Hello family,
It has been an
interesting and overall very good week (or nine days if you want to think about
it that way).
This past week
we worked really hard. The mission goal is for each companionship to teach 35
lessons each week. I consider it an acceptable week if I manage 30 or more, but
for me 35 lessons has been somewhat elusive. Some weeks here have been somewhat
rough, and we've had weeks in the mid to low 20's. But we really wanted this
last week to be a good week. So we did everything we could, and we had many
small miracles. For instance, we managed to have a lesson with Saul, someone
whom we have been trying to teach for the whole transfer. Only once before did
we manage to have an appointment, but as soon as we started to teach there was
a downpour, and the noise on the metal roof made it almost impossible to teach.
But this week we found him almost by accident when an appointment fell through.
We were able to take him to a member's house and teach the message of the
Restoration. We invited him to come to church. Just like Hna Lopez had been
inviting for almost six months. He had never followed through before, but
Sunday he came to church!
In fact, for
this whole transfer, we have been struggling to help our investigators go to
church. We teach and we invited, and almost nobody follows through. But Sunday
we had seven investigators at church. And attendance in the ward surged.
Normally attendance is around 100, and on a good Sunday, 125. But Sunday
attendance was 144. It was a good high point to end the transfer. I am grateful
that Hna Lopez's last Sunday was a good one.
Monday, of
course, I talked to you guys, which was a fun few minutes to see and hear you
all. It's strange to see the house and remember a little of my life before I
came here. It's strange to remember that I wasn't always a missionary here in
Honduras. In the evening we had two different family home evenings.
Tuesday
morning, at the last minute, we went to the airport to greet the new
missionaries. The sisters from Ceiba were going to go, but they were delayed a
couple hours, so we went to the airport and then passed the baton. On the ride
to the airport, I commented to President my struggle to speak English when I
talked to my family. And commented (joking) that I needed another
English-speaking companion, like Hna Trujillo. But mostly I love that Spanish
is becoming part of me. When I first got here, I was frustrated that I had to
always read the hymn book. I was used to the fact that in English I had many of
the hymns partially memorized; I only had to glance down occasionally. But I am
getting to that point in Spanish. I am super happy that I can once again sing
while I play piano, because I don't have to focus too much on reading the text
and can focus on the notes! Hooray! (In Palermo, I almost never played the
piano, because I prefer to let the members who can play keep playing, but here
in Porvenir, I am the designated pianist.)
We spent
Tuesday afternoon running around to say good-bye to members and investigators.
At home, I don't really remember that the missionaries went to visit half the
ward to say good-bye, but the culture here is a little different. The people
here adopt the missionaries as part of their lives, and they expect us to say
our good-byes. The culture shows in other little ways. If you run into someone
in the street, you greet them (handshake or hug, depending hermano or hermana).
Then even if you only chat for 45 seconds, you repeat the process to say
good-bye. Including if it's a group of people. You can spend more time greeting
and saying good-bye than talking. But should you happen to linger and talk
afterward, you once again repeat the process to say good-bye.
Tuesday night
we were up late packing. And once the stuff was packed, unpacking to cut down
on weight. The little scale Mom gave me came in handy, and we weighed and
reweighed suitcases. We slept for a couple hours, and then it was time to go to
changes meeting. Our final prayer before we left the house was really hard.
I've loved being with Hna Lopez, and I didn't really want her to go home just
yet.
And of course
there are always the nerves of who could be the new companion. Being ever
curious, I had gone through the list of sisters, found all the latina sisters
who had more that 8 months in the mission, and tried to figure out who could be
my new comp. I had a list of a couple of possibilities. But none of them had
transfers. But now let me tell you, I believe in miracles. I am comps with Hna
Hill! Ever since we were in the same district in the CCM, we had always hoped
that we could be companions, but we had consigned ourselves to the possibility
that it was almost impossible. In fact, last transfer, President Klein
specifically commented that he almost never puts two North Americans together.
But miracles happen, and we are super happy. We were all smiles in the transfer
meeting.
And now this
evening we will head out to work and continue the work here in El Porvenir.
I love you all!
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