dec 13

well changes are coming up fast ill know if i change next monday night.. so one week left. dang i love this area! everything here is going really great. the language is getting easier to get my point across and i really am loving it. i gave a talk in church yesterday. apparently it was really good from what the members were telling me. or they could of been really nice to me. no clue.

so first things first before i get down to stories.

WHAT TIME TO CALL....... I CAN CALL THE 24 OR THE 25 PERFERABLY THE 25 ABOUT 9 your time or later i may call sometime to see if i can schedul something so yeah...
ALSO... I WANT DAD´S BOOKS! for my birthday. yes i know dads books thats strange but ill be the first crockett child to read them ha ha sukaz!

anyways this past week has been good not to much has happend. its getting chilly at nights about 70 ish degrees. so tomorrow is our mission christmas party so that should be some fun times and i get my packages if they have come in by now. they have been holding them in the office stanks but thats life.

yesterday we had to talk to this member about getting there child baptized and turns out they were having a double birthday party. they invited us to dtay for cake and such. thats not the best part. they had 2 piñatas. the first one came and went the little kids had a great time. the 2nd one was for the adult. and who did they pick first. me kinda funny. i creamed that thing and the candy was delicious! ha ha was really cool. we are getting ready for a double baptism this weekend. thats really what im lookiing forward to this mission thing is getting better as the language is getting easier. still having a rough time here and there but all is well. just gotta wait my time out and it will click and ill be a champ.

so the other week i found a guy to teach. a real stud. speaks english lived in the states for 12ish years. illeagal of course but o well. i have been teaching is spanglish and hes really been progressing.i got him to quit drinking and also tell his mom hes thankful for here. anywho but when i went to his house yesterday to take him to church he left. its really hard to see people when they are progressing so much deny the truth and go there own ways. i hate it.

i loved the story about uncle gordy and the hometeaching thing. i have been pushing that in my ward as hard as my language abilities will let me. people here are lazy and dont do anything but watch futbol and work when they have it. our bishop is trying to improve this but no one not even his consejo is helping. i really hate seeing people so involved in there own lives with there own friends and not willing to let in a new convert or a less active in. its really rough being here as a missionary but i know with in time and with showing love for the people that all things are possible.

well thats my rant for the week i hope everyone is doing good. i miss you all. let me know when i can call you and i call around that time. 25 is pday for me so i have nothing to do really just laundry and study. feel free to send me church books!! im done with the missionary library the book of mormon d&c. and want more. so if you could do that mom? or mindy... ha ha anyways love you all and cant wait to hear from you!!!
love elder crockett

dec 6

well another week in the books here in the land of the laminitas. everything here is going good just getting hot here and there and closer to christmas. there holding our packages in the office... sucks i want them. i should get them by 14 thats when we have our mission christmas party. so im looking forward to some american goodies then.

this week not alot happend. we had reunions every day in the morning with the zone. and also with the president to see what our trainers are doing bad and good... after we got done with that it was a machete fest. man some people just need to get over the face that they are not in the united states anymore and need to change

so the story of the week... hmmmmm..
we painted some dudes house... that was cool.... the christmas devotional was pretty bomb! i enjoyed that.
this week we went on splits with some kids in the ward. after one appointment we were out for blood. or contacting. we walked down this path and i herd some one say hello. i thought just another guy trying to speak english... freak. well after being prompted i went back. turns out the guy lived in miami for 12 years... illegal of course... we was a little tipsy too... anyways he wants to change and wants to start off new. well i taught him and we set goals for him to stop drinking. its intresting being a missionary.. i love it and glad to be here! things are all good. times its really rough being here but i know im here for a purpose!

anyways thats about all that has been going down it was really nice to hear from all of you this week! keep emailing me i love getting your letters and such.

i miss you and love you!
elder crockett

ps everyone here thinks its awesome that the ´´bishop´´ on the MLS program is my dad.... ha ha its a good conversation starter with the ward clerk.

well this week was really good i had a good time here. things are just the same old same old. work non stop and yeah..
so this week i learned how to make tortillas. you think it would be easy but not for this gringo... the family were all making fun of me because i kept on messing up and by the time i was done making 1 the mom made about 12 ish... yeah eventually ill be good ha ha.. so my friend had an emegency change today so i wont have a friend around to talk english with for a while... its going to be rough but such is life as a missionary.

so the story of the week happend last night i was just about to fall asleep when i felt something on my arm... it jumped on my mosquito net and i realized what it was.... a huge cockroach me and my comp took down my mosqueto net and killed the sucker... freaking thing. i couldnt fall asleep for another 30 minutes... oh well..

this sunday a kid recieved his mission call and our recent convert recieved the priesthood. it made me think back on all those times in my life. crazy how fast time really goes out here... i enjoy what i can get though...


anyways my time is just about up... hope everyone is having a good time in the snow. im having a great time sweating all day long in the heat getting sun burnt.

