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Capítulo 47 - The Temple was so very perfect

This was a good week. We started off the by taking all of the missionaries and investigators of the stake to the Temple. It was an amazing experience for everyone. The Temple was so very perfect, and it was night time, so the night lights looked amazing. The spirit was so strong and then out of the nowhere, 4 doves were flying around the statue of Moroni. After the trip, we were talking to a few investigators, and one of them told me that her husband told her that he had talked to missionaries before when they lived in a different city, but he had never felt the spirit like he does when he talks to us, and when he was at the Temple. The goal here is a Temple sealing for them, and I really think we can get that for them.

  Also this week, we held the first ever Danli zone conference. Normally we have it here in the main building of the Mission, but this time we went all the way out there. We were a little bit behind schedule, so lets just say, things got really fun on those mountain like road haha.

  This week we tried to do some work in an area that hasn't been very attended lately. It's called El Cerrito. It's literally a hill and it has a gigantic flag of honduras on the top. Anyways, this hill is straight dirt, and well we're getting hit by some tropical storm thing "Selma" well, we haven't gotten hit yet, that will happen later today, but we've been getting hit by the outter parts of it. Anyways, there has been a lot of rain recently, and it turned that hill into a mud bowl. We went up there and we were slipping and falling as we tried to find these people. We came back to the house completely drenched in mud, but it was totally worth it, because we found so many people haha.






Capítulo 46 - I've been eating with a fork for like the past 3 weeks

 This was a very busy week, but somehow it flew by. It started off by getting a call saturday night from the bishop in our ward asking me to give a talk. Normally i'd be upset for such a short notice, but I've been giving talks that i've prepared as my name was being called up to the pulpit. So the night before notice was nice. They had me speak on the missionary work, so I took the time to talk about the importance of members in the missionary work, and also focus on the youth that are coming to the missionary age. It was super cool, because right after my talk, and I mean the middle of sacrament meeting, a member came up to me and gave me a referral.

  Also this week, we had our zone conference. So after setting everything up and getting everything ready, I got to sit down and participate in my zone conference. At least for the first little bit. President had me set up a meeting with him and another missionary in the mission, they walked out of his office, the missionary went back to his area, and President told me to buy him a plane ticket and send him home tomorrow. So after like an hour of this zone conference, Elder Alvarado and I took this missionary all around Honduras cancelling his residency and taking him to the airport. It was an interesting day haha.

  Then to end the week, Elder Alvarado and I took a road trip with the AP's to the south to set up the zone conference for the zones in the south. I miss that place so much. When we got down there, we all did divisions with the zone leaders. We went to go eat with a family down there, and they gave me a plate of eggs and beans, and tortillas, and we ate it with our hands, I honestly felt normal, I've been eating with a fork for like the past 3 weeks, and it's just too much effort haha.

  The next day, we had the zone conference, packed up and came back to the city. We didnt get back until 11 o'clock last night, and weren't able to get in bed until 11:30. President knew that would happen, so he sent me a text saying we could sleep in the next day haha.
Quick trip to the Temple before going to the South



Capítulo 45 - We went to their house and ate like AMERICANS

Well this week started off on a strange note. We went to go visit an investigator that has been investigating the church for over 8 months, named Raul. After a very spiritual part of the lesson with this guy, He looks at us dead in the eyes and says "I had an appointment today." and we were thinking like how cool is that, he was going to be meeting with a few members or something. Then he started yelling and said.. "With a woman... and I was going to fornicate!! But not anymore!!!" I honestly had no idea what to say to the guy... Elder Alvarado and I just looked at eachother and tried our best to hold back our laughter. Especially because in spanish it sounds a lot funnier, and this is a 75 year old man who literally can't walk, and he was shouting with the raspiest old man's voice.

