Hola de Hermana, 27/8/12

Hola mi familia asombrosa!  :)

Some crazy fotos this week.  First from last week, I messed up. Obispo Garcia was on the end, not Benjamin.  This week, George the frog listened to his friends and went and got drunk.  This is the consequence he didn't choose.  :) And, us squished in Hna Denia's roomn with all the kids, and after we had fun playing with sunglasses.  Yeah, I have a crazy comp.  :)  

This morning I had an interesting experience.  Little, but I learned from it.  Every Monday we clean the apartment, and I used a mop with clorox after sweeping.  Five minutes later I saw Hna V mopping but with a towel draped around the end of a broom soaked in laundry detergent (another standard practice here).  I told her I'd mopped, and when she asked with what and learned it had been with the mop, she said it didn't clean very well and finished mopping.  Well I was a little miffed and puffed up and went to the kitchen.  I took my water bottle that I noticed she had cleaned and started cleaning it with cloro.  When she saw me cleaning it she said she cleaned it, and I thanked her and kept cleaning it. When I realized the irony of what I was doing and had just been thinking, I laughed.  How many times, every day, do I have to work to think about what I am doing and how I can be better, and quit worrying about others!  Good grief, if ANY OF YOU reading this have thought about going on a mission, and aren't sure, GO!  It will bless your life!  You will learn more life lessons along with the Gospel than you will have ever thought possible, and you will be saving lives. And maybe can prevent more frog deaths too.  jaja

Other moments during the week:  Walking past 10yrold Maynor's room and seeing him laying on his stomach on the bed reading the Book of Mormon, having a water fight with his younger sister, trying to contact Hna D's friend Lusi (Lucy) by yelling in the street up into the window we thought was the window of the hotel kitchen where she works "Disculpe!  Aqui trabaja Hermana Lusi?"and a moment later her poking her head up so we could see her, and listening to Hna V and Hna D talking and talking and talking so fast and then asking them, "Que relacion tiene la comida con el parasito que pica aqui?" and them both collapsing in laughter.  

We're working.  It's amazing how once we get out of the house and work we both feel the Spirit more.  Please pray we'll be able to find and teach and baptize men and families, and that we'll be able to prepare the partial family of Luva and Gilberto for their marriage and her baptism Sept 8.  

I LOVE YOU!  There isn't much time left and I'm grateful for what I learned.  I hope and pray I can learn quicker so that I can apply and be better.  I testify Jesus Christ is our Lord and Savior.  He knows and loves us.  He wants us to be happy.  And we can be happy as we repent, come to Him, and make and keep sacred promises such as true baptism and renew those promises through partaking of the sacrament.  

LOVE YOU TONS!!!

Hermana Ivy [-]

Hola de Hermana, 20-8-12

Hola mi familia asombrosa!  

We actually had a baptism!!!  Marilu and Jelder are so sweet.  The baptism went very well, but it was very hot because there were so many people squished into the RS room that there weren´t enough chairs!  While only one investigator showed, about 50 members came, and we were grateful for the support.  After we finished, the members went to watch the rest of Pres Monson´s bday celebration, so we had time to set up the snack of Honduran tacos.  

Last Tuesday Hna V finished 8 months, and we ate a lot of ice cream to celebrate.  I also make pastel gelatina whenever we need to celebrate something, so I made her her own jello cake with banana, marshmellows, and sweet bread.  We also celebrated the 12th birthday of Alejandra, and the other photo shows her pastel.  

We haven´t found a ton of nuevos.  This week only three.  But we´re looking forward to this week and contacting references with members. 

Hna V is fun to work with.  She has a short attention span, so this week I started using the game ´popcorn´ during studies to make sure she was paying attention (popcorn is when each person only reads a part and randomly stops and says popcorn to pass the turn to read to the other reader).  And its working okay.  Her first love receiving language is also gift giving, and I´ve been learning where all those jokes about expensive girlfriends come from.  jaja  But she likes object lessons so this week we´re going to try out using more.  

