Dear Family and Friends,
Saturday we had changes and guess what...I'm here in San Igancio with Sister DeLeon again. One more change baby! This will be our third change together and we've definitelyon worked hard to get our investigators where they're at now and I know with faith in the Lord that we will see the fruits of our labors this change.
As for our investigators, they're doing well. We're still teaching the 11 year old boy and he's progressing really well. We're working on getting permission from his mom so that he can get baptized so please pray for him. You want to know something cute? We had testimony meeting and he got up and bore his testimony about how he knows the things we are teaching him are true! That was definitely a happy moment! We are also teaching a lady and her two kids and they really love church and they want to continue to learn more. We're hoping they'll continue to progress and become baptized this month.
Since last Friday was the 4th...HAPPY 4TH OF JULY!! For the fourth of July we had a breakfast at the Rinderknecht's house and Sister Rinderknecht made a delicious American Flag cake. For dinner that night the service group Health International invited the missionaries in our branch over for a true American dinner. The leaders of the group are from Utah and they visit our branch each week. We had fun chatting, taking pictures, and eating an all American meal. We ate hamburgers, hotdogs, an American Flag cake, french fries, potato chips, and we made rootbeer floats. So I can't complain, I had a pretty great 4th of July, in Belize!

I hope that you all are praying for a way to serve your neighbors and for an opportunity to find some one to share the gospel with. We are all missionaries for the Lord and we should do our best to help his children back into the fold. I hope you have a wonderful week!
Love,
Sister Ontiveros

Silly San Ignacio:
So I was riding my bike the other day and my skirt got caught in my bike. So I angrily got off my bike and tried to detach myself from my bike. While I was doing that this car stops right next to me and this guy rolls down his window and says "Hey your tire is flat." I looked at my tire with confusion and then the guy says "Haha Just kidding!" and drives away. What the?! ha

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Dear Friends and Family,

The 11 year old boy is great, he's so smart, the only thing is his mom is in the states right now with her daughter because her daughter is pregnant and the dad won't sign the paper unless the mom says yes so we're trying to work with the family so that he can get baptized. I'm so happy that those sisters called you last week that's awesome! I can't believe that I'll be coming home in three short months, what the?! So we had interviews this week and I told president how Sister DeLeon and I had a week where nothing was going right and how I had ABSOLUTELY NO IDEA what to do and I got down on my knees and plead with the Lord to help us out because everything was going wrong and we weren't finding anyone new. I began to cry as I told him that story and he just looked at me and said "Sister you're a great missionary and I don't want to discourage you, but you're going to have a difficult future and this mission preparing you for that." All I could think was "It's because I'm an Ontiveros!" So that comment took me off guard, but I kind of figured that that's how my future is going to be because well nothing has ever come easy for me, I've always had to work at it. ha The interview over all went really well and he asked me if I wanted to go back to El Salvador, and honestly I love Belize and I wouldn't mind staying here, but I told him that I'd go where the Lord needs me. He told me how he's very grateful for all of the work that I've done and how I've always had a good attitude and I've done everything that he has asked of me, "I don't even know how many daughters you've had." is what he said. haha So we have changes on Saturday here in Belize and we should find out changes in the next couple of days so we'll see what happens! I've been like a crazy nervous, stressed, emotional person these last couple of weeks because I've come to the realization that my time on the mission is ending and I just want to know if I'm staying here or going home, and ah it's been crazy. ha Well for the fourth were going to have a bbq with "Health International" they're an american group that travels the world to help out kids in schools and the invited us to an the bbq so I'm excited(the counselors are mormon and have been attending our branch. they'll be here till august). That sounds like fun, a booth. Where is the booth going to be at? Are you guys going to stadium of fire? Who is coming to stadium of fire this year? I can't wait to see you guys soon, I'll get my plane plans at the end of August...ah so crazy! Well I love you so much and I can't wait to see you soon. Talk to you next week!
Love,
Ash :)