  Sundays here are also a little weird too. especially because this is supposed to be a super strong ward, but ever since they divided the ward, the church attendance has dropped to about 50 people. Then we were sitting there all nice and early with our investigators in the from, when the mission president's wife walks in. Turns out that I go to the same ward as my mission president, even though he doesn't come, because he is always going to stake/district/branch conferences around the mission, Hermana chase still comes. And it was even more awkward when they lady saying the opening prayer threw us under the bus for something that's not our fault, when she asked God to help us do our job to bring people to the church because we havent been doing good enough apparently. hahaha

  Then, things got really cool when we had a family home evening with the mission president and his wife last night. It was AMAZING! We went to their house and ate like AMERICANS. Then we all pulled out our scriptures and had a great scripture study together. It was all halloween themed, and it was just super cool.
FHE and good food at the Mission Presidents home! 



Elder Cuevas is the nephew of several members in a ward, in my stake back home 




Capítulo 44- It's like a missionary Christmas

This week was a very long week, but at the same time, a great week. It all started off with General Cenference. I really cant explain it, but General Conference out here is one of the greatest things there are, it's like a missionary Christmas. Weeks before the coference starts, we're all talking about it in anticipation, and as it gets closer, we get more and more excited. This conference was AMAZING. However, it was sad that President Monson wasnt able to make it, and also hearing about Elder Hales.

  As part of my new responsibilies, I travel around the mission going from conference to conference with the mission president. This week, we had a conference down in the south, so we packed up the truck, president took his own car, and we went with the AP's for a road trip down to the south. It's like a good 5 hour drive, but it was so fun. Just being able to drive on some mountain roads, listening to our church music, and just talking was a lot more fun than I thought it would be. 

  Apart from the work we do in the office, we also have responsibilities to work as normal missionaries every day. President did some weird stuff with us here in this area, and the companionships. So in my position, they have the old elder teach the new elder for a few weeks before leaving, and they're normally companions. However, president sent another person in the office and made him comps with my comp, but then put me with someone else in the office. We're honestly still confused about the whole companion situation, so we just all say we're companions. haha

  Even though we dont get as much time as normal as normal missionaries, we've been getting a lot of work done. The other day I went to go contacting with Elder Alvarado (Costa Rica) and we found so many awesome new investigators, and we had some very powerful lessons. After one of our lessons, we had our new investigator pray. After her prayer, she started crying, and told us that she's never felt like that before, and that she knows it's true. It was a very powerful moment, and it really lifted our spirits that day.

Capítulo 43- I LITERALLY DROVE A TRUCK.... IN HONDURAS!

Wow... it honestly feels like it's been a month from the last time I wrote, even though right now is Friday, and I literally just wrote 5 days ago. After writing last week, we spent our p-day a little differently. The other week, I was talking to a few kids in Guapinol, and we had gotten to the topic of pizza, and they told me that they had never tried pizza in their lives. There isnt anyway to get pizza anywhere near Guapinol, so we felt really bad, went to Choluteca, bought a few boxes of pizza, and brought it back to the kids in Guapinol. Seeing their faces as they first saw that pizza, made it all worth it.

  Then the next day, we stayed the night in Choluteca so we could get up at 2 in the morning and get on a bus to Tegucigalpa. Literally the moment I got off that bus, I got rushed by like 10 people telling me what I had to do, and within a 2 second period, someone took my bags off the bus, I ran to get the truck keys, and I drove a missionary to the airport to send him home. I LITERALLY DROVE A TRUCK.... IN HONDURAS! And to the airport! It was the craziest thing ever. 

  Since that moment, Ive been insanely busy with everything. As the executive secretary of the mission, Im also the secretary of the mission president, and believe me, that man is a busy man, and I make his schedule.  Its insane what we do here. Yesterday we sent 7 misisonaries to the airport, did their paperwork, and sent them off. At the same time there were 2 missionaries that were coming home, with flowers, and their family, and everything. It was just like... wow... I still have 14 months before I go home haha.  

  Then every night we go home to our mansion of a house that we share as 6 elders! Im honestly having like reverse culture shock here. Like we'll go to get food, and I honestly cant eat with a fork... it's just weird. And like, the water that I shower with... I can see through it! like the water isnt brown and black anymore. I havent taken any picture of the house yet, but ill send them next week. Just imagine it for now... we have a spiral staircase!







We also live, and help out the other elders in the office... including ELDER CUEVAS!!!! We literally sleep in the same room, and that guy is so funny!!