Week 69 Christmas Honduran Style Round 2

Christmas Honduran style round two 

This week went by too fast and I made a lot of special memories. Family Avila invited us to eat dinner in their home the 24th. Christmas here is celebrated the 24th. And I felt so at home with them. I felt so welcome and even the lil daughter Ruth told us to go to bed early because santa was going to drop off presents. Cutest lil family.

Calling the family was a special moment. I think something that I never thought about before the mission was how great it is to hear a familiar voice. Every time I have talked to my family here in the mission I get this heart throbbing feeling when I first hear my mother's voice. The family is truly the greatest part of life. We spent the whole week teaching people about the family and the role we all play in the family of our Heavenly Father and the proclamation to the world. The Family is such a power tool. I don't think there was a single person this week who didn't let us into their home. 

Had a once in a mission opportunity this week (I hope someone laughs at that) we got to teach the family of the Mayor of Taulabé. There is a couple missionary; family Mendoza. They are so amazing and helped us set a date to meet with The mayor and his family. We showed up yesterday and met the whole family. Super nice and even gave us juice. The Mayor himself never showed up which made for a downer, due to the fact he was stuck in some remote town about 2 hours away. But we taught 13 people about how to have a successful family and how to do a prayer as a family. We finished the lesson with Elder Mendoza and his wife singing. Then we knelt in prayer, all 13 together. We will be going back this week to teach them the restoration.

ELDER THORN

Familia Avila

 We got stuck in Siguatepeque and there were no buses. Thumbed a ride back with this dude in a semi. (as far as I know this is not against the rules) He has been going to church the last 6 months but can't get baptized because he needs to get divorced and than married. Miracles happen.

Week 68 Week of Service

Week of Service 

Hardly got to work in Taulabé all week. Pres Ferman is super focused on doing a bunch for service this holiday season and we as a zone did some steller projects.

But the two days we did get to work we found 6 families. I just pass all my time smiling here in Taulabé. Other then at night. Our house is a oven no joke. The lil group here is growing and we are slowing finding people that were baptized in other parts of Honduras but now live here. Something super sick that happened this week was we got to attend and speak at the weddings of 5 families that got married. They do these group weddings here. They all go to the court house and they marry all of them at the same time. The mayor does a lil speech and all the families come. There is a couple that is serving a mission in Siguatepeque that is next level. Elder Mendoza. He hooked up a connection with the mayor and the four of us went and talking in the wedding ceremony (Elder Mendoza his wife, elder Co and I) but the best part was after. We gave them all "The Proclamation to the world, The family" and they all agreed to meet with us. Then the Mayor himself accepted that we visit with him on the 27th with his whole family. Miracles are happening. 

FELIZ NAVIDAD 

ELDER THORN 

Bus ride selfie

Shined shoes in the park for free

Elder Small played the guitar

this drunk dude came and held the sign for a soild 2 hours and got tons of people to come 

Set the foundation for a new home.

Blistered hands

Pres gave me permission to ride a horse haha best day of the mish hands down 

Week 67 The First Sacrament of Taulabé

The First Sacrament Meeting of Taulabé

We had sacrament meeting in our little house with 21 people for the very first time here in the aldea of Taulabé. The missionaries have been wanting to be here for a few years but have never had the chance. The missionaries have come and visited it every once in awhile. Taulabé is about 30 minutes north of Siguatepeque (where the church has one ward and a branch). There is a solid 15 members here that have been traveling to Siguatepeque for 16 years to partake of the sacrament. A few months back Elder Johnson and Elder De la Rosa started coming to Taulabé once a week to see if it would be possible to start the Church here. Then Elder Small (who came to Honduras with me) starting coming with Elder De la Rosa and asking Pres. Ferman if we could give Taulabé a chance. They got the go and found a house to live in and got the back up of the branch Presidente, Pres. Zuniga, to help with the work. When I got to changes on Monday they announced that I would be training. I wasn't surprised, I had a feeling that I would be training for a few week. But when Pres told me that I would be starting a branch in an area that has never had missionaries, I felt this overwhelming excitement to share the Gospel. I received Elder Co.