Dear Family and Friends, First off I want to wish my dad a Happy Fathers Day, and I want to thank him for everything he has done for me. I love you dad so much and I want you to know that I miss you and I'm so greatful for the example that you've been to me and for the love you've always shown me. I love you so much dad! This week over all went by really fast, and it really was a good week. We've been teaching this woman and her two daughters about the gospel and her daughters have gone to church before, but finally she went for the first time yesterday to church and she really did like it. We're working to help them become baptized, and we're working on serving them because they're going through a really rough time right now and as missionaries its our job to not only teach the gospel, but to  live it. We've also been teaching this young adult from Nicaragua and her boyfriend about the church and the importance of families(they're expecting a baby in July) and they're both really positive and she was actually taught by missionaries before so I would like to thank those missionaries who well prepared before. She's really nice and they do want to get married so we're working to help them become a family for eternity and be baptized. We were also fortunate enough to find a less-active member. President Hintze always asks us to visit 25 or more less-actives/recent converts each week because it's the best way to find investigators and to help them become strong members who will help build the branch. Less-actives need others to show love to them so that they can come back and feel needed. SILLY SAN IGNACIO: 1. Crazy enough I got stung AGAIN but this time we were teaching about the plan of salvation and I was holding a picture and was in the middle of saying "and so the celestial kindooooooommmmmouchhhh!"  when it stung me in the armpit! Who knows how the bee got there, but yes I had never before my mission been stung by a bee and now I've been stung twice within one week! 2. Contacting in Belize 101: I don't know how other missions contact but here in Belize we contact people in the streets, through references, and by yelling "good (time of day)" outside thier house. So this week we found a house who is surrounded by houses on both sides and whose house sits all the way to the back and there's a fence in front that surrounds the house. So the only way to contact that house is to yell really REALLY loud. So, without planning or anything, at the same time Sister DeLeon and I threw back our heads and her in Spanish, me in English, yelled "GOOD EVENING/BUENAS TARDES!!" It's a good thing that the person didn't come out of the house because DeLeon and I looked at each other and then just busted up laughing! One house that did happen to respond to our yelling actually ending up as a debate. The first thing that the man said to us was that the missionaries never come back to his house because he just fights with them because the Bible is the only true book, and it's not right the we worship Moroni and Joseph Smith. Um...what?! So Sister DeLeon and I testified and taught The Restoration to this man and when we would prove our point, he'd then find other excuses as to why our we are "preaching false doctrine." For example, he said that we shouldn't worship a prophet who had many wives and then he proceeds to ask us "Did Moses have many wives?" I told him I honestly didn't know and then asked him the same question and he said to me "You shouldn't be asking me I should be asking you!" Then he said that it's not right that we do baptisms for the dead because we should do it in the name of Jesus Christ not in the name of the dead person. An my all time favorite, "The true church is The Church of Jesus Christ." So we said "We are The Church of Jesus Christ brother, read our name tags!" He then read them and said "No you changed the name because you guys were The Mormon Church before! You're teaching false doctrine and we'll see who's right in the last day!" So I don't know about you guys but...I thought it was definitely an interesting contact experience! haha   My thought this week comes from Bonnie L. Oscorson who said "As we act upon the doctrines of the gospel and put them into daily practice, we will become converted and we will become the means of doing much good in our families and in the world." As missionaries and members it's important to not only share the gospel, but live it as well. Before we convert others, we need to first convert ourselves. We must pray often, read our scriptures, have faith, repent, remember our covenants we have made, go to the temple, and go to church, so that we can build and strengthen our own testimony so we "will become the means of doing much good." Love, Sister Ontiveros

ear Friends and Family,
Well this week was a week of ups and downs because our most progressing investigators decided that they're too busy, or don't want anything to do with the church any more. So that was dissapointing and we've been working hard to find positive news, but it hasn't been the easiest thing in the world, the Lord has definitely tested our faith and patience this week. The good news is that we were able to find a part member couple, and thier friend who is from Nicaragua and they are positive. The girl from Nicaragua said that she was going to get baptized, but her mom wouldn't let her, but she really wants to learn more about the church so hopefully all will go well with them and they will be able to progress towards baptism.
Silly San Igancio:
1. Well this week we went with a member to visit some investigators and while we were contacting we found this old lady and she was sweet and told us that we could come in and share a message with her. So we went in her house and I kid you not, it was all full of stuffed animals and baby dolls! There was not one shelf or corner where there weren't stuffed animals or baby dolls. So we were like okay that's kind of creepy, and she was actually holding one of her baby dolls so we started joking about how many times she feeds here baby and what not, but she though we were serious and she gave us serious answers. Then we asked her a simple question such as "Do you believe in God?" and she said of course she did and then she began to tell us a story. She said that she knows God exists because he protects her. There was these guys in the middle of the night that entered her house and pulled her by the hair and pinned her against the wall. She said that when they did that she pulled out her machete and fought them with it! We then told her that's great how she has seen how God has protected her and then she said "God does protect me because one night there were men who came into my house..." and she started the SAME story over again. She did that about ten times during the lesson and then she would tell us about her dolls and oh man...we definitely had to try out best to not bust a gut during the lesson.ha After we left the member asked us if he could go visit with us again because he wants to visit the crazy lady again! lol

2. Yesterday we were teaching our investigators and a couple of her friends outside when all of a sudden I saw something fall to the ground and I felt shooting pain go through my thumb. Guess what happened? A bee stung me! Who knows where the bee came from or how it got attached to my thumb, but that was the first time I'd ever been stung by a bee in my whole life so I was praying I wasn't allergic to it! Luckily I didn't have an allergic reaction to the bee, but it did hurt like no ones business.

3. We found a couple to teach and while we were talking about the Holy Ghost the wife asked us if we believe in gifts of the Holy Ghost? We told her of course we do and then she told us how she has the gift to see the future. She said that she has lines on her head that make the sign of the cross, as well on her front teeth and she believes that they are marks from God that give her this gift to see the future. I should have taken advantage of that and asked her who I'm going to marry one day and if I'd be a millionaire. haha

Well my spiritual thought for this week comes from M Russel Ballard. He says "The gospel and doctrine of Christ give all who will accept it power to achieve eternal life and power to find joy in the journey." I hope that we can all find joy in the journey of life and remember that the Lord is always with us.