love elder crockett

well everything here is getting better.... the gospel is true.. we confirmed our member in church yesterday so i have offically had one baptism hey i have an importand question for dad. i dont have his email adress  are we related to an Alvin david crockett? burried in the logan cementary july 1902 get back to me on that one. and also can you send me the story about the 1st guatemala chapel of our ancestor people want to hear about it and such...  also what year and mission was uncle gordy over.... if you could do that that would be great!
still need pictures of the out side of the house... please.
things this week are good. the language is getting better and i really am starting to understand people. i bet kevin can relate to that with the difficult barrier up north.

so this weeks story.. well sunday we went to recruite members and our new convert to go to church. while chilling inthe hammock he hands my comp some food. then hands me the exact same thing... well i told them not to tell me what it was and i ate it like a champ. my comp says to me... help me i cant do it.... ha i didnt help him after i was done i asked what it was.. well it was pig blood... a big arterie of a pig... freak it was werid.. never want that again but o well its come and gone... things here are looking out. it almost been 4 months. i looking forward to the packages people have said they would send. i could always use a little usof a loving. send more! ha ha

i hope to get better at the language this week and to be able to understand people... i know all things are posible.... i finished the book of mormon this past week. was really cool and a good expirence and such... things are great hopeyour all doing well!
love elder crockett

well first off. i didnt get changed and my comp didnt either. things here are getting better. the baptism was good. but he didnt show up the following sunday to get confirmed. sucks but were pushing on for this week. the weather here is getting hotter. i dont thing the rain will dump anymore on us. sucks cause thats what cools us down durring the day.
so the other day i was just walking minding my own buisness. and freak a little kid was shooting bottle rockets at me cause im the only white person around. the people are nice most of the time but the kids are ugh. i just have to keep my head up and press on. it makes for a funny story after of course! the other night we were teaching this family and the light bulb burnt out so me being the tallest one there changed the light bulb or tried to. they handed me the bulb and one of the kids were holding the box. i put it in the box so i could closer examine what was going on... well the bottom of the box was out and the lightbulb fell straight threw. broke. i felt horrible and asked to repace it. well they told me not to worry about it. people here are really nice about things. i think im going to buy them a new one later today.

nothing really exciting has happend here. sorry for the short email... but times up and thats life. things are good. pray for me with the language and such. i could always use help in that! ha ha
i love you all and have a good one! elder crockett

last week of the change

well its my last day in the change. i find out tomorrow the details and such wich should be exciting and such. this week was pretty rough and such. i was sick for 2 and a half days with dengay. its the worst thing i have ever had in my life. symptoms you ask? well vommiting diarrea feaver of 102-3 body aches loss of appitite lightheaded and yeah. i got to expirence that. i really had a rough time. but i came out on top.

this week ar our zone meeting we had a special one. it was just after my sickness so i went. we had a lesson with alot of clipps of disney movies and such. it was really cool. then at the end of the meeting they said we got to choose a movie to watch. so we watched hercules. it was really cool to watch a movie. i didnt know how much i really missed tv and such. ha ha good and bad at the same time. then they zone leaders orderd pizza for us. ha that was really good but 2 days prior i didnt eat a thing due to beeing sick.

this week we had a baptism. yeah i know really cool i was excited. the guy is really cool but quiet. the service was really good but it was after church and it was fast sunday.. so i was just freaking hungry the whole time. i decided to fast and my comp didnt. so it was roguh but all is well in guatemala!!! i miss you all and hop every thing is going well!! love elder crockett

Happy Day of the Dead!

well almost. happy day of the dead! hows everything going. well i dont have that much time this week due to my mass amounts of email... thanks to everyone. keep them comeing and feel free to drop a dear elder to me too... sounds like a plan right??? anyways what you all have been waiting for a cool story... well this week i have one

so the other day our investigators family have iguanas that they sell.. well they had 5 of them. if i had my camera i would send you a picture but o well.... so anyways... we were just sitting there and my comp says were eating iguana right now.. i was stoked for it. exotic food why not? so we sit down at the table and there is tis. i ate the soup that it was in first well 3/4 of it and then i decided that enough was enough that i couldnt do it. i had eaten dinner about 2 hours prior and was stuffed. i decided i would try to eat a piece of meat and go from there. i spooned up a piece. well i saw the various colors of it and threw it back in to my bowl. i got another and didnt look at all... went for it and ate the sucker. i tasted the scales and everything... GROSS!! i turned to my comp and said i cant do this. he looked at me like i was crazy. latinos love this stuff. he told me when the guy left we would change plates. wich we did and was ok. i felt sick for the rest of the night. freak i know that it wasnt bad at all and that i will have to eat nastyer stuff here too...

so i read in the news paper that we got hit by hurtricane richard apparently. our streets flooded here and such was kinda cool. it cooled down the whole city!. its getting hotter and hotter every day. had divisions again with a mission office missionary. freak that kid knows how to get into houses and such. i cant wait to understand and know the language like he know it. in time... well i am out of time this week.. all is good here. just hot. this may be my last week in this area and with my comp who know. change is next week we will see how that goes. love you all be safe1
elder crockett

hello!

