via email! If you want

1/4/2013

Hey hey hey! How is everyone!
It’s just another week here at the MTC!! there wasn't very much new this week, just studying, praying, working, reading, practicing, and lots of repeating those things!! It’s a blast but man it is so exhausting! I’m so so tired all the time! Ha-ha but that’s life :) This week we got to host the new missionaries that came in on Wednesday! So you have the car pull up at the curb, you grab their bags, then have them give there last quick goodbyes, then you take them into the main building to get their tags and all the misc. stuff they need. Then you take them and drop their bags off at their dorm, then go with them to get books, and study materials, then you drop them off at their class! It brings back a bunch of memories of my first day! It seems like it was just yesterday! But ya, the first day was nuts, like our teacher only talked in Spanish! And he talked so fast and I was like freak this is going to be a long long 9 weeks! But man oh man it has flown by! But ya, we hosted like 380 kids (there is a lot of hosts - I only hosted 2 kids) but next week is the first huge wave of kids! There should be nearly 900 kids coming in! It is going to be 100% insane! So we will for sure be hosting them too, and I’m sure I’ll be hosting for a lot of the day Wednesday! Ha-ha
But ya, our teaching is getting so much better we can confidently go and teach and meet people and the language is coming pretty good! But that’s as far as here! In 10 days I’ll be in Guatemala! And it’s gonna be nuts!!!! Like for real! I’m excited to not be able to understand anything! And to just be blown away! But I’m gonna try as hard as I can to talk to everyone and to get to know every one! And to teach everyone about this AMAZING gospel!!!! Gosh I’m so so so excited! Ah!
But ya, other than that nothing too exciting here!! I love you all! And hope your all doing amazing!!!!

ps my p-day next week is Saturday! And I’ll let you know then what time I’m gonna be at the air port and all that stuff!

LOVE YOU ALL!!!!!!!!!

ELDER KUMPF!!

12/27/2012

Hey hey how are you guys!!! I’m doing great the MTC is just flying bye... like seriously it seems like just yesterday was p-day! I’m getting more and more excited for the field everyday! But it also makes me more and more nervous and anxious to learn every single thing I can! But like they had us in the 6 week learning program, so we have finished all of our learning up, and now we are just reviewing for the last 3 weeks! Ya we are teaching a lot, and doing a lot of studying! But ya! I love it! My companion got kind of sick feeling last night! And he threw up a bunch of times last night! :/ bummer but its good it was p-day today so we just stayed in the room and he/ me got another few hours of sleep! Which I am so so grateful for!! But yeah he is feeling a little better now, and we are down in the laundry room writing, but yup, hmmm what to write about.... it’s been snowing here for the past week off and on we probably got about a foot total! So it’s fun! We usually have a little snow ball fight on our way to gym and stuff! Ha-ha and my companion is from Kentucky, so he is like oh crap its sooooooooooo cold!!!! so the other day we were looking in the free boxes (free boxes are these sweet bins on every floor were people that are leaving put things that they are no longer gonna need, or don't have room to take with them, so its everything from candy to shoes to gym shorts, they are awesome!!) and so we found this huge winter coat in one! So he wears it everywhere!! I’ll send you a picture!
But ya Christmas was awesome!!!! I kept the tradition of building a fort on Christmas Eve going!! We made a sweet one!! and invited some other kids that were in our zone over, (next day we found out sleep over’s are a no no :/ oops! but it’s all good :) but ya I’m just working real hard trying to be the best I can be so when I get out to the field I’m as ready to go as I can be!!!

Oh and ya I’d like it if you tell me more about what’s going on! I don’t get trunky or home sick or anything so no worries, but ya I love hearing about what’s going on with you guys!!
I’m so pumped to get the pics of the bouldering wall! Are you guys gonna put some texture on it as well?
That’s awesome Raleane got her call! She is gonna be a boss missionary!!

And ya there isn’t really anything I need! Like I’m definitely the most prepared one here. Hahah like it still makes me giggle how much stuff I have, like the other guys in my room who are all going to Guatemala don't have nearly as much stuff as I do, so we will see how they fair and how I fair! But better over then under prepared! But as of now there is nothing I can think of that I need! Thanks though!

LOVE YOU ALL!!!!