Love,
Sister Ontiveros

Four months To Go

Dear Family and Friends,

First off, yesterday I finished 14 months on the mission can you believe that? I feel as if I'm in some kind of time warp, as if I'm not really living in real time because I'm in this missionary bubble which seemed to go SO slow at first, but now it's going by so fast. I've definitely had some great experiences in the mission which have helped me to really gain an understanding of the importance of the gospel in my life and to realize how I need to change to become more like Jesus Christ. 

This week was a bit challenging because our best investigators have digressed, but we're still working hard and luckily we've been able to have some good lessons these last few days, with members, and we've been able to find some new investigators. We're working with a mom and her two daughters and they're really positive. The two daughters have really enjoyed the activities and coming to church and they really have a desire to follow Jesus Christ. We're also working with a 19 year old girl and we taught her about The Restoration and The Book of Mormon with a member and the member gave such a powerful testimony about her own conversion which really helped to bring the spirit to the lesson.

This last Wednesday for FHE we had a hot-dog-hoedown! We shared a message about the importance of working and then we taught the members and investigators how to "Boot-Scoot-Boogie"! At first they were really hesitant about participating, but once we started teaching the kids the adults joined in and it was a lot of fun to see everyone getting a little taste of country culture. And afterwards we ate hot dogs and had fun chatting with everyone.

Silly San Ignacio:

1. Monday we went contacting and we got to this one house and started to introduce ourselves. "Hi we're missionaries for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints." and then we started to talk about the importance of the gospel and the happiness that it can bring us and then the fun began. When she realized that we were from the "mormon church" she then began to tell us how we're wasting our time preaching false doctrine and how everything that she needs to know she can find in the Bible. We then told her how we preach the gospel of Jesus Christ and we use the Bible and then she told us that we're wrong because we worship Joseph Smith and that it doesn't talk about him anywhere in the Bible. So then we began to explain to her how we worship God and how Joseph Smith was called to be a prophet to restore the true church and we began to teach her lesson one. We tried to finish the lesson, but she stopped us and said "When I see you at judgement face to face, you will then realize that you are teaching false doctrine and I have all I need right here in my bible." And then she got up and walked away. Oh humanity...haha

2. So I went on interchanges this last week in Santa Elena and while we were there we went to give a lesson to a recent convert/less active. Well we planned out what we were going to teach him and we  went in and well we spoke about 20 words in total because he wouldn't stop talking for the life of him! After about an hour of sitting there listening to whatever thing he could think of to say I had finally had it and said "Okay brother thanks for letting us come over and we'd now like to close with a prayer. Would you be willing to say it?" As we're walking out the door he then says to me "You're a very outspoken person. What is it that you want to go into?" So I told him medicine and then he says to me, "You'll do well in that." and walks away. Um...thank you? ha

3. So Sister DeLeon were doing some street contacting last week and while we were there we noticed this cute little girl that walked out of a tortilla stand. She looks up at the sky and then stands  on her tiptoes and shouts to the world "This girl is on fire!" Sister DeLeon and I looked at eachother and then busted a gut laughing. It was one of the cutest things I had ever seen. Alicia Keys would have been proud!haha

4. Well our lock on our outside door was giving us trouble and we couldn't enter the house so we had to call the owner and the Rinderknechts to come and help us open it. So what did Elder Rinderknecht do? He decided to kick the door open! He says "I've seen this happen in movies all the time, I can do this." And with one solid push from his leg, he kicked our front door open! haha 

Well my spiritual thought for this week comes from the April Liahona. President Dieter F. Utchdorf said "The Lords way is not to sit at the side of the stream and wait for the water to pass before we cross. It is to come together, roll up our sleeves, go to work, and build a bridge or a boat to cross the waters of our challenges." I've always loved talks by him because he's so wise. There are challenges that come our way, but if we do our best to work hard and we put forth an effort to find a solution, we will overcome them and we will be able to move forward in life.

