Which thought is scarier? Scorpion or Fire?

(random bug picture Jack took at the beginning of his mission but not a scorpion)

Today the last line in Jack's email was:
"Oh, yesterday while we were about to go to bed, we found a giant scorpion! Then we spent about half an hour trying to kill it by fire and looking for other ones. I don’t like scorpions."
I don't know which part of that statement troubled me more....
That there was a scorpion in their living quarters 
OR
That they tried to kill it BY FIRE?
Both seem kinda disturbing...
and yet,
I had to chuckle

because this is how he probably looked during the scorpion escapade....

Because in spite of all the wisdom and maturity they are gaining..
Despite all of the testimony building, faith enriching experiences they are having..
They are still our boys.
And boys will be boys......
Chasing a scorpion around with fire.
(I guess using a hard whack with the back of a shoe would have been too easy)


Here is Elder Winn's latest epistle:

Hey everyone!

Thanks for the emails. It’s good to hear from you.

            This week has been pretty eventful. We had a zone conference with President Falabela from the 1^st quorum of the seventy. It was a great conference. We talked about the need to build up the church here in Guatemala, and the only way to do that is by baptizing families. It made me think a lot about how the Gospel is always focused on the families, and that the only way to truly receive our exaltation is through our families. Sometimes it’s hard to find families. We can pretty frequently find single mothers, or mothers whose husbands don’t want anything with the Gospel, but it’s hard to find families. The men here are usually not very receptive, but we’re trying to be able to find the ones that are. He also pointed out that we should only be working with the people who are ready to hear the Gospel. A lot of people aren’t ready to hear, and even though they let us into their houses it  is a waste of time if they will never progress. Elder Dunkley and I have been working a lot on that this week. We’re looking for families, and future priesthood holders. We’ve had to pass up a lot of potential lessons to find them. Even though it’s more desirable to be teaching people than contacting, we have to make the sacrifice to find these people.

            Oh, happy anniversary by the way! Congratulations.

            We also had a zone leader council with President Falabela. That was a pretty intense day. Funny story actually. Elder Dunkley and I were positive that it was going to start at 9, so we left early, because it takes about an hour with traffic to get there. We ended up getting there at 7 30, and we hadn’t ate breakfast that morning, and the fancy restaurant at the office building had a 2 for 1 deal, so we decided to eat breakfast. Well, we took our sweet time eating a tasty Guatemalan breakfast, and we got to the office at 8 30 only to realize that it had started at 8! It was pretty embarrassing. The best part was that when we were eating I was telling Elder Dunkley about the story when Megan and I were eating at that restaurant thinking we had all the time in the world when we were actually supposed to be there for our final exam. It was pretty funny.(Megan and Jack took a class together their freshman year and had the best time. Their last final was the class they had together and was right before they were to race to the airport to catch a plane flight home for Christmas. They decided to celebrate and have a fancy breakfast at the top of the Wilkinson Center and then wait outside the classroom for the final. They had a marvelous time and were patting themselves on the back for arriving a half an hour early to the exam. When they got there they noticed that the classroom was full and that is when they found out that they had the wrong time and only had 20 minutes to take a 2 hour test.....an essay exam! They scribbled something down. Megan said that she couldn't even read her writing through the tears.  She called me sobbing afterward because she felt she had let down her brother and now they would both fail. Jack was so worried what his Dad and I would think.  I felt sick for the both of them. Thankfully we can all laugh about it now.)

            Right now we’re working with a family that we’re having a hard time bringing to church. They are Fransisco an Julia. They agree with all of our teachings, and are reading the Book of Mormon, but they wont cone to church. It’s hard to get people to church here, because it’s a little far away. Elder Dunkley and I are thinking of giving piano lessons to try and get non members to at least enter the church and see what it’s like. The church here is beautiful, and we want to get people to enter it, even if it’s not for sacrament meeting.

            Okay, it’s question time!

1.THE CALL!
When:?

I’ll probably do a pre-call on Wednesday, and I will call Sunday after church. Like at 1 or 2
How?(who calls whom)?

I will call you guys.
How long can we talk?:

President Torres hasn’t said anything yet. =0
Are you excited??:

YES! =)

2. Did your debit card work at taco bell? I assume that it did. Have you had any other problems with it?

Yes, and it worked this morning at McDonal…… lol never mind. It works. =)

I’ll be taking money out to by minutes this week though.

3. You said that you wanted to go to some places that I hadn't heard of. What is Livingston? What is Puerto Barrios?

It’s an island that’s supposed to be really pretty, and it’s where rio dulce is. I’ve heard it’s pretty cool.

4. The reason I said to fly to Peten is that it would save time and give us more time actually in Peten. They sell packages that include hotel and shuttles and entrance fees to Tikal. I just thought that it might be an option. How scary are the buses that drive all night. Are they pretty creepy? (we will probably rent a car in Peten)

I think it would be cool to fly. I know a hotel that I’ve stayed in, that’s pretty alright, that charges 20 dollars a night. And I can get into Tikal for a lot cheaper. The entrance fee is about 12 dollars for foreigners and about 2 dollars for me. Just be careful with the tourists people up there. They will rip you off. The buses aren’t really creepy to me, but it would be cool to fly as well. (Something tells me that I do NOT want to stay in the 20 dollar hotel that Jack has found. lol)

5. BTW the whole Vanegas family won't be there. Only Sister and Brother Vanegas. All of their children will be attending BYU at that time. So no problem with that. Wait...this isn't a question at all....oh yea I know....isn't your mother really really great? (remember to answer carefully since it is so close to Mother's day!!)

Yes. Nerent!

7. Cow hoof and spinal column....mmmmm mmmmm. What was the worst thing you have eaten this week?

Yeah, it was gross. This week we’ve eaten pretty normal food. Th best thing was lasagna that Hra Torres made for council.

9. How was the zone conference and zone leader council?

It was very good.

11. Healthy??

Yes!
12 Do you need anything??

No =)

And I think I have lost some weight, so nobody has called me fat lately. I stopped drinking soda and eating sugar in an effort to be healthier. I haven’t lost a lot, but I’m getting a little thinner.

Oh, yesterday while we were about to go to bed, we found a giant scorpion! Then we spent about half an hour trying to kill it by fire and looking for other ones. I don’t like scorpions.

            Well, I am excited to be able to call you guys. I am grateful for everything you do for me, and I know that I am always in your thoughts and prayers. I love being a missionary, and I know that this Gospel is true, and that we are children of God, with many blessings in store for us.

Thanks for everything!

Love,

Elder Winn