Feeling Good

Hello!  I am actually pretty good today.  I don´t know exactly why, but I just have a good feeling today.

It has been an interesting week.  The first thing is that for part of it my comp was sick.  He thinks he ate something weird, but we don´t know exactly what.  He is luckily feeling much better now.

We spent the week doing a good amount of work.  We found some things to improve and some things we are doing well.  Our miracle for the week was that a baptism from a month ago got confirmed, so we finally completed that ordinance.  It was good.

In general this week was classified by new experiences.  I picked up a cat, and it happened to be covered with something (see my tie) on the side that I couldn´t see.  I believe that God was reminding me that sometimes small cute things have a downside, and you should always look at something from ALL sides before you pick it up and cuddle it like a baby.  (I feel like there is an object lesson in there somewhere, but I will let you guys figure it out).

On Sunday we went to find investigadores, and we found out a lot were sick.  So, we went to pick up another. As we bajared (went down) to church, this drunk guy that likes to talk to us found us and announced he was going to church.  I honestly thought that he would do the same that he always does and fall by the wayside as we walked, but today he was persistent.  He attended part of the Sacrament Meeting.  I felt a little as if I was caring for a child, it totally confirmed my goal to never drink alcohol.  He left after the Santa Cena, and announced he would come again, I hope he remembers something and that maybe we can reach the point that we can teach him.  He was very friendly.

On Sunday, we were going to a cita (a visit) and we had two paths we could take.  I thought we should take the path that went for arriba (up) because the night before we had a NDH in the same area and we took that path.  Also, in the morning when we went to pick up people we took the same path.  My companion wanted to go for a different path abajo (down).  In the end, we came to a rouph agreement that we would go up.  

While we were walking, we passed a group of drunk guys.  One of them, came up to my comp, and asked for his watch.  He had a machete under his arm, but I honestly didn´t view him as that dangerous (he could barley stand).  My companion gave him his watch.  He felt bad because he had already been sick, and the week just kept on getting better and better (Sarcastic).  He was also mad, because the drunk guy ignored the gringo (me) and robbed him.  He was mad at me (and maybe still is), and we are safe.

Also, this morning, the zone played soccer.  One of the Elders had to go and do his residency, and I volunteered to go with him (seeing as soccer isn´t that important to me).  I spent a fun morning with Elder Vanegas (de Nicaragua).  While we were on a bus back, I think a guy tried to pickpocket me, but he did it in a very bad and obvious way, and would have only taken my agenda (seeing as I lost my wallet many months ago).  But he didn´t take anything, it also made me laugh.

That was the fun parts of this week.  It was good and it was fun.

Mother's Day Skype Call

 Graigry with Suyapa and her son Carlos.  He had lunch with them on Sunday.

Things were good this week.  First, I got to talk to my family, which was AWESOME.  The only sad part was I was hoping to also talk to Jessica and Taylor, but, I missed them both.  Está bien.

En otras noticias...

This week I have still been doing a lot of adjusting to the new area.

The area is great.  I still just have this wierd feeling that I don´t belong, I still feel like I should be in Guaymuras.  It is big and we do a lot of walking, but the people are friendly and seem to like to talk to us.

I also felt wierd this week because we had a missionary that died (as in finished his mission) here come back and visited.  He only left in January and it was wierd to talk to him.  It made me a little baggy, but it also encouraged me.  It was good to talk to someone who had success in this area, and a lot.  He promised us it was a good area, we just had to work in it.

I talked with my family on Sunday, which also made me a little baggy, but not as much as I thought.  I left knowing that I am really where I am supposed to be.

Today I was reading a scripture del Libro de Mormon, Mosiah 2:41, that had new meaning for me.  It talked about the happiness of the people that obey, but for me, it said specifically, if you want to be happy, you need to obey. That was a little message from God for me.  Adjusting to a new area, a new companion, new people, has been difficult.  But I know that real happiness, happiness that doesn´t end, comes from God, and the only way that he gives it to us is by obedience.

I love you guys.  Thank you for your prayers and your support.

Elder Henrie

Big surprise this week

So, the big surprise this week.......I changed areas, Again!