Love,

Sister Ontiveros

Family and Friends, Well this week was a fantastic one because on Sunday I got to talk to my family for Mother's Day. I'm so grateful that all is well with them and that they are happy and that they support me in all that I do. I'm also very grateful for a wonderful mother who has always been there for me and has always shown me love and support.  Well some highlights of the week was our plan of salvation FHE that Sister DeLeon and I did with our branch. Every Thursday night the missionaries do FHE for our branch and this last Thursday was Sister DeLeon and I's turn. We played the game "Life" by using different doctrines from the plan of Salvation and we made a huge dice they they had to roll  in order to move spaces and the spaces had different scriptures on them that talked about the different stages of the plan of salvation. They really liked it, and it was a fun way to learn about the importance of "not procrastinating the day of your repentance," having faith in Christ, and enduring to the end. On Saturday we had a Mother's Day activity with the branch where people shared different talents, read Mother's Day poems, and we ate together. Us as missionaries were asked to participate so what we did was we shared three funny, and one serious, things that our mothers taught us. For example, one elder said his mom taught him how to shave his legs, and a sister said that her mom taught her that he brothers were not punching bags. The four things that my mom taught me are the following: 1. My mom taught me how to drive...after I about killed my dad one the first try 2. She taught me that we draw on paper not walls...thanks to writing my name on the garage wall and then denying that it was me. 3. Chocolate is an essential in life. 4. No matter what kind of mood I'm in, hugs are always needed. So there you have it, my mother has definitely taught me some great things over the years. Sister DeLeon and I are working hard to find news and to help our investigators progress. And as always there's always those obstacles that we have to overcome, but with the Lord's help anything is possible. We just have to trust in him and he will guide us."Go ye therefore, and teach all nations baptizing them in teh name of the Father, and the Son and the holy Ghost. I am with you always even unto the end." Matthew 28:19-20 This week I've had some really good study session that I've learned a lot from and I would like to share a couple of those thoughts with you. A: "Our destiny is not determined by the number of times we fail, but by the number of times we get up, dust ourselves off, and move forward."-President Utchdorft 2013 B: "Learn of me and listen to my words, walk in the meekness of my spirit and you shall have peace in me." DyC 19:23. C: "Teach them all things concerning things pertaining to righteousness, and exhort them daily, with all diligence." Alma21:23 I hope that we can all dust ourselves off and move forward and know that the Lord is always there to support us and help us in whatever situation He puts us in. I know that this gospel is true and I'm so grateful for the opportunity that I've had to serve him for the last 13 months as a missionary here in Belize. Remember that we are all missionaries and that we can all invite other to come unto Christ. Love, Sister Ontiveros  May 13, 2014

Family and Friends,
Well last Saturday I finished 13 months in the mission, can you believe that? It's crazy to think that I've been a missionary for over a year and to think about all of the crazy and wonderful experiences that I've had in this last year. I'm greatful for all of the help that the Lord has given me and for the chances he's given me to grow spiritually and to help others find the happiness that the gospel gives us. Sister DeLeon and I were talking about how blessed we are to have had the gospel all of our lives because it's helped us to make better choices, to know who we really are, and to see that our life does have a purpose, and that we've been blessed to have such wonderful families and we can be with with them for eternity thanks to the temples. I know that this is the Lord's church and I have seen so many blessings in my life because of the gospel. The mission has been one of the hardest things that I've ever done, but it's also made me realize how much I really do need my Savoir and how important the plan of salvation is.
This week we had a FHE in a members home with the two sisters that we are teaching and we watched a segment from the movie "Together Forever." We talked about the importance of making time for family and for the Lord and how when we do that, we will be blessed and we will have happiness in this life. The member testified of the blessings that she received from the gospel and the FHE was really spiritual.
Well this weekend we will have the chance to celebrate Mothers Day so I would just like to express how much I love my mother and how greatful I am for all that she has done for me. She has taught me so much and I'm so greatful that she has always supported me and given me the strength to do things that I thought were impossible. She has always cared for me and helped me to appreciate what I have. I love you mom and I hope that you have a wonderful Mothers Day.
Silly San Ignacio:
So funny story. We went to pick up one of our investigators to go to church with us, and it had been raining really hard during the week so there was mud everywhere. As we go to pick her up, I park my bike and then begin trudging through the thick mud. As I'm walking I go to lift my right foot and realize that I can't. I literally tried with all of my might and I was stuck, so I tried the other foot and the same thing happened. I was stuck and sinking in thick mud! No worries I finally managed to get out, but lets just say then when I did get out, I was now six feet tall with all of the thick mud that stuck to the bottom of my shoes! haha