well this week has been really interesting and good! started off with
my hand getting slammed in the taxi door..... yea that killed then
went on divisions with another gringo greenie. i guess its not allowed
but we did it anyways ha ha. we went and contacted and taught a couple
lessons. after we went to a members house for dinner.... that was very
interesting.so we get there and i see that here are 2 bowls with fish
tails hanging out and a crab and 3 full shrimp in a soup. i look at my
comp... it was one of those please dont let me puke this up and let me
get this down. it was probably one of the toughest meals i have had to
eat yet. i know there are MANY more to come!! anyways! the next day we
went to perform some service for some people... it was good. we
chopped wood. i though my hands still were tough from rock climbing
but nope. i have 2 big blisters which popped and now are bruised and i
ripped them open playing football americano this morning.... sucks but
such is life. divisions were really fun. it was cool talking to some
one in english! not a whole lot goes down in the mission field other
than that. today we visited the nasty but cool Samala river ill send a
picture or two of those yeah things are good and musty here. ha ha it
rains from time to time. its my last full week in this change! were
getting some more greenies. ha ha dont know if im moving areas or not.
oh so on sunday this guy was going the same direction of us with his
truck so we hopped on. in the back were 2 huge pigs. eventually we got
off thanked the guy. he started driving off when the pig got through
the side of the pick up truck and was being drug from his rope... ha
ha its was really funny to see. he stopped after 10ft. but there were
a bunch of people yelling and laughing. and the biker taxi people were
honking there horns and laughing really funny. ill send a picture of a
bike taxi eventually

Davy supplied me with some questions that i bet you all wanna know..
ill answer them!



what's your area like? my area is a city but has some parts i wanna
say are a jungle. its filled with bugs and frogs! weird but thats life
here.
what do the people eat? people eat Dogs, iguana, chicken, tortillas,
rice, bean, just all the stuff you thing they would eat here. its
really good though! and CHEAP!
What are the people like? the people are really nice and welcome us in
all the time with food and drinks.
Are there a large Indian population in your mission? in my area no
not really. but they all do wear cortas which are some crazy dress
thing. and they carry things on there heads its really funny to see.
is it still hot and rainy? still hot and humid. rain every now and
then. but its turning into summer
what's the ward/branch like? ward is interesting. were just now
getting close to some members. my comp didnt really want to get close
but i pushed for it.
how many missionaries are in you mission? 182 missionaries with 60 white people
Do you like your mission president? Yep! hes really nice and wants the
best for all of us. although he doesnt speak that much english i
understand what he gets across
Are the other elders in your zone cool? Zone is awesome! we do alot of
zone stuff with sports and zone activities through out the week
Do you like the preach my gospel stuff? I never did that. I miss the
flip charts. PMG is where its at. thats my life. i swear i have read
it 3 or 4 times already in english and spanish
Whats the coolest thing you've seen? well not alot other than the pig
expirence. thats about it
Are there any cool things to see in your mission? like ruins, ruins
yes i thing next pday were going to go and see them. its pretty cool
from what i herd. but most of the book of mormon ruins are up north in
the other missions.
attractions, or whatever? they have the largest water park here. never
seen it just herd about it. to bad i wont be able to go to that.
How many baptisms does your mission average? As if that matters.
average baptisms.... no clue at the CCM they told us its around 70 to
80... im yet to have one. but were committing a guy tonight to be
baptized.! so that should be cool.
What are the local swear words? local swear words.... don´t know
them... all i hear is SON OF A B. from the teenagers who think there
cool knowing english... its funny. they cant say it correct. things
are good though

buckett.... how is your Español going for you? ha study hard and just
say your words out loud and you will get it!

well thats about everything... my brain is fried!! im sure in 2 hours
ill remember what i wanted to say... o well such is life i hope all is
well with everything... also can some one send me DAD´s email
address... i dont have that and such... though i did but nope... well
have a good one be safe study hard in school. and such!
love elder crockett

well this week is going alright. i was sick for a little bit of it.
sucked. we went on splits this week with some 17yr olds. my spanish is
progressing and i'm understanding the people who we're teaching
consistently. its nice but i still am working hard at it. im over the
hump on this change which is crazy to think! i have learned so much
about the people and the culture in the last 3 weeks. the weather is
hot. it rained the other day which was really nice. last pday some
latino thought it would be exciting for the people to sing happy
birthday to me at McDOnalds. that was fun. apparently i'm 21 now. who would
have known. its all good and fun. thats what the picture is of. good
times there. this past week was good. we worked hard with our setbacks
but this week i really have the drive to find more people to share the
gospel with. its an amazing blessing i have to do that.

the people here are really nice! they always take us in and offer us
their best chairs and such. americans are just mean. anyways so the
story of the week..

