Too Much Craziness To Write About...

“Okay, time to test out Samsung keyboard. Ah OK things are things are starting to come together. Hopefully this will help me speak faster if that makes sense. I guess write faster is better. But I'm probably gonna make a lot of 'um' noises. Oh, no, it's all causing problems now (Problems revised in post recording). But it's surprisingly good, it just requires a lot of editing. Perfect. This is how I'm going to do my weekly email to cut off time writing. I'm just going to say it all and hope it writes it fast. But I'm permitted to read emails for longer than an hour. I just can only write for an hour. So if I read this to revise it does that count as writing it? I'm not sure.”

“Already I guess I'll just start talking and get this over with. I'm probably gonna do this in a bunch of short sessions of talking and imposing. And then talking, especially since we just really got moved outside to buy some ballet others. And now this place is getting really loud and no, no, it's all messing up… Maybe I should keep in the translation errors. They're kind of funny.”

Alright let's start

Hi friends!!!

This week was a super busy week. Things were happening every single day and, well, I guess I have a lot to say so I'm gonna get right into it.

Monday - Nov 20th.

This was the last P-Day and you guys should have received 2 emails because the week before this last week I wasn't able to get out and email, so 2 emails were written. It's lot of writing and it's very draining. And from now on, I'm gonna try to doing less emails and trying to figure out a way to do emails faster (and maybe a bit shorter as well)

In the meantime outside of writing emails I have written down that I played the piano for the first time in a long time, which is always fun. I love playing the piano and my mom sent me a few videos of my siblings playing the piano and it makes me so happy to see them playing as well. 

Some of you who look at my Google Photos might notice it being organized a bit differently this next week. Just in my final few minutes before the P-day ended I reorganized my Google Photos. Now I can probably clear out a bunch of photos. So I can have more space for newer photos.

In terms of what we did this week. We had 2 big encounters that I cared enough to write down. The first one is with an inactive member named Karen. She runs a nail shop and because of that she is super busy and we are almost never able to plan times with them. But we were able to meet with them today and plan a future time to meet with them which will be after 6 o'clock on some day. Because that is when they are both off work, sometimes. I hope it will work out. I also noticed the Google Maps is still very inaccurate. And I would love to fix it up and show where her shop is because it's kind of cool. She has a sign in front of it. But I'll see what I can do because the petition to add the shop has been denied 2 times so may not be not meant to be.

The other meeting that we had was very short and very fun to do. We wanted to visit Darwin Benitez so we went to his house and we ran into him getting ready to leave to finish off some final chores so we asked if we could spend just 5 minutes to share short thought and he said yes. 

We said a quick prayer, a scripture came to my mind so I shared it. I asked a question and he participated and answered. And then we said a closing prayer and I was like ‘this is a perfect lesson!’ And it only took 5 minutes pretty awesome.

To end off this day and the 5 minutes I spent recording it. I recorded my voice a few times because a few people have asked me for even more detail on my vision. So I guess if you want to hear those send me an email and I will send those to you. I'm calling them Missionary Deep Dives where I talk about just a single topic. I recorded one on buses. Because the buses are crazy here and I recorded one about the resources we give out to people such as the scriptures and pamphlets, etc. And another one is about hand washing clothes. These are only 10 minute voice recordings about one small aspect of my mission. And it's not the same for every mission, but it is for Honduras.

Tuesday - Nov 21st.

Divisions! I had divisions today. I went to a town called Potrerillos with Elder Castillo, and his companion Elder Wallace came to El Mochito to serve with Elder Franco. That was very fun and it's very different from what I'm used to. Let me describe Potrerillos a little bit. Potrerillos is very large, very hot and very flat. El Mochito is relatively small, very hilly and very ‘fresh’. But I gotta meet new people and luckily for me. I'm far enough in my mission that I can handle the scary, out-of-nowhere confrontations that can happen during divisions. They weren't the most fun but I handled them and it makes me glad that I've managed to make it this far.

I remember that one of our meetings fell through and Elder Castillo looked at his phone and went to a house and I thought in my mind. OK, there's a member here so we called out and a person opened the door and popped their head out and I look at Elder Castillo and he was looking at me, basically saying: “Talk” and I'm like: ‘wait a second!’ What's going on here and it turns out that this was not a member but just a random person. And I was caught so off guard by just a sudden confrontation. I was not expecting to suddenly be knocking on doors. But it's something that makes me laugh.

Something cool that we did is we gave 2 baptismal invitations during the divisions and both were accepted too. So I might hear about 2 baptisms in December December 9th or later. We'll see how that goes. It will be fun to report on that. Additionally, we contacted a family that has a ton of Christmas lights in front of their house, including a Christmas tree and a nativity set. It was super cool to talk to them, and they were interested in listening to us. After this lesson I told Elder Castillo that I'd better hear more about these people later cause they're really cool.

Along with being in Potrerillos, I got to meet their pensionista and in one word I can describe her as loving and in one sentence I can describe her as cooks a lot because I got so much food and she served Baleadas which were very yummy.