An Elder in our Zone had problems with his knee, and it was decided to switch him out of his area (which is big and full of huge hills).  So they looked around and found my old area (really small and super flat) and 2 and 2 made 7!

I got a call on Tuesday, asking if I could go to the Stake Center to meet with the ZLs, and they broke the news.  I was kind of in shock, we had heard that someone was going to move, but somehow you just never think it will be you...

The fun part is I officially have 9 months in the mission, and I have never changed areas in normal change day (I have changed companions, just not areas).  It also means I will probably be in this zone another 3 months (but who knows, I am officially a special case).

I left my son Elder Rodriquez with his new companion and I went with Elder Capacho.  He is kind of fun because he is from El Salvador.  He is from the other side of the country than Jessica, but it is still kind of fun to feel connected with her.  Especially getting ready for her birthday on the 13!

My new area is the biggest in the zone, but is still small compared with Tatumbla.  I am enjoying losing any sign of a panza (fat belly) that I might have gained in Guaymuras.  I like the ward and it is also fun because one of my best friends in the mission (Elder Head, from SLC), started his mission here.  I feel like I am surrounded by friends (which I can´t see, but I feel).  

It was also an interesting week because I had to go to my first consejo de la Mision.  It is essentially when the President, his wife, the APs, and some other chosen elders talk about how to work better and support the missionaries you are over (yes, I am still DL).  This time they talked a lot about working hard and working smart, which from what I hear, is what they always talk about.  But, it being my first time, I was interested.  The president showed the video Gracias a El (the cool movie the church did about the life of Christ, but in Spanish).  He told us to focus our message on Jesus Christ.

I will be basically working a lot this week learning a new area, all the random paths, the people, and the members.  

I know that sometimes God throws us curve balls.  Not because he hates us or because he wants us to suffer, but because he loves us and wants us to grow.  I have a testimony that as we rise to meet these challenges, that we are strengthened.  I know that we are prepared to face them, but sometimes we need to look for heavens help.

I love you guys.  Thanks for your prayers.

Elder Henrie

Another random happy moment of this week was when we went to Dennys with the ZLs.  It was wonderfully north American and delicious.

Baptisms

I feel like I have been writing for a long time, but the truth is that not really.

It feels so weird that it is P'day again!  Oh how the time flies when you are having fun!

This week was great mostly because we had 2 baptisms!  We worked hard to make sure they both went through, and although we arrived late to church on Sunday, they both got baptized and completed the ordinance by receiving the Holy Ghost.

The other great part is that we had a Temple trip with investigators the day of the baptism, so we naturally brought our 2 baptisms for that day.  It was a beautiful experience to see the spirit of the temple confirm their decision to join this wonderful church.

We worked hard this week, and I was honestly really grateful for a day to relax.  Sometimes as a missionary, you need to remember yourself, and I am doing that today.

I am grateful this week for the power of the scriptures.  I was able to watch this week as scriptures written more than 1000 years ago, impacted peoples lives.  I watched some people reject it, and it seemed as if I could see from God´s view, the sadness.  But I watched others accept it, and be willing to make changes because of it.

I was especially impacted by the Book of Mormon.  I feel like this week made it clear to me the power that this book has.  It is truly the most convincing evidence we have of the veracity of our church.

I was also impacted by seeing the difference a testimony can make in the live of people.  I feel like this week I could see as people really listened, and the Holy Ghost carried the veracidad (truth) of the message to their hearts. You can see the difference in their faces afterward, they are happy, excited, animated.  Suddenly this is not just some message, this is their message, what they needed, and they feel it.

I encourage all of you to read the scriptures, but also to share them.  They cannot help others unless they know about them.  In combination with testimony, it is the most powerful weapon we have against the enemies of doubt, peer-pressure, and hatred.  In the Book of Mormon, it talks about how the word of God was more powerful at stopping the wars than the sword. 

When we give people the chance to change, to learn something more, to grow, we will be surprised at the results.