Love,

Sister Ontiveros

AshLee Ontiveros Letter:
Dear Family and Friends,
Another week has flown by here in San Ignacio and as always there's wonderful and crazy stuff that happens. As always I shall start with the spiritual uplifting things and then I will tell about the adventures of Hermana DeLeon and I.
This week we had three of our most progressing investigators in church, the two sisters and the 17 year-old boy. Hallelujah! They really enjoyed church and later that day we went to visit them with a member family and we could really feel the spirit during the lessons and it really helped the investigators to see the happiness that the gospel can bring to thier families, and their, future families. So please, as I asked in the letter that I sent last week, please help the missionaries out by going on visits with them, or by letting them have a lesson in your home. It really helps the investigators to progress and see the blessings that they can have through living the gospel and making that baptismal covenant with the Lord.
We are also teaching a cute family, they have a little girl that is 7, but acts like she's 20, a 5 year old boy, and a 3 year old boy. On Sunday we went to visit them and as we were teaching The Restoration, the little girl asked us "Do you want to stay for dinner?" We just laughed and told her it was up to her mom and then we continued the lesson. At the end of the lesson we asked if anyone had any questions and the little girl said "You never answered my first question. Are you guys going to stay for dinner?" Well as you might have guessed we did end up staying for dinner and it was fun being able to talk with them and hear stories about thier lives.
Speaking of dinner, Elder and Sister Rinderknecht invited us sisters over to thier house for dinner last Wednesday and it was soooo nice to eat a home cooked meal and to just talk with them. They're the best, I love being able to have such a wonderful senior couple in my area.
Sister DeLeon and I are definitely seeing the blessings of our hard work here. We've been working really hard to get our investigators to progress and go to church and we've been working with the less actives as well and low and behold there were less actives that went to church and our investigators. I know that if we work hard that we will eventually see the "fruits of our labors." I know that this is the Lord's work and that he is hastening his work. I love to see how people's lives can change for the better through the work of missionaries and members. I know that this church is true and that this is His work. So we must all do what he asks of us "Follow me and I will make you fishers of men."Matt 4:19.
Love,
Sister Ontiveros
Silly San Ignacio:
Oh so guess who fell off of their bike again? Yep you guessed it..my comp! ha Yeah I'm ridiculous and fell off of my bike again, but luckily this time it was on asphalt so my scrapes weren't as bad. We were heading back from the church from trying to get our investigators to church and well my front tire caught the side of the road wrong and I fell over. So now I have an even bigger scar on the right hand and a scrap on the left and right knee now. Whoops!
Every week we teach English classes to whoever wants to come and learn and on Friday one of our investigators came with her son. Her son sat down on one of the bigger chairs and she told him that he needed to sit on a littiler chair so that she could sit on the bigger one. After she said that her son started to get up out of the chair and she pulled the chair out from under him because she thought he had stood up all of the way..but he hadn't yet. So as she pulled the chair out he slipped back and the bag of cookies that he had went flying everywhere. No worries he was fine, and well the rest of us got a good laugh out of it. ha

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AshLee's Letter:
Dear Family and Friends,
Well to start, I hope that you all had a happy Easter and that you got to go to church and remember why we celebrate Easter. I'm so greatful for the Atonement of Jesus Christ and how He gave me the opportunity to repent of my sins and become a better person. 
On Monday we had a sports day with our zones and let me tell you, I've never missed playing sports so much in my life. We played catch ("just play catch") and volleyball and it was a lot of fun chatting and playing. After wards we all went out to lunch together and just enjoyed the day. That night we went and visited one of our investigators and watched "The Restoration" with her and it really helped her to see the importance of this gospel and what she needs to do so that she can receive and answer just like Joseph Smith did. We also went to teach a 13 year old girl and her mom basically attacked us for our beliefs and let me tell you it hurt. I can only imagine how Jesus Christ felt when the people rejected Him. 
We've been teaching a 17 year old boy and he really loves the gospel. He came to both of our ward activities on Thursday and Friday and he's reading and praying and he's been to church once. We actually left him 3 Nephi 11 to read and when we came back the following day and asked him what he read, he basically told us the entire story of 3 Ne 11. He told us how people were waiting for Christ to come and how they heard a voice, but didn't recognize it until the third time and then Christ ascended from the heavens in a white robe and the people were able to come and touch his sides, hands and feet. Then Christ called Nephi to come unto him and He gave Nephi the power to baptize. Then Freddy told us he read the testimony of Joseph Smith and how Moroni appeared to Joseph in a white robe that went a little below his knees and how his feet didn't touch the ground. He then told Joseph where to find the plates and Joseph translated them into the Book of Mormon. Yeah can we say this kid is awesome? The only problem is that in order to be baptized he needs three more attendances at church and his parents signature. They usually go and work at the farm and his parents don't want anything to do with the gospel so hopefully their hearts will be softened and he can go to church and be baptized. 
All of you who are members I ask of you to please help the missionaries by going with them to visit their investigators and those less active members. I know that when members help the missionaries their investigators become converted because they feel that they have friends and are welcome to the church. I never realized the importance this until my mission so I ask of you to please go out with the missionaries. It will not only build the investigators and less actives testimony, but also yours as well. 
SILLY SAN IGNACIO:
well I've definitely got some hilarious stories for you. So my comp and I went last week to buy some groceries and as I'm checking out, the chino at the cash register ring up my stuff and then as she goes to ring up my bread, she picks it up and loks at if for a second and then she chuck it across the room! She then looks at me and says "It's expired did you not know that? (laughs) You must be new here." All I could do was stare at her with a blank look on my face because really, who can say that a Chinese woman threw your bread across the grocery store? haha
Well we went to go and teach one of our investigators the other day and her family and thier pastor happened to be there so we invited them to join in on our lesson. So we begin teaching about the importance of prayer when the mom asks me what happened to my knee, so I told her about my accident last week and then pastor stops and looks at me and says "Oh so you're the one who fell in front of the chapel last week! We all saw that!" Yep so now I'm famous for my bike fall. 
Love,
Sister Ontiveros