To end for today, I would also like to mention that I got to see the Zone Leader’s home and sleep in it. They have an AC in their room, which is very good because it's hot and humid in Potrerillos. They also have a piano inside their house which I believe I shared a video with the piano in my Google Photos. I'm kind of jealous because I would love to play the piano in my house. But I don't want to pay 5001 Lempira or ~$200 to buy an electronic piano.

Wednesday - Nov 22nd.

I feel like I'm making good time here. I'm not sure but I will continue with today.

Today we came back to our appropriate areas - A.k.a. We finished divisions and I found out that Elder Franco and Elder Wallace had the tmes of their lives here in El mochito and what I mean is they discovered a new kind of food called Baleada Loca. They learned of this food from an inactive member. And then they ate it on the same day. And since then I've had them twice and they are kind of crazy.

They also reopened teaching an investigator that we stopped teaching last week because Elder Wallace pulled out his ‘machete’ and got to the bottom of why they were scared about baptism. And they interviewed Rotman as well and got him already for his baptism. And they did one other thing that I can't remember, but something cool. They were very productive.

And today we visited Rotman again. I guess I should reveal right now that the name is Rotman, not Rocman. For the past month. I've been spelling his name wrong and saying his name wrong. And now we know and we finished his preparations-made sure he knew what was going on. And because tomorrow is Thanksgiving. I taught a bunch of lessons on gratitude. Because that was the mood I was in today. We had perfect weather and I know my family is jealous because they've gotten snow and cold in Utah. And I've got sunny skies and perfect 70°F weather here in El motito. But everywhere else is going to be super hot and painful compared to here. Finally, as we are ending off the day we ran into the pensionistas of the other Elders. And they are very awesome members that I got to know when I was with Elder Van Dyke and Elder Porter. So we taught a lesson with them.

Thursday - Nov 23rd.

We had our multi-zone conference today. And it was Thanksgiving themed, which means we had a Thanksgiving lunch. So yummy turkey, potatoes, pie, all the stuff. Probably not as good as American Thanksgiving, but very yummy nonetheless.

I also got to unite with my friends from the MTC and of the four people who were in my district in the MTC, who came to Honduras, three of those four are training right now. And that is everyone but me! Crazy! But I believe that everything happens for a reason. And those other 3 were leaders in the MTC. So they've already been qualified for the job. I'm just preparing for whatever the future will have for me, trying to become a leader which is very difficult.

Not only are my 3 other friends training, but they're all training Latino companions, which I'm not sure if that's easier or harder than training Gringos, but it's something very interesting. Similar to how I've had 3 ‘fathers’, my 3 friends are all ‘parents’. It'll be super cool to write about my email after my mission and talk about all the little details of things like this.

To talk about what I learned during the multi-zone conference, Sister McClellan gave an awesome talk where she talked about meeting with the Apostle Elder Gong in Guatemala and what they learned and a specific thing that I liked is that she told us to write our own Psalm. I don't know how I'm going to do it. But I want to try.

We went to San Pedro Sula for this multi zone conference which meant 3 hours in the bus both ways so 6 hours total and I spent that whole time chatting with older Porter. We are starting to become really good friends. And it's gonna be sad when we finally separate after 5+ months together in the same district. I'll make sure to keep in contact with him.

Because it was Thanksgiving. We got permission to talk with our family. So they technically know everything that happened before today, but I can't wait to talk with them again and update them (as well as you guys) on the rest of my week.

Friday - Nov 24th

Today we had the baptism of Rotman which was pretty awesome. We also had district council in the morning, which made this whole day super busy and super spiritual as well. It was super fun practicing with my friends in the morning and learning new things and then preparing the chapel for the baptism of Rotman.

Before the baptism we asked Rotman who he would like to baptize him, and he asked me to do it, which is quite an honor for me. This is my third baptism of my mission, and the second one that I will be performing. And it's probably the first one that's actually mine where I had a part in every single step of his conversion. Rotman has been looking forward to the baptism. He's very happy and makes me happy to see him happy

Sadly, similar to the baptism of Victor Manuel. Even though we tried our hardest to advertise the baptism to all the members, only about half the seats were filled, but I can promise that all of them were filled, maybe not all of them with members here but the rest with his ancestors, the people who are excited to see his baptism. And I know that we felt the spirit to during that baptism, and Rotman was super happy after the baptism. After the baptism we were changing out of our clothes in the bathroom and he almost fell and I got a heart attack. It would have been so sad if he slipped and fell and died right after the baptism, but all turned out well.

Saturday - Nov 25th

Today we made our way to La 21 and while on the way there we ran into the sister of Alva Luz and the family resemblance is very real. It kind of surprised me seeing Alva Luz #2 but we went and visited them. We visited them because her son went to church with Alva Luz? We wanted to see if they were interested in learning more, and the son was interested to go to church again. Family connections are helping us out here. We start giving them the lessons which is very cool.

Another awesome thing that we got to do is we got to witness the baptism of 2 of Elder Franco's previous investigators. It was very cool to hop on to Zoom and watch the baptism and support 2 people which Elder Franco loves very much.

I have now seen the baptisms of 3 people this week and it's so beautiful seeing people have a smile on their face afterwards and see that it's worth the worry and the stress and the work and the time because happiness is bound to come when we come to the gospel.