yesterday i was contacting and my comp says let go down here. i notice
a dog sitting on the ground and i think. he better stay there... i
walk down the ally and notice i have a friend following me. well next
thing i know i felt a ¨scratch¨ on my leg thought nothing of it... we
talked to the person and after i wanted to see if the stupid thing had
done any damage to my pants.. well the dang thing BIT me! there was
saliva all over my pant leg and such. i was really mad! im going to
buy a sling shot and marbles to shoot at dogs that come after me from
now on. that what i heard works best...
oh and mindy!! they apparently have dog tacos here. this other
missionary was talking with his latino comp and asked why this
perfectly nice german shepherd is chained up. well they talk to the
family and hes tacos tomorrow. they explained how to kill the thing and
make him in to a delicious dish. they also eat iguana here too. this
family we teach are having that for dinner tonight. gross. but i heard
it tastes like chicken. hmmmmm.

dont know what ill find out next down here... today its pretty hot. i
really am getting hungry and were going to lunch soon!! glad to hear
the race went well. maybe ill bike it when i get off. but we will just
have to see about that... ask me some questions and such! send my
package soon please! i want some good stuff here! i love you all!
elder crockett

Hey

well this week has been an interesting week. we had a 2 day seminar
with president maravilla. it was about how we can better teach people.
i was having some home sickness problems and such and talked with him
about it. well he helped me out and i love my mission it really is a
blessing to be out here and have everything that we have! it hot out
here... i really dont like it but well thats my mission.. people here
go to bed early and dont care if people are sleeping.3am this morning
the neighbors were setting of firecrackers and there car alarm. made
me so so mad. but thats life. another thing that is funny is that the
people close off the street and decide to have a fiesta. and they go
on for hours.
my comp is cool a latino. he knows a enough english to help me out and
to teach me what the people are talking about. although i really dont
understand them. but thats life. i have made it 2 weeks out here and
more to come. its really a good expirence. people here are nice. were
finding a lot of people to teach but not alot to follow up. i just
hope to find some more people out here. i really enjoy life. im
attaching some pictures. of me and the walk out to one of the members
houses... its kinda freaky and i thing aliens are going to pop out and
eat me.
so people here have some really messed up lives. this family were
teaching is having issuses. we as missionaries get the opportunity to
hep solve them eventhough i think its not our place to get into
peoples lives. next week ill send some more fotos! so you can look
forward to that. i really miss you all at home but know im here for a
reason. i may not know it yet but thats life. ill soon find it. i hope
the language clicks again sometime soon. i just need to build my
vocabulary.
but thats life... i hope this week is going better for everyone at
home and i look forward from hearing from you all!! be safe and sorry
for the short email!.
love elder crockett

first week

well im officially out... my p day is on mondays now... so you all
should just write me then... or when you read this.. my area is
awesome but ill wait and tell you about that in a bit... my last day
at the CCM was hard. i was saying bye to my two best-friends. elders
Shaw and Sederholm. there going to the shala mission... anyways they
loaded up the bus and we were on our way. it was really cool we had to
take a different road due to the rain and mud slides.. it was really
cool. it was about a 5 hour bus ride then he hit a stand still in the
road. thinking nothing of it we waited on the bus telling stories and
such. after about an hour some one told us that president marivilla
was waiting for us but we had to walk 1.5 miles to a gas station. i
was excited to get off the bus and went on our way. the road was
blocked in both directions an the bridge was closed to cars. we didn't
find out until later that it was a protest for better roads so they
cut off the main bridge to Retalhuleu. we got picked up and went to
the mission office were we had a dinner set out and we ate as they
gave us the low down on what was going to happen tomorrow with
recicing our trainers. eventually it was time for bed and they took us
to a hotel where we spent the night and ate breakfast. after the APs
picked us up and we were off to the mission home. was really cool they
had a slide show of all our pictures then a power point of who our
trainers and new comp would be. well i have a latino comp who knows a
little bit of english which has helped me alot. we were off to our
area. which is only 10 minutes from the mission office... we took a
tok tok. a three wheeled tricycle taxi. really interesting then loaded
up into a normal taxi and went to the apartment. ill send pictures
next week due to me forgetting my camera. anyways the apartment is one
of the best ones in the mission. but dont let that get your hopès up.
its trash pretty much. anyways i unloaded my bags here and there then
we were off for some introductions... the members here are really
nice. and it sucks being the only white person in a 5 mile radius. but
o well. people know about me now. well after a bunch of intros we had
to get ready for a baptism that was going down that night. we went to
the other missionaries apartment and picked up a tie for the bishop to
have for the baptism. we went out side and it was a down pour. we
opened the gate to the street and there was only about an inch left of
curb before it was over it... i had never seen such a thing in my
life. well we had to cross the street and get the the chapel. made it
across not to badly wet. well one street left and we were there. im
drenched at this point my umbrella wasn't doing much but its what
ever. we went on the count of three off to the gate to unlock it. well
i miss judged the side walk to street and had to much forward
momentum. before i knew it i was on the ground in about 4 to 5 inches
of water... got up and went into the chapel bathroom to dry off. they
have some good hand dryers here.. really cool. ad i made it to the
baptism fairly dry. really cool experience that i want to have more
of. this area is really hot but its winter. in 3 months it will be
summer and hot constantly. i really an not looking forward to that. im
having a good time.. we are teaching this family here and they are
awesome i feel like apart of the family. really cool and i look
forward to teaching them more... were trying to baptize them next
month. well thats all i have for this exciting week sorry if questions
are un answered and such... i love you all and hope you all watched
conference.. it was hard core! if you can call it that. love ya elder
crockett