Elder Co has a long and amazing story of how he got into the mission but I will keep it short. Born and raised in Guatemala in a familia Catholic. He went to the states for work in Texas and was enjoying it much. A friend gave him a number of a lady that lived in Utah that could give him a job. We traveled to SLC and slept in the apartment of a bunch of return missionaries that served in spanish speaking missions. They talked about the church and he accepted the invitation to attend that Sunday. Had a lot of questions his first Sunday but felt the need to keep learning. He met with the missionaries that week and they told him to offer a sincere prayer asking if he needed to be baptized. He told them he had never said a sincere prayer to ask God something before and wasn't sure that it would work. It did. He prayed and asked our Heavenly Father about his baptism after 6 months and felt the need to follow the Savior's example and be baptized for emersion by someone who holds the priesthood authority. Three weeks later he was baptized and had read the Book of Mormon. Since then he hasn't missed a Sunday and has helped his mom and sister who live in Guatemala get baptized. 

In the Four days we have had here in Tualabé we have found and taught 40 people. Broke the record for new people in a week in just four days. People were inviting us into their house without us even saying a word. People called us after handing our a little cards on the bus, saying that they wanted us to pass by to teach them more about the Book of Mormon and Jesus in the Americas. It has been a Week of miracles. I have felt that the Savior is at our side. I have felt stronger than I have ever felt in my life that the Savior lives. This is HIS church. The same person that was born 2000 years ago in Belen of Mary, the same person that pled with the Father in the garden of Gethsemane, that was crucified on the cross, the same person that took his life again the third day, that same person appeared to Joseph Smith. I know it. I feel it in the deepest part of my being and the joy that it brings me to share it with the families here in Taulabé for the first time is an opportunity that I will not pass up. 

ELDER THORN 

Elder Co in SLC

Week 66 Honduras is Cleaning Up for Christmas

Honduras is Cleaning Up for Christmas

Christmas has totally started here in Honduras and everyone is hyped. The people here really love Christmas. Not anything like Christmas in the states but they really love what they have. Most people put up trees and lights. But they all paint their houses. It's Awesome. Everyone cleans their house and paints it and just makes everything look super nice. We went and painted an entire house this week of the less active family that loves us.

This week went a little different then planned. We were really trying to clean the area for the change. We went with the people we are teaching and decided if we were going to keep teaching them or no. For a lot of them it was a no. One thing I have learned here in the mission, is that some people are ready and that is why you are there. Others are just starting the process and you are there to plant a seed or to help the little plant they have grow. I have taught more than 500 people in my time here. Everyone has been the biggest blessing. It's honestly a miracle that anyone opens the doors for us. 

I didn't complete all my goals for the week but we did bring 7 people to church. haha its a head ache bringing that many people to church. We have to be running and asking members to do this and help with that, all to try and make sure everyone has a spiritual experience. I love it here! We have enough food in our fridge right now for two weeks, all from members.  

We had a GIANT stake Christmas activity and this kid from the ward did the funniest dance as santa. 

This was a lil whacky. Made me realize how OLD I am now. This is Elder Jones. He has exactly a year less then me in the mission. Really awesome kid from California.

 Put up the hammock again

I am almost 20

Week 65 Thanksgiving Madness

Thanksgiving Madness 

worst part about the mission is....trying to spell in english. 

This week was whack and went by super fast. We set up this awesome lunch for Thanksgiving with a few other Elders. We had planned to go at 12:30 but didn't get there until about 1 and they were just starting to cook. We had a baptism interview to do for the zone at 1:30 so we couldn't stay. The interviews took quite a bit of time and we ended up not getting back to our area until about 3. We then had to go teach Fam REYES (most perfect chosen escogido perfecto no so que familia del mundo) and didn't get out until 4. Then we had a meeting with our ward mission leader (totally loves us now and is helping us plan a bomb Christmas activity) and then we had ward council. In the end we didn't get out until 6 and Elder Meads and I were dying from hunger. But we always have the best dinner Thursdays with the family Martinez that got sealed about 6 months ago. We showed up to their house and.....totally weren't home. Elder Meads and I laughed for awhile and ended up eating tamales (blended corn with meat in the middle and they wrap it in the corn husk) so that was my Thanksgiving.

This is probably going to be my last week here in Santa Fe and well I'm not that hyped about leaving. We really are working so hard and Elder Meads is just awesome. The Lord is guiding us. It honestly seems like every where we go we find someone that was waiting for us. We set some super big goals for this week and I know it's going to be the best week I have had here.

Had interchanges with Elder Quispe! koolest thing ever to see how much he has grown and progressed. We passed the whole day laughing and sharing stories. I guess I never realized how good of friends I have here in the mission until this week. I love people here. 

Love you all so much. Everyone that writes me honestly makes my week that much better. My camera doesn't want to send fotos right now.. 

Elder Thorn

Week 64 Have You Felt the Spirit Today

Have You Felt the Spirit Today? 

