Santiago!!!

OH MY GOODNESS I have a LOT to report! We had changes yesterday, and hands down, I think what happened is the LEAST expected thing Ive had in the mission!

I cant remember if I told you about the village of Santiago. Remember how Lake Atitlan has 12 villages, all named after the apostles? Santiago (James in English) is one of 3 that has missionaries, (Luke and Andrew are the others), and it is the only area in the mission that speaks Tzutuil. Another thing is that the missionaries there HAVE to learn the language because almost half of the people won't or cant speak Spanish to you. And it is the only area where the missionaries where the clothing the people where--they wear white shirts and ties, but also sandals, and a kind of shorts they use called Scoff, with a belt that looks like a scarf called a Faja. The area itself is in between two volcanoes surrounding the lake, and it takes a few hours to get there, FROM solola.

Anyway I think youve probably figured out what happened and where I find myself today :) Saturday night we got the phone call--I had changes and an interview! I was stunned. Interviews are when President moves you up to a different position, DL, ZL, secretary, retention secretary, or trainer. I didnt really know what to expect, I thought of all it would probably be secretary, but I did think it would be fun to train. Anyways Sunday was goodbye day to Patzun (very sad :( I will miss them!), and then Monday was going to be changes, but the buses went on strike! It was a whole big thing, none of the buses in all the country went that day. So Tuesday was changes, I went in for the interview, and President goes "Elder Moore, you are here for a weird reason. I dont usually interview missionaries in this case," (then I got kind of nervous :), "But I am going to ask you flat out--Would you like to go to Santiago?" Then he explained how when a missionary goes there, he HAS to learn Tzutuil or it messes up alot of things, and how missionaries that go there STAY there for a LONGGGGGGG time (usually more than six months. Sometimes a year), and that they end up loving it because its the most beautiful place in the world. Anyways I was so thrown! For logistical reasons (I can explain those later) I didnt think Id ever be able to go there (not a huge desire, but I did wonder if it was possible), but nope! Everything changed yesterday. Im in Santiago, Im with Elder Johnson (a Navajo! :), Im learning Tzutuil, and it IS the most beautiful place in the world :) Oh wow I wish you guys could see it. The lake is just a few minutes walk down from our hotel (I live in another one! ;) and it is amazing. Last night we got in and all the streets looked like they were right out of Arabia, mixed with Chinatown, everyone speaking a language that even sounds way different from the Kaqchikel I was used to. The market was filled with people selling all kinds of things, everything lit by candles, and the center square fountain all lit up. SOOOOOO cool. I will have to take pics asap! :D

The other cool thing is even though I was bummed to leave my district, Im still in the Solola zone! I thought id be out for sure. But Ill still get to see everyone every two weeks or so. And our new district is so awesome, I already knew them from before so Im way stoked to be here with them :)

ANYWHO. Whew! These past few days have been a whirlwind for sure, everything happening so quickly. It was cool to talk with President and Sister Baldwin about Santiago though--its such a "celebrity" area of the mission--Tiki Saje is the hottest, Tecpan is the coldest, Joyobaj is the farthest away, La Justo II is the smallest, and Santiago is where they speak another language and wear weird clothes :) Anyways they have a special fondness for Santiago and the missionaries that go there. Im excited! And yes, I am wearing Scoff right now. It is so comfy :D Ill send pics as soon as possible!

Anyways thats whats keeping me busy this week! Sounds like everything is going awesome back home. Gladys Knight concert sounds awesome! Wish I could have been there. Mom--we did meet that family in Pana! They were so nice to us, and it was way cool of them to buy us ice cream and to send you guys pics! Be sure to tell them thanks again for me. By the way I DO plan on bringing back Scoff for Jeremy and Dad :) How are the March Madness picks going? :D

So good to hear from you as always! Thanks for writing and I cant wait to keep you posted about what this change brings :D Ooh boy I wish you guys could see it here. It really feels like the edge of the world. Guatemala forever seems to be the land of a thousand faces, different and beautiful everywhere I turn. Till next week! Love and miss you--

Tyler