well dont have as much time as usual... i leave tomorrow for the
mission field! way stoked about this and really am scared. prayers
would be nice!! i hope my trainer is good and will push me to where i
need to be a great missionary. nothing really interesting happend this
week. we watched the new joseph smith movie yesterday.. way good i
remember when we went to see it at the JS building and saw uchdorf..
or how ever you spell it.. i really miss you all.. and im going to
miss going to the temple every week.. i should of prep more... i gotta
go times up i really miss you!!! i love you write more next week love
you elder crockett

Last week at the mtc!

well its my last week here in the city.. i leave on tuesday on a 4 to
5 hour bus ride... it really cool im stoked to go and get on with real
mission stuff...
so this past week we got to go prosolying at the plaza... it was
really cool i really had a blast... so monday we got up got our
supplies and i get a latino comp for the trip and as a big group we
piled onto a city bus.... well lets just say it wasnt the safest way
to go to the city center but was cheap. we were staning in the isle
and holding on to what ever we could there were some missionaries who
could only have one foot on in the door we were that packed... really
funny but cool. the bus bottomed out on the way over going on a speed
bump. the driver was really crazy. we eeventually got to the plaza and
me and my comp. elder piñon we out on out journey, first we talked to
two guys. one not belief the other catholic... really neat and got me
pumped. but one problem.... i couldnt understand a thing he was
telling me... it really sucked but as the president her taught if all
else fails bear your testimony in which i did... it was cool. finnally
i told the latino that we could give away our BOM. or LDM. he didnt
know... really stuggled for about a half hour then i felt the
impression to talk to this one guy... he was all coyboyed up and we
got to know him a little bit. didnt attend any church and was looking
a little bit. it was really cool. i explained the book of mormon to
him and he took it from me... i placed my first book!! i was so
excited to give it away but what was even better was that 20 minutes
later he was reading the book!!! ireally hope he takes it and the
missionaries contact him. i just pray he is receptive to the gospel.

any ways for mailing purposes  i suggest using the pouch! dear elder
is the best way to get to me and its free.. thanks to all the friends
who have been sending them to me they really help me out and i love
it. so tuesday is the day for departure. im nervous and hope my
spanish improves in the next month or so.. this missionary out here
who has been out for 3 weeks had a baptism so i hope my mission is
like that too.... they say about every other weekend you have one. the
average for a missionary is about 60 to 70 people... so ill have a
great 2 years i hope. if not i have learned alot and it has been worth
my time... . i really miss you all and love the gospel. hope your all
reading your scriptures!!! love elder crockett

Another week

hey fam this week is really nothing special. we just had classes and
taught some lessons. the weather here has been really weird.. we have
had sunshine all day which is out of  the norm of things... i really
am getting sick of this place and want to move out. thankfully i have
less than 2 weeks here. the food and stuff is awesome and i love going
to the temple but im sick of being confined to a block space and not
doing my own thing and teaching people. cool thing that happend... the
other night we were talking about one of our latinos and how hes been
shot 13 times. yes thats right 13. and low and behold we heard 5 shots out
side of the ccm. or mtc for you non spanish folks. yeah it was really
crazy. tomorrow is guatemalas independance day so thats why i have
pday today.. the temple was really nice today. i like going to spanish
sessions and such. its the only way to really go. this week we don´t
have anything out of the norm. we normally wake up and play sports
which we have basketball and a weight room and such. so i have been
doing the elliptical in the morning and blowing everyone away. yeah i
know im just like dad. then after that we have breakfast. the usual for
breakfast is  oatmeal stuff and eggs and beans! yum!! im still getting
used to the beans in the morning. after we good to the capilla or
chapel for study and also instruction. lunch is next and its almost
always chicken rice and icecream! we have 2 icecream machines here and
get one every lunch and dinner... after we have personal time and get
to teach people like the trc and do personal study. after dinner we
have more class then bed time snack. the best is when they give us
candy bars or doughnuts.. yeah its americanized.. but thats how things
go when there are more white people then browns. so today being pday i
got to buy some ties. they were really cheap and im going to send one
to you kevone for your bday when i get out of the mtc. i really enjoy
it here. oh before i forget. feel free to send stuff the the mission
home!! dear elders will work for me untill saturday night after that
ill miss them!!! so after saturday send them to the pouch!!! so i can
have mail after i leave here and don´t miss anything! i hope all is
well. my times almost up and im talking with davy so have a good one
bye love ryan