Had interchanges this week with Elder Wager (bakersfield, california) and he had that on a post-it note on the inside of his journal. Really had a steller week this week and I always find myself with a solid 5 minutes to write this.

We are really working soo hard with the members in the ward. About two months ago we got a referencia from a member about a less active family. We started visiting with them and in two weeks about half the family started coming to church. They told us about their cousins that also lived in the area. We had a hard time finding them but when we finally did they were so welcoming and really had been waiting to come back to church. We starting working really hard with them because they are not sealed in the temple. They are now super active in the church and should be getting callings before the year ends. 

They told us about a ton of people that lived on their street one being a Hermana Wana. We went to her house Thursday night. Small little two room wooden home. We shouted from the door, like we always do, and this little girl came out and told us her grandma wasn't home. I made a little joke and told her how brave her grandma was for being out so late at night. She laughed and ran inside. As the door opened we could she Hermana Wana sitting on the bed. She starting yelling to us that she hated the church and wanted nothing to do with us. We asked her why and what had happened. She responded with a couple excuses. My inspired companion told her that a member had sent us to visit her. Suddenly she started to become even more angry with us saying that the sisters of the ward hate her and had treated her badly. She started telling us we needed to leave. I thought to myself well we tired, and took a step off the stairs. As I stepped down the thought came to my mind to pull out the photo I had of Christ in my escrituras. I pulled it out and told her I wanted to give her something. She sent her little granddaughter and I handed her the photo. I watched from the door as her face changed. I told her that was who had sent us to her house. She invited us into her home. Almost crying she told us of all the bad things that had happened in the ward over 10 years ago. We shared our testimonies and talked a little about how well our Father in heaven knows us. Suddenly the whole family came into the small little room and started listening to us. Soon we all were laughing and a sweet spirit filled the room. I felt so blessed to know that my Heavenly Father trusted us enough to send us to Hermama Wana. We are going back tomorrow night to teach the three families that live in the home. 

We took the zone to Picacho today and read our mission calls and shared our testimonies about how the Lord calls his missionaries. 

Elder Thorn 

Week 63 You Can Do It

You Can Do It 

YA totally out of time but this week was fantastic! We had our Zone meeting and I am really starting to be a more loving person, I think. I think for all of those that knew me before the mission, and even more so those that followed me on twitter know that I wasn't the nicest kid or the most loving. I think that is really starting to change. I realized during the zone meeting, after I spoke, that I really just wanted the missionaries to be happy. I remember how hard it was for me when I only had 3, 4, or even 8 months in the mission. Looking back it was just like YOU CAN DO IT. Like you can baptize the whole world. You are just a little 18 year old kid in a different country do you not realize how much the Savior is helping you, how much he loves you, how much he wants you to succeed? 

As far as the area goes the ward LOVES us. We started bringing lil snickers to the ward council to try and help people be more motived to give us references. Just something lil to show them that we really are here to help them. Needless to say it's working. Everyone wants to leave and teach with us. Everyone is always like hey elders I want you to visit my neighbor and they are going to be at my house Tuesday at 6. I don't think you guys at home realize how steller that is. Makes the work soo much easier and more enjoyable. Life is good. The Gospel is perfect. We are truly the family of our heavenly parents and they don't want anyone to get left behind. Don't be selfish with what you have. Share the Gospel. Be Creative. 

ELDER THORN 

Lil photo of Elder Ang after the zone meeting. Happiest dude.

Week 62 Elder Duncan

ELDER DUNCAN 

Pretty much spent the week in meetings but it was solid. Elder Duncan the area presidente of central america came and talked to the mission this week. The leaders of the church are with out a doubt called and ordain of God. The things he spoke about were spot on. It really is such an eye opening experience to watch someone teach with the spirit, to watch how he opens up missionaries and helps them learn through the spirit. He came here to Country so Elder Meads and I got to set up all the tech stuff and make sure everything was running right. Then when we got here I got to talk with him one on one quite a bit. Truly an example of a man of Christ. Also super funny and loving. Made me reflect (think honestly not sure how to word that right) about what people think of me. How do I teach? Do people feel that they really are important to me? Do they see the light of Christ in us? 

We brought 7 people to church this week! We have these two kids that are really coming through por fin. They are friends of Family Tejada who got baptized like 4 years ago. They both are 18 and are going to be steller missionaries one day. We are going to have a lesson with them Wednesday in the house of family Tejada. I haven't wrote a lot about them because we haven't really taught a real lesson because they are always in school but they are on break now so it's game time.

