Week 37 ELDER LOPEZ

ELDER LOPEZ

So my new comp is elder Borge. lol nah its elder lopez. 

I laughed at that for a bit. Things are steller here in Marcala. Still working my butt off to try and find how I'm ready to change. I think that is something I learned this change. Its honestly really easy to find people to talk to. I honestly can make a lil joke and almost anyone will agree to listen to us. Finding people that are going to read and pray or attend church is a different story lol.

My comp is from Nicaragua and has like 20 months in the mission. Butttt he still is working hard and is hyped to be here. Plus he is funny and isn't hard to talk to. Like I can just be chill with him and enjoy my day which is refreshing. He has had a ton of baptisms in his mission and testifies challenges like a boss. I think he is going to teach me a lot about how to be a better leader and how to better help people come unto Christ.

Did some service this week for a family that is super chill

ELDER VAIL WENT HOME. ya the kid who trained me is now a man and is probably kissing his girlfriend right now. 

This kid is awesome! He found my blog and his dad wrote me. Finally found him at changes.

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Elder Quispe and Elder Vail. ( Trainee and Trainer)

 bus heading back to the area.

Week 36 Blind Dude Learns English

Blind Dude Learns English

This was my worst week of my mission lol No for real though.

We were hardly in my area all week between all the meetings and traveling. But I did have one of the dopest days of my life on Wednesday.

I have been stressing out over this whole english class thing. Like it's hard bro to start a class and just put out flyers and junk. Not really something I love to do. But all that being said we had the English class again Wednesday and like 20 people showed up. One being this blind dude named Jose Trino. I was crying laughing in the class because the dude is just like "shhhhhhh I can't hear I want to learn enlgish" lol. We ended up having a lesson with him later in the week which was super short because he had to leave to run a 5k. lol ya the dude runs with a string attached to someone else who can see. But in the end of the lesson we asked him to kneel to pray. He started his prayer like almost all catholics do, which kills me because its just a repeated prayer from mateo, but he finished so strong. He prayed that we would be able to download the Book of Mormon in audio for him and said he was grateful for these THREE men that taught him today. Was a wild experience and knew as sure as he did that it wasn't just elder Cabrales and I teaching.

My comp has changes tomorrow and so I'm off to la Esperanza today which is the worst ride on the face of this earth. i honestly think of outer darkness when I think of the bus ride to la Esperanza.

Love the mission guys. It's hard to be away from my lil family sometimes. But I hope that I can bring just one other family here in Marcala to the blessing that my family have. 

Elder Thorn

This is a field I go run at when my comp feels like waking up.

lol so I'm starting yoga classes too. Back patio, 6:15 sharp, i have a yoga a degree and I'm really in touch with my inner persona 

This is a lil kid that I always mess with and say he is my cousin. Legit is whiter tan me. His name is Hector he is the son of an investigator. I always speak english to him its awesome.

Week 35 Desire to Believe

Deseo de Creer

Decided that I'm going to start writing in spanish a little because one it will save me a lot of time and second you will understand more through google translator than my english spelling. No in all honestly though I realized today that I was converted to the Gospel in spanish. My testimony this time last year was next to none. I didn't know anything about the duty I have to share this gospel I didn't know anything about the plan my Heavenly Father has for me. Oh how that's changed. 

Crazy stuff is happening here in Marcala. The branch is soo much better and we are working with members almost every day. Mostly young men but we had a few lessons withe Pres Diaz which was awesome. Really is such a bomb guy he just gets a lil off track; don't we all though. Probably the worst thing that is happening is the Jehovah's Witnesses are super strong here. They have a branch of like 100 people or something and they like trying to snatch all our members it sucks. 

Probably my last week with Elder Cabrales and I have learned sooo much from him and he has helped my spanish grow leaps and bounds. But more than anything I want to leave my testimony that God knows each and everyone of us. That Christ suffered for us personalmente. There was a moment when he was in the Garden of Gethsemane pleading with the Father over your sins and your life. Remember that. If I could instill one thing in each and everyone of you it is that, the atonement is real. 

Oh also we started english classes this week and I got it announced on the radio here!! It was soooo kool. Legit I have been begging these dudes to help me and then one day the owner was like hey come here and was like what do you want to say on the radio. I was hyped, and I got to talk on the radio so life is steller. 
Elder Thorn

Radio Station

Week 34 Chiflador and The Branch

Chiflador and The branch 

Ate wild raspberries today and went to a waterfall.

