Happy Mothers Day!

Hi friends!

I hope you all had a great mothers day!  I had an amazing one because I was able to call my mother and wish her a wonderful holiday!  I love my mother so much and I so grateful for the light he pours into my life.  She always knows how to help me feel better. She shows me how to find the light, especially when I am lost.  I love her, and I love all of you.

This week has been ... an eventful one.

Mainly (though I know most Honduran missionaries have been talking about this), the heat here has been insane, with it feeling like 115+ every day.  I feel like the Pulhapanzak Waterfalls that I visited a few months ago - I just can't keep any water inside of me!

A side effect of the heat are nearly daily power outages going on where I live.  Almost every day, from 6pm to 10pm, we've been without power.  It sucks because we're not supposed to visit when the power is out (and it's night), so we've been stuck hanging out at our house or at the homes of members while the power is gone.  

This is all unfortunate news, but I do feel that my relationship with the members has grown a ton this past week!  

Miracles have been coming and going - and my goal to be happy this past week has been largely a success.  I tried much better to relax and to give myself wind-down time.  It's weird to feel so tense all the time, but I know that everyone responds differently to stress, and I'm willing to serve nevertheless.

On Wednesday, we were called upon to give baptismal interviews with the neighboring Villas McKay area of the mission.  They were blessed to meet a family where 3 members where enthusiastic to hear about the gospel.  These were the first interviews I've ever performed, but they were so special.  It's so amazing to get to meet such happy people, and to learn of the miracles that have happened in their own lives to lead them to this point.  It's so amazing to be part of this work.

A funny experience we had is that we decided to go contacting and we noticed a street which had no teaching points on our map.  We decided to go down it and knock on doors.  After a short while we ran into a family who gladly let us in and seemed to already be familiar with the missionaries.  After a few minutes chatting with them we discovered that we were with the brother of the bishop, and that we were with the bishop of the Fesitrahn Ward (which is the next town over).  It was a fun experience to get to know them.

We were also extremely surprised when we messaged a reference we got to see how they were, and they responded with a photo of a funeral.  (Note: She didn't die, just her cousin)

We were able to unite with the ward to throw Karen a surprise going-away party.  I'm still scratching my head over how she didn't figure out what was going on because several members literally told her that they were expecting her at the chapel.  The spirit must have muddled her mind enough to get her there, because had she known about the party, she never would have went.

Speaking of Karen, she's going to Guatemala next week and she's trying to earn money for the trip by selling some portraits of the San Pedro Sula temple that she's painting. It's a beautiful painting ... but too expensive for this poor missionary to buy.

This week I've tried really hard to relax and accept that not everything will go perfectly.  I'm a bit of a perfectionist, so that's hard for me.  It drives me insane when I feel I don't have enough time for the duties at hand, but I'm trying to be more forgiving of myself and allow myself to make mistakes (with a dash of repentance - of course)

We had a really powerful lesson with a kid named Justin Quiroz where we just read Alma chapter 5 with him (that was the home we gave him the visit before).  Reading this chapter with him and Karen was fun, and I have a greater appreciation for the wisdom of Alma the Younger.  He really points out how we need to look to the future and how prepared we want to be when we're with God again.

Alma 5:21 "I say unto you, ye will know at that day that ye cannot be saved; for there can no man be saved except his garments are washed white; yea, his garments must be purified until they are cleansed from all stain, through the blood of him of whom it has been spoken by our fathers, who should come to redeem his people from their sins"

This next week, we'll be studying the speech of Abinadi in Come, Follow Me.  One of my favorite chapters in the Book of Mormon is Mosiah 15. I invite you all to really pay attention to that chapter, and how the atonement applies to you.

Welp. I better stop now.  Thanks to you all for your great support!  Happy Mothers Day and have a great week!

- Élder Grant