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

AshLee is off to Belieze. She will write more later when she lands. Here is the wedding and baptism.