The branch is growing and people are actually hyped to come to church. Elder Cabrales and I are working a lot better together and for that same reason we are having the spirit with us during the day. I really love this tiny branch here in Marcala. Its so easy in a giant ward. Like everything is there, and there are just a few people that need help. Its the opposite here. There are a few good people and everyone else needs help. Including the people that have big callings, like the first counselor that isn't coming to church. But we had 65 people in the branch this week. The first week was like 40 something. And we have 12 people that have baptism dates in the branch. MAY is going to be nuts! Going to try and baptize someone in a waterfall. 

Not a whole lot of time today because have dinner with a family. 

This waterfall is called Chiflador

I was legit picking raspberries as we were hiking. Sucked I couldn't swim though

Week 33 Elder Johnson and Teguci

Elder Johnson and Teguci

I almost killed a baby duck this week and thus almost got stabbed. jokes. 

Super fast and wild week in Marcala. We had to go to the capital to take out my comps residencia. Which took like the whole day. And I'm just a little too tall for the buses here. Close to 10 hours in the bus for the day. But it honestly is so dang pretty here I wish I had my nice camera everyday to try and capture a little of what its really like here in Honduras.

Had intercambios (exchanges) with Elder Johnson. He is about to finish his mission and I swear we are the same person. He is from Logan and played soccer his whole life. He wrecked me the other day when we played. And he climbed. Didn't ski though and I gave him a hard time about that. Just really love old missionaries. Or missionaries with a lot of time in the mission. They are so steller it's unreal. They just get it. He is so focused on the mission and so focused on helping the people around him as much as he can, and his does. He has 13 months here in this zone and was a branch president for 6 months. Super crazy stories about witches and excommunication's and hahah ya just Honduras is a different world sometimes.

Here are some pics for the ladies. 

I'm too tall for the buses...10 hours of this.

This is me chilling eating lunch.

Found this spider in my sink this morning

Week 32 Grant Thorn Already Served a Mission

Grant Thorn Already Served a Mission. 

For those that are all whacked out about the title you probably don't know I have the same name as my great grandpa. I got a letter from my dad this week that really helped me a lot. My Great Grandpa, Grant S. Thorn served a mission in New York and  later was a mission president in England. While reading the letter from my dad and looking at a few photos he sent of him with some of the 12 apostles I realized something. There are kids that are waiting for mission calls right now, like I once was. There are kids starting their mission, like I once did. There are men finishing their missions like I one day will. It's all a big cycle and I love it. I am where others once were, and others are where I once was. 

Me and my comp are getting along a lot better. Even though he pretty much hates me down to the way I walk lol. We are teaching a lot better and when we are out working we get along. Had a awesome thing happen this morning, went on a hike to a waterfall with some investigators!! Soo awesome. No time this week, love all you guys.

"Permaneced en lugares santos y no sèais movidos" 

(Abide in holy places and be not moved)

Elder Thorn

Grant S. Thorn on his mission in 1930

Week 31 Transferred to Marcala and made a District Leader

Marcala y Lìder del Distrito 

Probably the most jam packed week of my life. Had the Changes meeting on Tuesday and got called to serve here in Marcala. The way it works here in the mission is you don't know a single thing about where you are going or what you will be until presidente says your same and then lol you leave with your new comp. Its pretty awesome. You honestly just have your suitcase and you could go to any area in the mission. For me I went alllllll the way out to Marcala. It's one of the most remote areas in the mission. I took a bus for 4 hours to la esparanza. Started with about 50 missionaries and they got off one by one at different stops during the 4 hour ride till we got to the end of the road. Then Elder Cabarles and I got in to a different lil mini van and road on a dirt road for another hour. The town its self isn't small at all. However the Church is. We have a branch here of about 40 people. And it needs a lot of work. Even the branch president didn't come to Saturday's session of conference and I had to open the little church house.

My comp is 7 years older than me and has the same amount of time as me in the mission. I think most of you could guess what that's like. Im the Leader of the district here so I have to conduct meetings and take dats at night, not a lot. But I also do things a lot different than he is use to. His last comp finished his mission this last change and they weren't doing hardly anything. We don't have a single person with a baptism date. Not a single person that is progressing (reading or praying or attending church) andddd we pretty much don't have any investigators. It's been Rough. Really rough. But I hope I am here for awhile because this area has sooo much potential.

Elder Thorn

This is a picture of me with a wild bird. 

Our church house

There also is a random neighborhood here that some gringo built dinosaurs (no picture)