Family and friends,
Well guess what? I'm a mom again! This week we had changes and my comp Sister Rodriguez got called to serve in El Salvador, and I received a baby again. Baby number five, oh yeah! Her name is Sister DeLeon and she is 19, and is from Guatemala and she only has six weeks in the mission. Funny enough she only has a family of four, and she has a sister that is sixteen too. ha Luckily she speaks pretty great English and she's really excited to learn more about how to be a missionary and is excited to work in San Ignacio with me. My streak of training and only having a companion for six weeks continues! haha
Well this week has been a pretty crazy one because on Wednesday we had interviews with President and his wife, Thursday we had a multizone and a sister conference in Belize City, Saturday we had breakfast with the Rinderknechts, and Sunday we found out about changes. The interviews went great and I loved being able to see President and his wife. Others of you may think that your mission president and his wife are the best, but I'm sorry President and Hermana Hintze take the cake! At the multizone we learned a lot about being greatful, trusting in the Lord and our companions, and we learned about the importance of really helping your investigators to progress. At the sister conference my companion and I taught about "teaching people not lessons" We cut out different body parts from the Ensigns and we put the sisters in groups and had them put the people together. The people looked silly, but we talked about how every investigator is unique and it's important to teach to their needs. ha We also talked about the importance of using the scriptures and following the spirit. On Saturday we had breakfast with our zone at Elder and Sister Rinderknecht's house and it was a lot of fun. We had fun chatting and the french toast/fruit/eggs that we ate were to die for. I definitely left thier house with a smile.
Things are going pretty great, I'm still in same area, but we have a couple of great investigators that are progressing. We're teaching a pair of sisters that are adorable and they love the gospel and they are really wanting to learn more. I believe that they will be baptized at the end of this month or early May. We also found a 17 year old boy and he is adorable. He's just so innocent and ready to learn. He loves the gospel and he came to church with us last week for the first time and he wants to be baptized. The work is starting to pick up here and I'm excited to see what's going to happen in these next few weeks with my new comp. 

Well there's my week for ya, I'm really receiving great blessing from all of your prayers. Remember that we can do nothing without the help of the Lord and that the Atonement of Jesus Christ is something that we should use everyday.  I know that Heavenly Father loves us so much and in our times of trials He will always find a way to help us get through them and give us the comfort that we need.

Silly San Ignacio:
So I finally did it..I finally crashed on my bike. ha Sister Rodriguez stayed with one of our investigators at the church while sister Reyes and I went to go pick up an investigator and, as you all know I'm not the most coordinated person in the world, I was concentrating on where we needed to go and I wasn't paying much attention to anything else and I took a corner wrong and totally biffed it. But I didn't just biff it on any corner, I happen to fall right in front of a church that has all open doors and windows, so I didn't look like a fool just in front of Sister Reyes, but also in front of an entire church. Yup that's style baby! No worries thought, I didn't break anything, I just scraped up my left leg and my right hand really, really bad. ha After falling I rolled over real quickly and said I'm okay! ha We went to the investigators house and of course he wasn't home, but luckily his mom was and she was able to help clean up my scrapes and what not. 

Love,

Sister Ontiveros

AshLee's weekly letter:
Hello family and friends!
Well this last week I hit my year mark, feliz cumple ano a mi! haha It's crazy to think that one year ago I entered the MTC in Guatemala and Sister Chant and I became friends/companions. There's been a lot of crazy, wonderful, and testimony building moments on the mission that I know I wouldn't be able to have if I hadn't come on the mission. The mission really has helped to change my life for the better, it has helped me to gain a better testimony of the work of the Lord, and it has helped me to gain a better outlook on life. And now I've only got six months left, crazy how time flies!
This weekend as you all know was general conference, and as always it was very powerful and full of great messages. I loved how they talked a lot about the importance of showing love for others and about using the Atonement of Jesus Christ in our lives. I know that I am very greatful for the Atonement and that applying it in your lives really helps you to become closer to Christ and learn about His will for you. We had a couple of investigators come to the Sunday morning conference and they absolutely loved it. They said that the messages were wonderful and that it has really made them want to learn more about the gospel. And that my friends is the power of conference.
On Monday we went to one of the biggest Mayan Ruins in...Guatemala. Yep that's right, yesterday I was in Guatemala for my P-day. We went to a ruin called Yaxha and it is a large Mayan city. It was really pretty and I had fun going with my zone to see the ruins and to go back to Guatemala where I started my mission.
Silly San Ignacio:
This week I saved a puppies life. We were on our bikes and we stopped to contact someone and when we got done I heard this distant squeaking noise. I asked my companion if she heard it too and she did so we went to find the source of the noise and when we found it, we found a little puppy that had fallen in the ditch outside the gate of his house. I went to get the puppy out and the mom started barking like crazy at me so I got scared to touch it, but I was like I have to save this puppy! haha So I went in the ditch, pulled out the puppy and put him under the fence to be back with his mom. Unfortunately the mother didn't appreciate my efforts because she just kept barking like crazy at me, but whatever one day she'll thank me for saving her son's life! ha
Well that's my week for you, thanks for all of the support and love you've all given me. I hope that you have a wonderful week!
Love,
Sister Ontiveros

