Well Family...
There just isn't anything like serving a mission. I wonder how it feels to be missionaries in other churches???
This week was really great with the baptism and all. It was a fantastic baptism but let me tell you a few things about it starting with the Grandma of Fernando. She's just a splendid little daisy... :P Actually, she's not. We went the day before the baptism to talk to Fernando and she lied to us, telling us he wasn't there. So I told her as we left the house, "Well, thank you Hermana. And Fernando, we'll be at the home of Family Trejo!" So Alan and Fernando came running over to tell us how much of a lier their grandma is and that she doesn't want Fernando to get baptized at all. But the Mom of Fernando is sooooo supportive and a great Mom for him, despite the Grandma.
A member filled the font up for us the night before the baptism and called us and said it was really "oscuro" or dark. And so I told Elder Huff, "Well, Fernando is going to get his wish to be baptized in a river after all. We can tell him that it's fresh river water if he asks why the water is so gross and green. ;)"
Then the baptism went wonderfully, and Mom I'll send you the username and password to my Dropbox account so you can look at the fotos and print or upload them for everyone else to see. It loads faster that way anyway. I also have fotos since El Sitio too!
Fernando's mom was asked to share her comments and feelings at the end of the baptism and she started to cry. She thanked the ward for all their support because she has to give support to Fernando and she has no one else to draw that support from. Obviously, this was a baptism that God just handed to Elder Huff and I. We like to see it as a thank you from God because we've worked so hard and had zero baptisms for six weeks.
So now, Alan, the older brother of Fernando (12 years old), called us and said he wanted to baptized tomorrow. He wanted to get baptized before but he didn't want to go to all the charlas or discussions with Fernando before. So now, we have his baptism set for weeks ahead and we still need to teach him everything and deal with La Vieja of a grandma again (I know everyone is a child of God and we should love everyone but she's been a real pain in the bum-bum lately).
You asked about my district but I'm kind of getting over their rudeness and laziness right now so I apologize if I seem kind of harsh. To give you a clue as to what I dealt with this last District Meeting, I'd like to share one little Dato with you. The one companionship that's the real heart of the issue had 1 other lesson this week. An "other lesson" is when their isn't a member present but you teach a lesson. They were rude in the practices to the Hermanas that were practicing and they absolutely were prideful and so I didn't teach them everything they needed to be taught because they don't deserve help if they don't want it. The one companion has been out on the mission for 24 months and extended and his companion finished his training with him just last change. So I've talked with them, been nice ALWAYS with them, and talked to the ZLs about it and so I hope to see some changes but the older companion is really hardened in his ways and I hope he gets changed this next change so he can get humbled a little bit. All God needs of us is obedience and hard work. He is at the helm and will guide us where we need to go. These two missionaries do not show me either obedience or hard work.
BUT the Hermanas, Hermana Gutierrez and Hermana Zaragoza, are really sweet and hard, obedient workers. Here in Honduras, it's hard for the Hermanas but they are having baptisms this month and we love them a lot.
Gamali is doing great. His baptism is for the 31st this month but it might be changed if he and his mom don't progress. His mom is a member but hasn't gone to church since she was young. They go to the Evangelico church now. Gamali had a spiritual experience "accepting Christ" when he and his mom repeated the words to a prayer of their pastor. We had to explain that while many churches had some truth, that only one church had all the truth. We redirected him to the Book of Mormon and that he could find all the truth if he read it. He hasn't read very much but we hope to see some good changes in the near future.
Leydi... Still pregnant... still???
We've been finding a lot of good people and a lot of hard people but I'll let you know more about them as they start progressing more. That way I don't waste time in the email.
Kali and Estér are doing great but when we went over to her house this week. She had on the TV, playing some music. The video of the music was quite horrifying but luckily my companion and I were blessed enough to not see anything or remember anything. This means that we had a great experience in their house and they tossed it aside for naught. Well, I'm about ready to toss in the towel with them. They are some less-actives that recognize Light when they see it but then deny it when temptation comes. Reminds me of each one of us with our weaknesses but I know, with full-surety of heart, that all weaknesses can be overcome. I just don't know how to help this family if they don't try. Estér goes to church but she too, has an addiction to the world's view of a perfect body. The kids were in the house too... so I hope they never remember this time of their lives and that their parents can get a grip on this addiction before they pass it on to their little ones.
One other investigator is Miguel Antonio. He's reading the Book of Mormon, slowly but surely. His baptism is set for the 21st of Feb. He wants to be baptized but he wants to find his answer first. But he's really intelligent in that he remembers a lot! He just stutters in his speech, and I think he has some type of ADHD. He's just great and brings a smile to my face every time I see him.
I don't think that one event made this week so great but I do think we are happier because we aren't sick and so we can work hard and we love our investigators. Sometimes it's frustrating when they don't come to activities but the ward is great and help out a lot more than in El Sitio. This past week we had 109 people in the chapel and the week before we had 130. These numbers are incredible because they haven't had over 80 for sooo long. I think what made the week even better is that we looked back at the numbers and we saw how much we've improved as people and missionaries. We normally have more than 8 or 9 lessons everyday with members and investigators and we are always finding new people.
I will be sad to see Elder Huff go but it's been great to be with and get to know him. He's an awesome person and I've grown a lot from him. He can always invite the spirit into a lesson on a whim with his testimony and that is such a great gift he has.
It's good to hear how everything's been going with the family. I LOVED seeing little Audrey singing and banging on the keys (She could probably rock that upright like Jon Schmidt rocks the extended grand! ;). And that Kristen is a special one too. She might do a great job banging on the piano with her clubbed hand right now. jajajaja!
I just have one more quick story of the week for you guys:
We talked to a young lady this week and she told us, "Mormons, you guys make everyone get married all the time and you don't drink coffee..."
"That's a commandment in the Bible actually," We replied.
And in a "no-duuur" kind-of-way, she said, "But you guys actually practice it."
And that basically sums up Honduras. They know the commandments but don't live by them. They preach Christ but only want to follow Him if their way is easy to follow and comfortable to walk. They want everything easy and for that, their lives are hard.
Elder Huff and I have a phrase that we say when something typical to Honduras happens: "We can always paint the trees white!" And we say that because they like to paint all the bottoms of trees white and it serves no purpose but to employ a few hundred people to do nothing. They try to cover up the uglinesses of wickedness with a "fresh coat of paint" as I like to think of it. Wickedness never was happiness though.
Well, let me scan again all the questions you had so I don't miss any...
I haven't met Elder Wardle yet, Mom.
Thank you Dad for the talk. I'm printing that off so I can study it further this week. I do hope you know that I love the insights you share with me. I try to answer all the questions you guys have for me but sometimes it's a rush and I forget.
Like right now actually. Got to run! Love you all! I'm glad everyone is safe and in good-spirits.
Hurrah por Israel!
Elder Tuft
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