Random bits of life: The foods that got big in the U.S in the 50s and 60s are big here.  The people LOVE using ketchup and mayonese and those sections in the grocery store, the Dispensa, are huge.  They mix them like we do for that orange sauce in Arctic Circle that I can´t believe I just can´t remember the name...   FRY SAUCE.  And they even put ketchup on chow mein, another food that´s big here that follows another 60s trend...  I´m sure they would be using casseroles too but most people don´t have ovens, or if they do, they´re more for a storage unit...  (people store things in every random space...  one member stores her scriptures in the freezer compartment of her fridge, which she could do because she doesn´t have it plugged in).  Condiments, cheese, and other foods are also sold in plastic bags.  I´m sure America is going to start doing that too to save money and resources... and whoever develops a biodegradable or natural plastic is going to hit it big.  

The photo is of me and Hna D, also from Honduras and baptized here in Prado with her son Brian in February.  She is amazing, and one of those people I think I knew in the pre-earth life.  She lives in a room with a tiny kitchen, the two of which would fit in our living room.  She shares a bed with her two sons.  Yesterday she was just overflowing with happiness after Obispo Garcia asked her if she would like to begin studies for a career beginning this next year.  She was SO HAPPY!  And I still feel chills.  The money we donate to the Perpetual Education Fund goes to people like her, people who are THRILLED to work and learn and have the drive to accomplish it.  She kept saying, with tears, ¨Puedo realizar mi sueño, no importa la edad!´¨, ¨Yo puedo cumplir mis sueños yo!¨and ¨Nos toma en cuenta Dios, Hermana!¨ Ï can realize my dream, and age isn´t important!¨Ï can fulfill my own dreams and not just see those of my children realized! God takes each of us into account!  I am SO THRILLED FOR HER.  And finally, El reino de Deios es grandisimo, y el necesita las manos de cada uno de nosotros!¨¨  The kingdom of God is HUGE, and He needs the hands of each one of us!¨¨  

We are here to not only save our brothers and sisters spiritually, but to empower them so that they too can save their brethren, and that all can participate in ALL of the blessings, temporal and spiritual, that God wants us to enjoy.  The earth is full, and it´s our job to be righteous stewards and loving brothers and sisters.  Christ suffered and died for each one of us so that we don´t have to.   It is our blessing and right to live again through Him, and live fully Now and forever!  

Ï LOVE YOU MY FAMILY!  I THINK ABOUT YOU EVERY DAY and am so grateful for these beautiful experiences.  We have so much to be grateful for.  And while sometimes it´s hard not to be with you, I know this work is the most important work we can do, saving our brothers.  And I pray you will also search for ways to save our brothers too.  It may just be with a smile and ¨How are you?¨.  

I LOVE YOU!  Siga adelante en la obra del Señor!

Hermana Ivy [-]

Hola de Hermana, 13-8-12

Hola mi familia asombrosa!!!  

Three fotos this week!  The first was when we helped with the primary fundraiser to go to the temple, the second was when we made Honduran valeadas tortilla things with amazing Hermana D, and finally, MY FIRST FRESH COCONUT!  I have NEVER liked coconut until this past Martes.  Edwin cracked hacked off the big outer shell with his machete, skinned the coconut, and put a little hole in top so I could drink the coconut milk through a straw and it tasted so GOOD!  And the coconut fruit was saturated with juice and yummy!!!  So yeah, I love coconuts here when they´re fresh.  