first off thanks lowy for the pictures.... second thanks poop... (connor)for wearing all my clothes... any ways today was fairly epic we got to go to the market and spend lots and lots of money!! yeah it was good... we woke up and said goodbye to all the elders and latios. then waited for the catering co. to bring breakfast. turns out they never showed... so what did president steimly do? yeah thats right we ate McDonalds.. they deliver here! it was fairly epicp i really enjoyed it. the bus finally came and we went to a topographical map of guatemala! this map was as big as 4 or 5 basket ball courts. it was amazing there isnt any other map like that in the world! i took a bunch of pictures and such! ill send some when i am out of this place! so anyways after that we went to the market! we took our charter bus there and got to see some way interesting buildings on the way... was really cool how all the houses are stacked up on eachother... anyways. we get to the market and have to walk across the plaza to the center... on the way i stopped and picked up 3 soccer jerseys. yeah there the legit ones too.. you jealous davy? i bet you are. they're better than DI. after that we got lost and couldn´t find the market... then after looking around and telling my comp to chill we crossed a street and lo and behold there it was... anyways the market was huge!!! about the size of the walmart but had about 100 shops! we looked around and saw all the shops... its was way cool . i bought a long/half sleeve shirt cause i don´t have one here. it was 50Q or about $4.50 pretty good deal eh? we walked around even more and talked with some more elders. many bought hammocks cause they're almost manditory to have in my area. yeah thats right i have my own!! who came prepared!! anywho... after the marked we went to the mall....  yeah it was a legit mall! way nicer than the provo or universitiy mall!! it had 6 levels from what i counted and marble floors.. it took me some time to think that i was in guatemala and not the states... its really nice here i am loving it and enjoy the rainy weather... here in guatemala when it rains its winter time or something like that... odd group of people... it rains in the city from may till january then its summer those months. then winter.. there is no fall or spring... anyways after the mall and eating we left for a museum... or how ever you spell it. it was really cool. we got to walk ontop of this hill which was an ancient building from 600ad. then in the museum we got to walk under the hill and see a burial sight... way interesting!!! on the way the way to and from everywhere there are people packing guns.. we saw a pick up truck filled with army and there aks. and then a coverd trucks with additional men... in some of the allys there are people with assualt rifles and such.. so yeah you got to watch out what you do here and how you look to people... this week is great! temple tomorrow i look forward to that! i love it here. the spanish isnt coming as fast as i would like it but ill get it eventually!! i really enjoy the time i get to be here! i hope everything is well... i heard about byu and them pulling out and being independent and such! send me some dear elders!!! NEXT WEEK IF YOU WANNA SEND ME REAL MAIL I WOULD SUGGEST SENDING IT TO THE MISSION HOME AND NOT HERE!!!! SO I WILL BE ABLE TO GET IT!!! DEAR ELDER WORKS GREAT I GET THEM THRUSDAY AND THEY PRINT THEM OUT ON SUNDAY TO SEND ME SOME MAIL!!! THANKS i love you all and hope the best!!! happy late bday Kevone!! ill get you some guatemala goodness eventually... soccer jersey?? idk... love you all elder crockett

well this week has really been a challenging one... i got the flu and the runs... o well thats life i guess... funny story about the flu.. so on saturday feeling good and all pumped about sunday the next day. i ate lunch and all that stuff... but yeah i was feeling great after that we had some personal study and such... i was starting to feel the pain then. dinner came and i didnt eat anything really. only 2 bites feeling like i was about to puke... well we had a mock lesson and it was 20 minutes long. i said a prayer to my self and went on with the lesson hoping that i could make it thorough with out puking... well i checked my watch and me and the comp had 10 minutes left... i was struggling. i was going to write my comp a note telling him i needed to puke but knowing him he would of not been able to hold him self. finally at 18 minutes i say sorry or compormiso nessisto el baño. get up and puke in my mouth... yes i know gross... but anyways i get through the door and am running down the hall but oh NO... BLEHHHH! i puked in the hall of the church.. good thing it was tile floors and finally make it to the baño to let out a couple more bursts. i had puke dripping off of my shirt all over my shoes everywhere too. me and the comp went back i showerd and such, felt great, carried on with the rest of class till bed time.... that was a big mistake there.... i felt horrible and went straight to bed. that night i woke up and fought the urge to puke again... finally i gave up and 1230 i let another one go... to the 3 stalls next to me there were elders puking too so i didnt feel so bad... sunday rolls around and what do i get to do all day long that missionarys dream of???? thats right i got to sleep all day long and into monday afternoon where i decided enough is enough and to suck it up and get on with life... thats my exciting story for the week hope every one else had something cool too.... so the letter process here is slow... dear elders ship out i want to say saturday and we get them on thursday. i think thats the best way for you to send me mail!! so do that! letters take about a week or so. there should be one coming by some time soon. the language is coming slowly but surely. i taught a lesson all by my self which is a huge achievement! im stoked but have a long way to go... the food is alright. im doing portion control so i dont get huge. i have lost a little weight and i heard my area is the hottest and that i should expect to lose 20 more too! good news for me... any ways times running out. i love you all. feel free to send letters to me any way you want keeping in mind the time it takes for me to get them... i love you have a good one!! im still trying to get everyones email in the list.. sorry if you're not on... ill try again next week. my time is limited of course. love you, elder crockett