I love you guys, I feel like you were here with me.  When I bore my testimony, I remembered you, all of you.  I remembered those small moments when you shared with me your testimonies, and how it grew mine.  Sharing it with others, I am sharing part of me, and part of you.

No one is perfect, but as we all lift everyone around us, we can truly fly.

Thank you, take care of yourselves.

Remember that God has not let us alone.

Elder Henrie

All is well

This has been an interesting week.  The mission had a goal of 1500 new investigadores.  With 100 cada zona.  That essentially meant, 17 for every area.  It essentially meant for me that they were asking me to step way out of my comfort zone and talk to people, every person.

I know I saw miracles this week, as we knocked doors, did activities, and talked to people in the street.  I think I recieved a more powerful testimony of the promise of God.  That there are people that are interested, you just have to find them.

We had all the fun experiences, desde someone telling us they couldn`t open the door because they didn`t have keys (forgetting the question of how they got in), to another telling us flat out that he didn`t like mormons.  But I was blessed to have an animo (excitement), that just didn`t seem to go away. I remembered a talk the mission shared with us a couple months ago, it said that the best missionaries are happy because they trust in God, and work.  I know I saw that this week.

The other great moment of the week was talking with another Elder in my district about Deep Doctrine.  We didn`t go too deep, but it strengthened my testimony of the importance of the Expiacion de Jesucristo.  If Jesus had fallado en una cosa.  We would not be able to enter the kingdom of God.  It is for that reason that we honor him with the title GOD, Jehova, Salvador.

I honestly did a lot of what missionaries do this week.  I worked.  I had my lazy moments, but I feel satisfied with the majority of the week, and I feel that the lord is satisfied as well.  I feel like that is the best feeling in the world.  To know that you are not perfect, but that with Crist, you are can make it.  It remided me of the scripture in Moroni 7, that faith is interconnected with hope.  You look for the future, and despite all the bad, you can see the good.

This week, an Investigador announced to me that the Yellowstone Volcano was trembling, and he showed me a picture of one projected damage area.  He was very blunt.  Your house is there.  How do you feel.

I thought about it for a bit, and I realized I wasn`t worried.  If the mission has taught me one thing, it has taught me the power of covenants.  They give us confidence and peace.  I told him that the world was built with imperfections as part of the trials of this life.  They can be disastrous, but they also turn us to God.  We know that God has promised us eternity with our families if we live rightously.  He also has promised protection to the rightous.  I trust those promises.

I want to testify that if the world ended right now, if our planet was distroyed by some asteroid, or our sun exploded.  I would be all right.  My family would be all right.  And we would be together.

I love you guys.  Thank you for your prayers.

God loves us and has given us the ability to have hope.

Elder Henrie

Pretty Awesome Week!

This week was pretty awesome! 

This week the mission had a goal of 1000 desafios (challenges), and about Friday, we realized that our zone was far from our meta de (goal of) 60. So we decided to go out on Saturday and just work looking for people. I went out with Elder Porter (who although still recovering, had MAJOR cabin fever). We started with a prayer, and we said prayers at intervals while working. I know that I saw miracles, including one last desafio (challenge) right before we had to turn in for the night. It gave me a stronger testimony that God loves us and knows our hopes and our desires, and if they are righteous, he helps us lograrlas (achieve). 

Also this week I was working on llenando un libro de Mormon (filling a Book of Mormon), marking the scriptures that I like to use when I preach. I was surprised and humbled to see the number of scriptures that I felt were worth marking. The Lord really has blessed us by giving us the book of Mormon. He directed the prophets to fill it with doctrine, all of which we can apply and use to mejorar (improve). I loved reading and seeing all the different scriptures that there are. Funny thing was, on Sunday, I felt that I should carry the book that I had spent hours filling. While we were toquing (knocking) doors on Sunday, we met a joven (young guy) that was really interested in the Book of Mormon. I have a testimony that he was prepared to receive more of the palabra de Dios (word of God). Now we just have to follow up and get him to read! 

This week was just in general a great week. We met some great people and had some great lessons. The goal is that this week we can help our investigadores fijar babtisimal (investigators set baptismal) dates and keep them. 