This week has been a fun one, on Monday we went to another set of ruins and they were super tall, but it was fun climbing to the top and looking out at the view. Every Thursday we have a family night that the missionaries do and this week we watched "17 Miracles." I had never seen that movie before until this last Thursday, but it was so good that I cried. It's one of the best movies that I've seen, if you havn't seen it yet, you'll have to watch it soon. Last Wednesday was Sister Chant's birthday (my comp.in the MTC) so that was fun to be able to celebrate with her. Oh on Saturday we watched the women's conference and it was so good, I loved it. I could really feel the spirit and all of the talks were so good. I loved how they had everyone sing together too, that was fun. Watching it though made me miss you and Mads a lot though, but only six more months hurrah! Can you believe that a year ago today is when you guys dropped me off at the airport? There's definitely been days when it's passed slow, but for the most part the mission has gone by so fast and now I only have six months left, we can make it mom don't worry. Well I hope that you have a wonderful week, I love you tons! 
Love,
Ash

 really well. There was also a lady who did a dance, she had guts. I don't know if I could do that. ha Well it's been kind of a rough week finding new positive people, but we do have a couple of great progressing investigators. One of them came to church on Sunday and she brought her cousin with her too. They liked it so much that they said they'd be coming back next week and they want to go to the youth activities, and she wants to continue to learn more about the church. Baptism...I'm hopin so! This Monday for p-day we went to the biggest Mayan Ruins in Belize, it's called Caracol. It was actually pretty cool, there were lots of temples and we had fun exploring and what not. The only bad thing was it was a three hour bus ride to get there and halfway there we popped two of our tires so we had to wait two hours to get it fixed, but hey it was worth it. It's really cool to see what kinds of things the Mayans built and to learn about how they lived. Well not too much has happened this week, but guess what...next week I will have a year in the mission, wahoo! Well I hope you all have a great week!
Love,
Sister Ontiveros
Silly San Ignacio:
Well fun story for the week, we went to visit one of our less active members and she asked us if we wanted to see her new pet. We said sure, because we were thinking that it would be a new puppy, or kitten, or iguana, but no..want to know what she pulled out? A Ginkachu! Yeah I had no idea what in the world it was, but she told us it is a ginkachu and that it's kind of like a monkey. So obviously she let us hold it and feed it which was so weird, but really cool. How many people can say that they've held a ginkachu before?
Okay so seriously I've got some bad luck with bathrooms. So we moved into a bigger house right, and when we got there the toilet in our bathroom didnt work so we had to have the owner come and fixed. Well one problem got solved and then the next day we realized that our shower was leaking out the bottom. Now let me explain how our shower is. It's a portashower on top of some wood blocks smashed up against the wall...yeah obviously there's going to be some problems with that. Luckily the owner is going to come back and put a real shower in..with hot water wahoo!

Family and Friends,

Well another week has flown by in the mission and as always its had it's spiritual moments and it's crazy moments. Last week on Friday I had the opportunity to do interchanges with Sister Reyes (the sister leader) and we actually had some great moments. We were teaching a family about the restoration and I asked the mom how she knows that God loves her and she began to cry and told us about how she strayed from the path, but her family has helped her to remember God and that she is important. We could really fell the spirit during this lesson, and I know that her and her family will be blessed by this gospel. 

Every Thursday night we do a family night in the chapel and it was Sister Rodriguez's and I's turn to teach the family home evening. It took us a while to figure out what we wanted to do, but finally we decided to talk about talents and how they're a gift from the Lord. So we decorated a box and we had everyone write on a piece of paper one of thier talents and then put it in the box. Then they had to draw out of the talents and go and find the person to whom that talent belonged. It was pretty fun and we learned about all different types of talents that people had. 

On Saturday and Sunday we had our district conference which went really well. There were some members that were asked to share thier testimonies and they were very powerful conversion stories. On Sunday President Hintze talked about how to strengthen your family and then we watched Elder Oaks, and Elder Scott, talk from SLC in a Central America broadcast. They talked about the importance of the Atonement, tithing, obeying the commandments, and how in our families we need to have daily scripture study and prayer, and that we need to have family home evening. I never really understood the importance of FHE until I came on my mission and I've seen what a difference it makes when families do FHE. So for those of you who aren't doing FHE, now is the time to start. It really is a great way to learn about the gospel as a family and to just enjoy being together. 

On Monday, as a zone, we went to see the Mayan Ruins in Cahal Pech. It was really cool to be able to see that, and we had fun taking pictures and learning more about the history here in Belize. 

San Ignacio Sillyness:

Well every area I go to there's always some kind of crazyness that happens so here's some funny stories from San Ignacio. On Friday when I did interchanges with Sister Reyes we went to find a reference from one of the neighbors and it took us a little time to find her, but we finally found her. We began talking to her about her family and she told us that her grandkids are members and so we told here that's great and we asked her if she'd ever visited the church before. She then said " Yes I've visited the church a few times, but you know what I don't like about your church? I don't like that you dance, and party, and that the women wear pants!"  I was like, what the who is this lady and what church is she talking about? haha 

Yesterday Sister Rodriguez and I were having a laughing fit all day long for who knows what reason. We went to go and visit one of our investigators and the investigator gave us soda to drink. So we finish our soda and then we begin to sing, and Sister Rodriguez just starts choking. So then she drinks water to clear her throat and we start to sing again and then she just starts choking again. And shes coughing and coughing for five minutes straight and when she finally get back to normal, we both look at each other and just start laughing again. Yup...too much sun! haha 

Well I read a talk this week in the Februrary Ensign and something that really stuck out to me was a quote that said "Service is the gospel of Jesus Christ in action." It's so true, we have to give service, be an example, and find others to help them come unto Christ so that the church my grow and the work of the Lord continues to move forward. So I encourage you all to serve someone today and help them come to find the gospel of Jesus Christ. Well have a wonderful week and thank you for all of your prayers. I really do feel the love you have for me.