First week in Guatemala mtc

hey well guatemala is good. the first week was really really slow... i am having a rough time adjusting to the language and all that jazz... although i am learning a ton!! its crazy. just over whelming most of the time... the weather here is really bipolar!! it rains one minute then next it stops and so on.... but when in rains its pours and pours here... there are rivers going down the street!! the food here is alot better than the provo mtc.. we generally have chicken, or beans rich vegetables and so on... its reallly good and thats not a challenge for me.. its just eating all that they give me.. the portions here are huge... i went to the temple today! it was really cool going to one that isnt english... although tough at someparts of the  session... anyways before the temple i saw a car accident... it was fairly gnarly!  the traffic here is crazy. every one speeds and you can hear police every where. we are under close supervision too.. we have to check in with the guards before we leave. they are all packing heat too its crazy...  my comp... well to say the least hes really tough to be with.. not my favorite at all... hes annoying and think he knows everything about the gospel. yes i know i dont know that much but its just a tough sitution that i am in for the next 5 weeks.... im praying for us to get along but he's just ugh.... yeah anyways my district is really cool! they all feel for me in the comp situation and are helping me out with that. i have a native roommate from costa rica. He speaks english fairly well and i talk with him a get help every night. its great there. how is every one doing with school and such.. didn´t that start today? how is the puppy doing you guys being nice? i don´t know what more to write except i love you all and cant wait to leave this place and get into the field!!  i sent out a letter today so we will see how long that takes.. well love you all elder crockett

well im here finally. we arrived at the mtc at 11. my flight got delayed last night. that was a downer. but all is well... im getting immersed into spanish and such. it bites and im not getting all of it like some other elders are. but that just means i have more studing to do. the food here is alright. i had a few gag moments. ha ha. but thats ok. ill work through that. i really enjoyed talking to mom and mindy yesterday! was good to hear from you... so here is the deal with packages here. i can only recieve one package every 6 months. if you send me another one i'll have to pay taxes on it. so i'm making it to only mom will send me my package. sorry friends.. but letters are nice. they take about a week and a half through the pouch... USE DEAR ELDER!!! thats free and the easiest way for me to get mail and such! pday is still wednesday so i think... but we will have to see. i'll let you know next week.. keep the emails coming and all! i love you all and am having a great time here!! the humidity isnt as bad as i thought it would be. this place is so beautiful!! i love it and will have fun for the next 2 years! ummmm i don't know what more to say. everything here is good. there are cars honking 24/7 and sleeping isn't too bad... and davy you were correct about the humididty. its cloudy all the time here and rains alot! its been pouring on and off all day! well i gotta go! times up. i love you all.
Elder crockett

Week 3

well another week has passed and all is well! im still sick with a sinus infection cough and cold.... it sucks but oh well.. now all of my district has gotten it along with one of my teachers. ha ha. everyone just loves elder crockett right now... so on saturday i decided that i would go to the dr again. but on saturday the clinic is closed. after talking with a dr on the phone, me and my comp got to walk down the the urgent care. there i got a prescription and such. then we took a shuttle to the local Rite aid and waited for my prescription... it was weird leaving the compound. i bought some things while waiting but it was a great way to spend a morning. im off the chocolate milk diet... sad to say. i couldn't keep up with it while being sick..

I got my flight plans this past friday!!!

SLC to CHI 710A flight 3825
CHI to MIA 1240P flight 2074
MIA to GUATEMALA CITY!!!! flight 2125

so when and who should i call i need some phone numbers! i don't know anyones except mommys. so dear elder me the other numbers! and also include what time you would like me to call. im thinking about calling in miami but just all depends on you guys! so whats going on in the world? i herd shaq is got traded to the celtics and thats it really... and that prop 8 failed...

dad~ how was your run? where did you go? who with?

MOMMY~ hows the NY? what exciting things happen there.. you convert Grandma yet?

Dump Nat, and CamBAMden~ herd your sick davy that blows me too... spanish is slowly coming. next week ill be forced into it ready or not.. it should be great! thanks CamBAM for the letter! ha ha how is getting ready for school and such nat? hows your class going to be this year?

KEVONE~hows life? save anyones life lately?

MUNDY thanks for the letters keep them coming!! i apreciate getting mail. everyday from ya! ill write home something today.. after i start packing up

BlowSIF and jon~ whats up DAWGS? hows the money pot of TEXAS? thanks for the letter yesterday was it?

IAN~ how was youth conf? hope it was all you dreamed about. mow the lawn and clean the house i herd its a mess...

well hope all is well and such i miss you all have a good one

Elder crockett!