After witnessing those baptisms, we went and visited Francisco, which for me is the first time we visited Francisco in a few weeks. But he is still doing well and he still goes to church and we taught him a lesson about the temples to inspire him a little bit. When we were done, he gave us some Morocas, another type of banana. And some Pepper tea which we are allowed to drink. Thank goodness for that and I might start getting a taste for tea here in Honduras, because I've now tried cinnamon tea and pepper tea. They're very interesting.

Sunday - Nov 26th

Rotman was confirmed a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints and he also got the gift of the holy ghost! It was awesome to see that event in the church and to be able to assist the church with so many other people.

After 2 awesome hours of church, we got ready to go and we while were waiting for the bus we were listening to the primary children practicing their songs for the primary presentation and I noticed a bunch of the members had the Come, Follow Me books for the next year and now I'm super jealous because I want one of my own but they're not gonna give one to the missionaries, because the missionaries are going to leave sooner or later. So I'm going to petition to my Mission President to let me get one because it looks very cool. And I read the Book of Mormon every day. So I haven't a study guide for the book of mormon could be very helpful.

Because today was Sunday we did our weekly planning. We planned a bunch of the stuff well do this next week. A bunch of the things we want to do and while planning we also did a few other tasks as well. We received moroccos from Francisco and we didn't receive just a few of them but we got a ton of them. So to use them up, we made Tajadas with them like sweet tajadas, which are kind of like sweet banana chips. Very yummy. And we put sugar on them to make them even sweeter. And then I also downloaded Google sheets to start marking down all the prophecies and where they align between the prophecies in the Book of Mormon, the Bible and all of the scriptures. And to help do that I downloaded Google sheets so I could fill out the spreadsheet with scriptures that align with each other so that is something I've started doing today and it's fun and I've already learned that there are at least 5 prophecy topics that are mentioned in the Book of Mormon, which are 1st: Jesus Christ's first coming. Then Jesus Christ's second coming. Then the events in the Americas, general events in the world and the restoration of the gospel. Those are the 5 big topics I have found in the BOM. Ill start filling this spreadsheet out over the next few weeks.

We also had a stake zoom meeting to help us coordinate our plans for a stake-wide activity that's going on right now. And it was a lot of: Everyone understands? Does everyone get it? No, let me repeat it again now. Does everyone get it? No, let me repeat it again just over and over again for 40 minutes. Elder Franco was raging in the background for the whole 40 minutes.

I have written down that we entered the house of some members and they were watching Harry Potter. Does anyone know the number of movie that the Prisoner of Azkaban is? I don't know if that's movie number 2 number 3 number 6. I'm not sure. Alll I know is that the fifth one is my favorite and that you guys should watch that one.

Monday - Nov 27th

All right, now it's P-day and after our multi zone meeting, we got some clarification on some of the rules including what our P-day schedule should look like. So today's P-day schedule is different for me. That is why I'm voice recording my email. Because I don't have as much time to actually write my email. But I'm just going to do what I can. And call it good there's a lot of things I could say/write but I have to omit a bunch of it this week and probably for the rest of the mission. I'm going to try to get into a new flow. So I can follow the new rules that we've gotten and stay obedient. That I can also keep you guys informed and keep myself entertained. Because these new rules I'll definitely find myself with more time this P-day, so we are going to go on an activity after this email. And I'm going to try to get a haircut. I don't know if it'll work out but I will try. (Post script, it didn't work out that way)

For final thoughts of this week, we had to fill out a Google form for Christmas t-shirts that we will receive and ask for the name and your shirt size and in a spout of goofiness that came between my companion and I, I decided to put up a goofy name and I'm a little worried that what's going to happen is everyone's going to have like a formal name and then I'm gonna have a goofy name next. But consequences are consequences. And I'll see what they are once we get the t-shirts, and this is my first Christmas soI can repent next Christmas. I'm not gonna tell you the name I put, but maybe you'll see it in a picture in the future. Anyways, thank you guys so much for reading this. I have to read this email again and go through all the translation errors. Hopefully there aren't too many but I'm a little worried now. But I hope you guys have a great week and that you guys will keep doing good things and keep approaching the savior.

To inspire you guys, my spiritual thought today is to be more grateful. The holiday that was celebrated this past week. And by each of you guys to share with every member of your family at least 3 things are grateful for relating to them or in general. And I promise that being grateful will bless your lives and make you happier. I also know that prophet Russell M. Nelson shared a lesson on gratefulness a few years ago. And I challenge you guys to search it out and listen to it. Testify that going to the prophet and the words he shares will bless your life. Why? Because the prophet speaks the word of God? That's why.

Anyways, thank you guys so much. I hope you guys have a great week. Many fun experiences much happiness. And you guys don't freeze up to the north of me. I've heard that its snowing a little bit. And I'm like a little jealous but also not. Cause I'm really relishing the warmth here anyways. Love you guys so much can't wait to talk to you guys next week. And I'm always open to receiving more emails, see you.

Saluuuuuuuuuuuuuu!!

 - Élder Grant