Okay so check this out. Danail, the dude that is reading the Book of Mormon and is just steller. He filled us in a little more on who his dad is. His dad not only is a pastor. oh no, his dad is the leader of ALL the baptist pastors in ALL of Honduras. Ya. He explained to us how when him and his brother do dumb stuff how all the pastors find out and then get on his dads back about it and that's why they live in this little house where no one knows them. He showed us all these pictures of his dad and family and what not and its crazy. But at the end of the day he is changing so much, even his brother Ariel the other day was like hey what did you guys do to Danial? He is like nice now haha. It's awesome. 

Here is some pictures. I got some lil plants for the house. swag 

oh and my watch broke this week....tears were shed

Week 61 Honduras Hates Halloween

Honduras Hates Halloween

If you even say the word Halloween here everyone is like oh my you have got to be kidding me you must love satan and I just like nahhh bro I just love stealing my little brothers candy. No but I think I had to explain what halloween really is like a solid 50 times this week. But we did take some pics so check it out on my blog. Hahaha a bunch of the missionaries tease me about being a mormon mommy blogger. Swag.

This week was ROUGH. We are teaching some of my favorite people in the mission. In the way that they actually do stuff for themselves. Like reading and coming to church. But this week was not one of those weeks. I think one of the most basic ideas of the Gospel is that anything you do that causes you to break the commandments brings sadness and remorse. No matter who you are or what you believe in. The Gospel laws are universal and apply to everyone. That being said its super sad to watch people that you really care about fall into satan's trap and choose another road. That in short is what happened this week. But in the end everyone has their own agency and it's beautiful when someone makes that change on their own freewill. 

Took a TON of pictures this week to try and give you guys at home a better idea of where you boi is at. Oh ya and we found a monkey this week.

ELDER THORN 

Loward's car. We are trying to get him to give us a ride to church to help him keep his commitments.

went to this massive soccer field today with FIVE zones. never been done before.

Week 60 Life is Better With Orange Juice

Life is Better With Orange Juice

This might of been the fastest week of my mission. Last week of this change and I am really hoping we get some killer missionaries in the zone. Everyone is a little burnt out and we are trying to do some crazy stuff to wake them up.

Found out that the family we were going to baptize isn't married....ya dropped the bomb. We have asked soo many times if they got married and they are like sii si sisis. annnd then the other day when we went to teach them the word of wisdom with this other sister from the ward they just drop the bomb... ya we were married buutttt we got divorced. So ya that's the new news. And now we are helping them take out papers and what not.

Other guy we are teaching which is the probably the funniest investigator I have had in my whole mission. His name is Daniel and hahah the dude is into art and photos and just slays it with weird questions. But he started reading the Book of Mormon and invited his whole apartments to read about Nephi. 

TOOLIO, my boy, this random guy that came to church this last week and then we took is direction and whatnot. Turns out the missionaries were visiting him over 2 years ago but he was drinking and smoking a lot so they stopped teaching him. Well now we hasn't drank in 4 months or smoked. Also has been reading the Book of Mormon. We are going to baptize him on the 7th if all works out solid. 

SER OBEDIENTE POR FAVOR

If you are in the mission or not, just follow the rules, it's the only way to be happy. 

3 Nefi 11.14 is my scripture for the week.

  Levantaos y venid a mí, para que metáis vuestras manos en mi costado, y para que también palpéis las marcas de los clavos en mis manos y en mis pies, a fin de que sepáis que soy el Dios de Israel, y el Dios de toda latierra, y que he sido muerto por los pecados del mundo.

Week 59 Dona Chocha

Dona Chocha 

The mission is the best place on Earth. I have been studying the Atonement this week and I'm starting to understand how much my Savior really did for me. I have been reading Jesus the Christ these past few months and I won't even attempt to write about how much I have learned. The book is massive. But I would encourage you to read just the section that starts with the Santa Cena and go from there. 