Send me some mail! :)

E-Mail #1

hey how is everyone!!!
im doing alright... its great to be a second year gryfindor!! or how ever you spell it! thanks for all the dear elders!! i really appreciated being the bread winner of the district. so im fighting off a cold and am possibly getting pnemonia too... its stanks!! so my comp is my friend from high school!! funny how things work... the mtc is awesome and so is the temple!! i loved going this morning! such a nice way to start off the day!! so dad herd you went running on your bday... and you made mom drive forever long... thats cool and the mouse in the stove is your resposability! ha ha sukas! there are a lot of lehi people here in the mtc and Mark comes in today! im excited for everything... spanish is getting tough... im a little discuraged but its only been a week right... i just have to get my mind on the goal... i only have 2 weeks left in this compound... i hate how you can't see anything out side of this place... its to dark and dreary... i hope all is well!!! and when is my package coming??? you should send me it mindy since mother failed to before she left. im lost with out my scriptures!! and my bragging pictures too... i need those! so what new? anything going on thats new? tell me some worldly things!!! how is buckethead? he lost with out my personal direction? i herd 7 peaks was a downer... that stanks. so everyone here likes my korean ties and my peurto rico ties... don't know what more to say really but i love you all and my testimony has grown a whole lot sice i have arrived!!! its awesome! ill try and make you proud!!!
love you all!! elder crockett






p.s. Ryan requested that his friends/family send him dearelder letters using the website dearelder.com. he likes letters! :)

Elder Crockett starts the Adventure!

Freak, it took me forever to finally crack the e-mail and password login for this blog. even though ryan told me what it was. let's just say he spells things weird.


ANYWAY, he's gone! Left on wednesday morning!

This is a pic of our family on the sunday of his farewell. Good times. We're going to miss Ryan and his funny sense of humor. The house is already quiet without him here. As I'm sure some of you can imagine. Ha.

Elder Crockett and Camden, his adorable little nephew. He held him quite a lot for the last few days before he left. Camden's going to be 2 when he gets home! Crazy!

He was set apart on Tuesday night. He got some really great blessings in his setting apart and it was a great spiritual experience. (My favorite was that he would be able to dream in Spanish and that he'd be able to bless people and cast out satan and his minnions!) He's going to have an awesome mission and he's going to baptize millions! We can feel it!

Wednesday morning he slept in.... ha.... then finished packing. We piled in the car and drove to the MTC to drop him off! The drop of was different than any other missionary drop off we've done before. (I've dropped off two brothers before and been dropped off myself....). They don't allow family to come inside anymore. So We pulled up to the sidewalk, got out, got his luggage out of the car, and then gave him hugs as the "helper" missionaries awkwardly watched us. It was really fast. Not much time for tears. They used to make us watch that cheesey video that made us cry all the time, but this was all tearless.



Elder Ryan looked a bit nervous and a bit sad when we finally got back in the car to leave, but he wheeled his suitcase in the MTC wearing his awesome suit of power and I'm sure he's doing just great!! We can't wait to finally hear from him and hear about his time at the MTC and all his other adventures!



Plus, we're pretty sure he forgot to pack his scriptures. They were on the dining room table when we got home. hahaha! We're waiting for him to ask for them.



Make sure to write to him if you miss him! His address is posted in the blog post below. There's also an awesome service called dearelder.com where you can type a letter to Ryan and it gets printed at the MTC and delivered to him the same day! I recommend that. I loved getting dearelders while I was at the MTC. Plus it only costs free nintey-free. It also works for his whole mission, free of charge, when he gets out to Guatemala. So do it!

Plus, if you comment on the blog at anytime I'll be sure to pass the comments along to Ryan in a letter or e-mail or something. So feel free to do that.

Well, peace out Ryan's friends and fans. It's been real. -Mindy
Ryan's favorite Sister

MAILING ADDRESS

Well my time has come in about to leave.... im sure going to miss everyone!!

my addresses are as follows
For the first 3 weeks

Elder Ryan Robert Crockett
MTC Mailbox #351
GUA-RET 0928
2005N 900E
Provo, Utah 84604-1793

after that for the next 6 weeks

Elder Ryan Robert Crockett
Bulevar Vista Hermosa I, Zona 15
01015 Guatemala, Guatemala

then after that pouch is the best way for me to recieve mail.
Elder Ryan Robert Crockett
Guatemala Retalhuleu Mission
POB 30150
Salt Lake City, UT 84130-0150
USA
Pouch mail instructions
only post cards and letters that are single sheet, folded into three-panels,and taped at the top only! (NO ENVELOPES!!) may be sent through the pouch.

THEN PACKAGES!! I LIKE THEM!!
Elder Ryan Robert Crockett
Guatemala Retalhuleu Mission
Barrio Concepio'n, Boulevard Centenario
Salida a Coatepeque, Zona 2
Retalhuleu
GUATEMALA


well there you have it... i love you all and will see you in two years!
Elder Crockett Signing off