Love,

Sister Ontiveros

Family and Friends,

Hey well first off I'd like to give a shout out to my mom who's birthday is the 12th, so happy birthday to the best mom in the world! I love you so much! Well I have officailly survived my first week in Belize. Its definitely different from El Salvador, and Im not going to lie I dont miss that place, but it is beautiful and the people are very accepting of missionaries. My companion and I are really getting along well and we're working hard to find those people are ready to accept the gospel in thier lives. So I just have to say, shout out to my grandpa who's a freaking beast at riding his bike because man...I'm struggling! ha We finally got bikes a few days ago and let me tell you, it's not an easy thing riding a bike everywhere all of the time, but hey it definitely gets us places fast than if we were just walking. 

This week we had two fun activities, the first was going to see the Great Mayan Race. Every year Belize does a huge canoe race and we got up early to go down to the river and watch them take off. It was really cool to see a bunch of people just rowing like crazy in thier canoes down the river. The teams even had funny names such as "Grumpy Old Men". ha On Saturday we had a mission activity where we did a carnival in the church for our branch. We played different games such as bobbing for apples, popping balloons with nail on a bike helmet, and we had face painting and music. It was a lot of fun and we had quite a few people that showed up. 

On Sundays we have an English sacrament and a Spanish sacrament and let me tell you, I haven't been in an English sacrament meeting since I left home. It was so weird to sing songs in English and to hear the sacrament prayer and the talks in English. But it was good. Well we're working hard to find new people and we've found a few positives so hopefully they will go to church and progress so that they can get baptized and so that we can have a stake in Belize. There are no wards or stakes in Belize, but Cayo (the part where I'm at) is so close, we just need a few more people to church and we will finally have the first stake in Belize. So pray that the people here will go to church and accept the gospel so that Belize can finally get a stake! I hope that you all have a great week!
Love,

Sister Ontiveros

P.S.:

Dear Family and Friends, Well this last week has been a crazy one, but it's been a great one as well. Well on Wednesday we had a multizone and at the multizone President told me to prepare myself and take lots of pictures so he was giving hints that I was coming to Belize, but I didnt want to believe it until I got the actual phone call. At the multizone we learned about really listening to the spirit and about being obedient.  Friday we had a family home evening with President and Sister Hintze which went really well, we talked about the importance of having family home evenings. That night we also had a farewell party because my companion Hermana Pena got called to train a new sister so we knew I'd be leaving so Hermana Slater bought a pinata, we paid for pizza and we just enjoyed the night. On Saturday morning I got the call that I needed to start packing because Id be going to Belize and then later that day we did the wedding and baptism of Hermana Silvia. Of course I was freaking out because there was so much going on, but everything went well, the wedding went great and the baptism was really nice. The ward really helped us out and there were a lot of people at the wedding and baptism that weren't members so they had the chance to see the Lords work first hand. On Sunday I said my goodbyes and Hermana Silvia cried when I told her that I was leaving, but she knows that its for the best. It was hard to leave her especially after she just became a member, but she told me that the day I get home shes going to call me, so we shall see! On Sunday night she actually fed us my last pupusas in El Salvador and then on Monday morning she fed us a goodbye breakfast. She's the best, I'm going to miss her. On Monday my comp Hermana Pena had to drop me off at the office and she was bawling, it was so sad. She really was a great comp and I'll miss her, but I know that she'll be a great trainer and a great companion for her next comp. On Monday I spent time in the office doing paper work and what not and then I went to a meeting at presidents house and then stayed the night at the nurses house. Which was cool because I got to meet the new gringas that were coming in. There are thirteen of us that were called to go to Belize, four sisters including me, and nine elders. On Tuesday we left for the airport and headed to Belize. The flight was pretty smooth and the view of Belize was so pretty. When we landed it was crazy because everyone was speaking English to us and Im not used to that. ha Well the senior missionaries here picked us up and they drove me to pick up my new companion. Her name is Sister Rodriguez, she is 21 and from Guatemala, and has one year in the mission. Its going to be weird not training and actually working with a missionary with experience, but it will be good. I'll learn something that's for sure. Well Belize is good so far, but its crazy because we're opening an area so we don't have anything yet, but we'll get out there and start working no worries! It's crazy because the majority of people speak English she now I have to learn how to teach the gospel in English. Wish me luck! ha Well have a wonderful week, and thanks for all of the prayers and love! Love, Sister Ontiveros