This week we had a few things that were unexpected. The Husband of Ana Rosa (or what ever familia says Chocha) died this week. He worked with cars his whole life and developed a strange condition in his lungs. We were passing by Wednesday to visit Ana (never have had the chance to visit with the husband) and there were like 15 cars outside the house and allllll these people. First thing I thought "birthday party what up" and as we got a little closer I realized that everyone was in black and sobbing. We decided it would be best to just call the relief society and pass by a letter in the week. The son called me Friday (he is a member but hasn't been to church in 10 years or more) and asked if we would be willing to pass by Saturday and share a little message, I said of course and that was that. We planned a little lesson with Ana's grandson Cristian, who also baptized her, about the plan of salvation and showed up around 6:30. When we got to the house there were a soild 40 people. and within another 20 minutes another 20 or so. Elder Meads and I both looked at each other smiling as we began to realize what a special opportunity we had. We sat down with the whole family. Only about 5 being members and opened singing " Que firmes Sentimientos". (How firm a Foundation) 

The spirit filled the room and I felt so blessed to be there with my companion. I start off talking about how life started long before this life we can remember. That long before we are born we were with a our loving Heavenly Father in our spirit bodies. I continued with Adam and Even and the changes that came about with the fall. Everyones attention was on us as my companion testified out of the Book of Mormon about the atonement and the joy that comes from knowing that all live in Christ. That all the pain we feel, the sicknesses that we will pass through, Christ knows them all, and descended below it all. Cristian then finished with Christ lives. That he rose the third day and that because He lives we all too will live. It was an experience that I will never forget.

ELDER THORN

Elder Lopez came to visit me this week, for about 30 seconds, but it was great to see how much he has changed. Love the kid!

This is abuela Leyte that has a son who is the mission pres in Costa Rica. She loves us and horrible mexican music. 

  

Week 58 Your Girlfriend Loves My Car

Your Girlfriend Loves My Car

One of the better weeks in the mission this week. Elder Meads got a package with american candy.

We are working so hard here in Santa Fe and it just seemed all week that everything was falling through and no one was keeping their commitments. We are teaching a pretty wide variety of people. Old to young, single to a big family, Catholics to pot heads and everything in the mix. I feel so blessed to be a missionary in the time of "teach people not lessons". I honestly love planning wacky lessons to try and get the attention of the person we are teaching. Or how we can best adapt the Gospel to THEIR lives. That being said we really have be working like mad this week with helping people ENJOY reading the Book of Mormon. But Saturday in the afternoon we hit a wall. We had been teaching all week and still didn't have anyone committed to church. We said a prayer and told our Heavenly Father that we were ready to find the people that were going to go to church this Sunday. First we went to Efrian and Yohana, the couple that went to church two weeks ago. We showed up and they were super busy fixing these air compressors. We set down our bags and went to work. Finished teaching out of the Book of Mormon about the atonement of Jesus Christ and they committed to come to church. 

About two months ago I started making lil comments to this dude in our area that has this slammed teal colored Honda civic. We always would joke around but he never wanted to come to church or listen to us. We went to his house and they invited us in. For the time I can't explain everything, but he and his mom have gone through some really hard times. They committed to come to church and showed up in his slammed honda with a million stickers. The biggest of all "your girlfriend loves my car" on the front windshield. Needless to say when he pulled into the parking lot at stake conference the whole 1000 members couldn't stop staring at his car.

I really need to start writing better. Hate that I can't get everything across that happens in the week.

Had interchanges with Elder Corey this week. We started the mission together and it was sweet to see how much he has changed. 

ELDER THORN 

Elder Corey

Week 57 Be ye therefore perfect, even as your Father, which is in heaven, is perfect.

Be ye therefore perfect, even as your Father, which is in heaven, is perfect.

Looks like I got the slowest computer again today... #badmissionhabits

To write a little bit of what my week was like, I filled 30 journal pages. And that is being modest. I really felt so close to my savior this week. I felt that he was guiding my studies and my words in lessons. I felt as I followed the spirit, he trusted me to and gave me even more impression (as was talked about in conference). I think that might be the most special thing that I have gained in the mission, to know when my Heavenly Father is talking to me and when He needs me to do something.

I wanted to write a little today about the first talk that was given at conference. Elder Uchtdorf explained that we shouldn’t complicate things. It was the first of many answers that I received this weekend. The Gospel of Jesus Christ is so simple that even a child can understand it. Why make it any harder. Our Father in Heaven has had the same plan since the beginning. And it could be explained in just one phrase " if you love my keep my commandment " (lol I hope that’s what it is in English). If you love God, you believe in his words, you trust in his promises, you wouldn’t do anything that is contrary to what he has said. I invite you, member or non member of the church, to strive to TRUST in the promises God has made with the prophets of old and modern. That you TRUST fully that he will come though even in the darkest hour. God is an exalted man, "that is the great secret" - Joseph Smith. Is that not what Christ meant when we spoke the words in mat. 5:48. He loves us and has given us all we need to become like him, even His only begotten son Jesus Christ.

ELDER THORN