Weekly Letter #1

Hello to all my family and friends!!

I have decided to be better about letting eveyone know how I am doing since phone calls are way too expensive. You may get a phone call for your birthday, that is if I have a phone number and birthday for you. So if you are on this list please feel special and know that I am thinking of you all.

First of all I want to wish a very special birthday to my sister Mariah and neice Abby whose birthdays are today. I wish I could call you today but alas I have no minutes so it will have to be next week.

For those who may not know or who have forgotten I am living in Guatemala in the capital of Guatemala City teaching English at a school called The Village School. Right now I am with 1st and 2nd graders and it is wonderful!! I will be going to the University here in July to get my Professorship in English Degree. It is not a PhD but it is equivalant to a teaching degree especially for English. Lets just say it will be the easiest degree I've ever gotten, oh wait I don't have a degree in anything, hehehe. It's requiered for me to teach here so I am doing it.

So last weekend I went to Xela with my best friend Mariela. It was nice to get out of the city for a couple days. We went to an activity for the young single adults and had a really good time. I danced with my friends there to every type of music including the Macarena!! Yah silly huh? Then on Sunday there was a fireside at the institute and they asked me to say the closing prayer. It was all of a sudden and I was not expecting it. The institute director requested me specifically, I thought it was funny.

So this week at school has been crazy with the outbreak of the swine flu. We haven't gotten any "confirmed" cases yet but with our proximaty to Mexico people are very nervous and paranoid. I think we need to just remember that our Heavenly Father knows more than us and to place our trust in Him. Please don't worry about me because that is not healthy and may lead to other sickness. I am fine and have faith that we will all come out of this just fine. School ends today this week because tomorrow is Guatemala's Labor Day. So yah!!!

Because of Labor Day tomorrow there will be an activity for the Young Single Adults in all of the capital and an area in El Salvador. We will be going to what is called the Colinas de Chimaltenango. It is an area the church has bought for members to use as in Girl's Camp and the Young Men's camp, they don't have Boy Scouts here. So we will be going where we will hear from our Area President Elder Clark and then there will be games and then a lunch afterwards there will be a dance!!! I'm always up for a dance. I invited some friends some Xela and I am hoping they will be able to come.

Oh and news about my ward. It is not an official calling yet and I am hoping it doesn't become so because it makes me very nervous. But the Relief Society has asked me to accompany them in our class. So lots of prayers that I will be able to play will be most welcome.

I hope you all are doing very well and I just want you to know that I love you very much!!! Take care and throw me an email sometime to let me know you are doing well also. This should hopefully be a weekly thing as long as my life doesn't get too boring.

Love you all!!!

Melanie Rivers