Muy rapidito, my loves. (Because EVERYTHING in Guatemala is "ito" or "ita")

The other day, I had a bag of chicken stomach in my backpack. Because I had been fed it. For lunch. And ended up sneaking most of it into a plastic bag and then sneaking it out of the house in my backpack.  Has anything as disgusting as that ever happened to you? I hope not.

This never fails to amuse me, and I don't know why, because, er, English is different from Spanish, but in Spanish, when you call cats, you say, "Mishmishmish" instead of "Herekittykitty". Also the sounds that animals make are different and that is confusing to me, but c'est la vie.

The other day, we got amazing Peruvian takeout delivered to our house for 17 Quetzales. That's about 2 U.S. dollars. Read it and weep.

I love that tortillar is a verb. "Oh, I can't, I have to tortilla tomorrow." THAT'S A THING PEOPLE SAY.

We usually just say "Buenas" instead of "Buenas tardes" (me especially, because my Gringa accent renders the word "tardes" almost impossible) and people will sometimes respond with "Tardes". "Buenas." "Tardes." It's like playing polite Marco Polo. And since Guatemaltecos consider it to be "Buenas tardes" from 11 to 7, we play Marco Polo a YACHT.

Frosted Flakes here are called "Zucaritas". My companion bought a type called "Choco Zucaritas con (Insert word for Marshmallows here.)". That literally translates to "Little Chocolate Sugars With Marshmallows". #saludable

And I was eating my Trix one morning and she was gloating about her little chocolate sugars, and I went, "Whatever, at least I got a free action figure in my Trix." (which I did. It was glorious.) and she retorted, "Whatever, at least I got free diabetes."

So she's pretty excellent.

The bugs are not as bad as I feared, although last night I saw a spider that was 2 inches in circumference. #NOTIMPRESSED. We get the occasional cockroach in the house, however, and my companion, Hna. Weatherford, is deathly afraid. Our house has two levels - a bathroom and general room downstairs with the sink and fridge and closets, and upstairs, a bedroom. I was in the bedroom the other night and heard a terrific scream from downstairs. I called down, "Cockroach?" and Hermana Weatherford yelled up, "No, just Satan running across the floor!" Yep, that about sums it up.

We have this amazing investigator getting baptized Saturday. She just got married to a member last Friday, is 4 months pregnant, and is pretty much golden in every way and too sweet for words. When we saw her at church on Sunday we said, naturally, "How are you?" and she grinned and said, "I'm happy to be here." And later she joked that her baby was kicking a ton "because he's happy to be here, too!" CUTEST. #idie

Well, loves, that's about it for the week.

Every week gets a little bit easier and I love it a little bit more, and I really am so grateful to be here.

Love,

Hermana Brower

Hi loooves.

Hermana Brower here, reporting from the field!

I'm in Amatitlan, this gorgey city that's not in the mountains, according to my fantastic trainer, but looks like it is so I'll take what I can get. My area is ROCKING. Can I never leave it? K thanks. The ward here is too good for words, the members are amazing, our investigators are amazing, and I love it. I'm in a companionship with one of my best friends from the MTC, Hermana Weatherford, and we have a stellar, sweet, hilarious trainer, Hermana Garcia, who's in her last month here. We walk faaast and teach lots. Mornings are still obscenely hard but I love the work.

This is going to be THE most discombobulated e-mail of your vidas, but here goes.

Before I get distracted, Ephesians 4. Rocking.

Here goooes.

Sometimes you're flipping through your journal and you read the sentence, "Talked with Jesus in the streets a few times today, I seriously love him so much." (Alright, so it wasn't Jesus Lord and Savior, but the sweetest older guy who has gone to church twice and loves it, and is just THE SWEETEST.)

Sometimes you can't speak Spanish, but you can't speak English properly anymore either and start saying things like, "Oh, yeah, that has sense." (Spanish, Y U ruining my English???) Sometimes the youth here are ADORABLE and I probably need to adopt each and every one of them? I'm pretty resourceful, I'll figure it out.

Sometimes I use sometimes incorrectly, but most importantly, SOMETIMES WE HAVE BAPTISMS!

Anthony is 8 and too cute for words, and Mynor is 15 and sassy and hilarious and they will be the first I adopt. They are both such great boys and their baptisms were amazing. Mynor was just grinning ear to ear, and Anthony was sobbing. It was actually kind of the cutest thing ever, but saddest. He's so, I don't know how to say it, but special, he really is. Just a special little guy who's going to grow up and do something great with his life.

It's been a crazy past couple of weeks, but bit by bit it's getting better and better and I really am loving the work so much. And we usually get up at 5:30 so on P-Days, when we get to sleep til 6:30 - well, glory glory hallelujah.

ALSO we went about an hour and a half into Guate (the locals call the capital Guate, and every time, I'm just like, wait, he went to Guate? We're IN Guate!) to the temple for...a sealing for a family our trainer baptized five months into her mission, her first baptism! It was amazing, and between that and the baptisms...it was just like, that's why I'm here. I love my family so much and am so grateful to know I can be with them forever, and I want other people to know that and be with their families forever, too. I literally feel so, so, so stinking blessed to be here.

Sorry for the shortness, but know I love you all so much and I am so grateful for your support and your goodness and I hope you all have a groovy week!

If that has sense.

Con amor,

Hermana Tabitha Brower