In Honduras, all of this next week is named La Semana Santa (The Holy Week).  It basically means that no one has school and a lot of people are off work.  Lots of people go on vacation. The Catholic church does a bunch of activities and presentations.  Our stake and ward also have some activities.  

As missionaries, it means that we can be even more busy.  People aren´t working, and are just sitting in the house.  They want to feel religious, so when two missionaries stop buy they are unusually open.  The mission has a goal to find 17 new investigadores for every area this week. That is a lot, but I know it is possible.

We will basically be working all we can to invite people to church and get them to the activities.  It should be a fantastic week!

I know that the Lord lives, and that he loves us. He has sent us prophets in the latter days for our good and so that we can follow his will perfectly. He has given us other scripture to testify that he is God, and that he loves all people in all Places. His commandments are strict, but are like that to help us see our potential. He never gives us a commandment without preparring the way. I feel like my week can be summarized in the testimony of a Niño in our ward yesterday. He said ¨Yo sé Dios vive y tambien que nos ama¨. I testify that this is the truth, and that you can know it by asking God. 

I love you all, and I can´t wait to talk to you on Mother´s Day! 

Elder Henrie

District Leader

I love you guys.  I don´t know exactly why, but I am just filled with love today.  Conference was AMAZING, and it has been such a good week.  Sometimes there are just bad times, depressing times.  But God is our father and he loves us, and sometimes he just sends us a fantastic day or week.  Its kind of sad that people like to focus on the bad days, and don´t appreciate the day that is today.

Something that has always been interesting to me is that Hondureños always thank God for this day.  Another day they have on the Earth.  Every day here is a gift from God, and he sends it to us with love.  The trials, and the good times, are both sent with a similar purpose.  To prepare us to meet him and share his glory.

I want to join my voice to the voices of living Prophets and Apostles that we heard this last weekend.  God is our Heavenly Father.  Jesus Christ is his son, and he sacrificed his very life for us.  Through him we can be clean from all sin and we can have peace in this world and eternal life in the world to come.

Conference is kind of a spiritual party for the missionaries here.  We bring our investigadores, and we wait while the Apostles teach them in simple, and yet powerful ways.  I really liked the talk by President Eyring in the first session.  We had an investigador there, and he basically said, You need to make covenants that only our church can give you.  It was FANTASTIC!

I was just so animated and happy about conference.  Also, WE HAD CHANGES!  Well, actually we didn´t.  Elder Rodriquez and I are still here together in Guaymuras, as is Elder Porter and Elder Herrarte.  The only difference is that I got subed (risen in Spanglish) and I am now a Lidere de Districto (district leader).  It has already been an interesting week.  It is kind of nice that in this mission we have smaller zones, and thus smaller districts.  I only have 2 other compañerismos en mi districto.  

Para mi it is really interesting.  My job is to talk with them and help them do their best work.  If there is a problem, I am also the first in the line of authority to try and resolve it.  So far its been great.  The best part for me was a confirmation in that the Lord has trust in me.  My goal is to live up to it the best way I can!

The biggest thought I had for this week was on Thursday.  I bought a cheap notebook to put datos in (daily work numbers), and I designed a series of boxes that allowed me to see all the dats for the week.

For me it was really interesting to see the overall picture.  Something we sometimes struggle with is achieving our goals, and it was so interesting to see it from a more extended perspective than day by day.  I could see easily what goals we had already achieved, and in what goals we faltaba ( we fell short).

I guess that is what I invite everyone to do this week.  Everyone has goals in their lives that they want to lograr (achieve) but they always feel and llok so far away.  I invite you to put your goal on a piece of paper, with specific plans to lograrlos.  Then put it in a place that you see often.  I know this will help you remember your goals, and to remember to do the smaller steps to achieve them.

Chapter 7 in PMG also has a lot of good suggestions.  So you can follow Elder Ballard´s advice and read it.  I know that studying that book has made me a better person, and has helped me be a more diligent servant of the Lord.

I love you and I want to thank you for your prayers.

Elder Henrie

I asked Graig if he had been getting my "dear elder" letters OK.  I guess this picture is my answer.