Other randomness, I´ve told you about the pacas, mini cloth stores.  Well we visited a Megapaca, and in the random stuff section there was A FRAMED PHOTO OF THE SAN FRANCISCO TEMPLE!  And other stuff had Deseret Industry price tags!!! So I´m convinced if you google Megapaca it will say its a chain of stores that buys stuff from the LDS church.  Who knows, maybe I´ll find some of the random junk I donated down here and can bring it back to Utah...  jaja

Funny story.  Friday we offered to help a less active member do housework, and her mother, an investigator, said, in EXACTLY the same tone as Mrs. Bennet telling Jane that ¨¨Öh you must take the horse because it will rain and you will have to stay the night, ¨Oh how lovely!  Of course after they help you you must attend church Sunday and I´ll come with you!  Yeah, neither came.  But I can´t stop cracking up.  It was the EXACT SAME VOICE as Mrs. Bennet!  Here in HueHue!!!

We had ups and downs this week.  So grateful to learn from Bishop Garcia that real leaders lead with love.  And ANY sort of correction is to be given in the Spirit of love.  I am learning and learning and learning how to not think of myself, but try to really think what OTHERS are thinking and feeling.  I am so grateful to be learning this now.  And pray and pray and pray I can change so that I can truly help those around me.  This is such amazing eternal life preparation!

And the other day a lady passed us and we heard a miserable cat complaining.  Turns out she had the little critter in a tied up gunny sack.  She passed us three different times and the little things was still complaining.  And there was a dead chicken randomly on the side of the road.  And electricity and water will randomly go off in sectors of the city during the middle of the day to conserve.  This place is so random.  I love it here.  

I can´t think of more random details.  

Entonces, please pray that we´ll be able to do our part to prepare MaryLu and Jelder for their baptism this Saturday, that they will do their part, so that we can have this baptismal service.  Please pray we´ll be able to better our teaching ablilities and be able to find potential priesthood holders and families to teach!  We love you!  I love you!  And I testify our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ LIVES!  He knows and loves us!  And with His infinite loving help we can change ALL of our weaknesses into strengths!  

LOVE YOU TONS!

Hermana Ivy [-]

Hola de Hermana, 6-8-12

Hola mi familia increible!!!  

I´m in Huehuetenango!!!  It´s the hottest part of this mission, and while it may sound like the boonies, I´m actually in the CITY in a ward called Prado.  It´s just off the side from the main center, Centro, like Calvario, but this time this area has a lot more businesses.  The upper half is mixed business and residential, with a suburb where our bishop lives with actually GORGEOUS houses.  I feel like I know this half fairly well.  The bottom half is called Canshac, and is more ghetto, and I´m planning that we´ll only work there in the mornings or early afternoon, usually with members.  I love love love Bishop Garcia and his family.  He was sustained as bishop only three weeks ago and told us he had been praying for a pair of strong missionaries.  I´m so grateful the Lord has entrusted us with this assignment.  Our mission leader Hno B served in Belize and is amazing.  The members befriend and invite families and people to church, yesterday we had three investigators show up to church!  and yesterday we put two feches for Aug 18 with a single mother, MaryLu, and her 13 year old son, Jelder.  One of the only drawbacks is that, while in Calvario 25 of 30 houses had numbers, here 2 out of 30 houses have numbers.  So filling in the area book with useful information will take more work.

I forgot to mention, we really are opening the area!  There were sister missionaries who worked here before but also in a neighboring ward.  But the other ward got closed, and both of us are new to this area, and they put us in a nice new apartment.  

My companion is Hermana V from Seva, Honduras, and is almost completing 8 months.  She´s a convert from 2005 and she and her 5 siblings live with her aunt, uncle, and cousins.  She´s the second missionary in her family and actually left before her older sister got home.  We´re learning how to work together, and I´m grateful to be coming into this companionship AFTER Hermana S showed and taught me that EVERYTHING hinges on our companionships.  I´m learning how to love and be a friend.

I´m happy and grateful and excited to work here!  Our mission leader has been inspiring me to push for incredibly high numbers, and I´m trying to build the spiritual foundation to be able to reach it.  

I testify our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ LIVES!  He knows and loves us!  We truly are working to save our brothers and sisters, and I exhort you to do all you can to pray for inspiration for how you can participàte in this work now!  I LOVE YOU TONS!

Hermana Ivy [-]