Disclaimer: I'm Alive! :)

After 3 and half days stuck in my house, I´m out!

Shout out to the Riverside ward for getting me the mini version of all the conference talks before I even got the Liahona! Awesome!

So much has happened! First on the list.... Miriam got baptized!

To demonstrate the awesome, loveable personality my sweet Miriam is, I wrote down some  funny things she said  leading up to the baptism. 

Tuesday- We went over and she offered food and we said that we had already eaten, but could we take it to go? She brought out this bag of tamales and other things and then she said,

"I just feel like your mom and you´re my kids.... And look, I just got another one!" Referring to Hermana J. I guess it was the way she said it- we were dying laughing.

Wednesday- We went over to her house with the ZL´s for her interview. We walked back in the family room after it was over and she was looking down at the floor. I asked what was up,  and Elder B. responded that the baptism was going to have to be postponed. I looked at Miriam and asked, "Miriam, are you getting baptized tomorrow?" She looked up, threw her hands in the air and yelled "si!" 

And the other day we were at a members waiting for her to finish making lunch. I looked over at Hermana C. and she was konked out! After she said she was just studying Lehi´s dream ;)

Thursday- We had zone meeting and while we were there we got a call from Miriam´s daugher, Sofie, telling us that Miriam was making food for the baptism (yes, her own baptism) and how many people were we expecting? "she has enough for about 60... should she make more?" We said we´d call her back.

Well, then we went into panic mode. If one person is getting baptized, there´s usually like... 25 maybe 30. At the wedding, there was about 60. So we said that should be enough, and no she doesn´t need to make more. 

After lunch we invited all the members in our area then went to Hermana J.'s old area because there´s no missionaries there right now. We invited a TON  of people and called and texted everyone we could. Good news? We ended up with 50 and all the food was gone.

But something else funny happened... they went to change and Jose hadn´t come out of the bathroom for a while. (oh yeah... Jose baptized his mom! the coolest thing I've ever seen!) I sent elder B. to check on him and he came back with the bad news... Jose had forgotten his white shirt. No matter! We just made our Mission leader switch shirts. It was hilarious, but it all worked out :)

 It actually wasn´t too bad being stuck inside during elections. I had time to do Zumba for an hour, personally studied for 2 hours (yes, I am turning into my father. But you know what, I like it!), and actually had time to cook! some of the delicacies included: crepes,

 french toast, stuffed peppers (made in the microwave... thanks bee!),

 baleadas, mac n cheese, chiliquiles (the things from the picture at Tipico´s), hamburgers (hermana C.´s choice!), 

and we splurged and got ice cream. So yes, it was fun, but I definitely have been feeling anxious to get out and work, especially because I will most likely have changes in 2 days.

CHANGES: due to Hermana C. having 6 months in this area, and Hermana J. only having 3 days in the area that she originally came to, they will most likely be leaving.

Current prediction:

Hermana C. is going to head up to Tatumbla or Dahnli. She already served in the south, now she´s been in the city, and now she get´s to head up to the north. But everyone is joking she´ll end in the south. We´ll see!

Hermana J. will probably  stay in the zone, and the ward, but back to the area where she was before her other comps left. So I´ll still get to see her around.

I will most likely stay to show my new comp around for another change, then I will head out.

 Vamos a ver!

Let's end with a random story...

We were walking home, and saw this nativity and she let us in her house and we just chatted with her. She is amazing! She does this every year and said she wasn´t even done!

 

Love you guys so much! Hugs and all the butterfly kisses in the world! 

-Hermana Snelson

Elections Week

Well hey there.

We have a lot to talk about so let´s get started with this.

Thanks to Elder Baird and to Miss Nicole Hopkinson for the lovely letters :)

Monday- we went shopping- like always! I did find some rad, cheap things and of course was stoked. Don´t worry, I only buy if it´s light, breathable fabric- preparing for the day I´ll eventually get sent to the south. 

Tuesday- the sister training leaders had called before (last saturday) to say that we were gonna go on exchanges, but we didn´t hear anything Monday night, so assumed that Tuesday was just gonna be another normal day. Ha! They called us and were all, "hey, so we´re leaving now, we´ll see ya in a half hour" so we got ready (i wait to get ready after personal study) and then I grabbed Hermana Brown from Texas. We dropped off her stuff at the house, then ran to do some service!

Things I´ve learned how to do in the mission:

-speak Spanish

-teach people the gospel

-make tortillas

-make tres leches

-and now... sand!

Hermana Elida is remodeling her house, so we went and sanded, finished, and painted the cabinets and other fun things in her kitchen. 

We had a lot of fun, and then changed and ran off to eat lunch. 

Right after we finished and were playing with Bishop´s cute little boy, the ZL´s called

"Hey Hermana, how´s it going?" 

"Uh good Elder, how are you?"

"Great, great, just wondering.... could you come to plaza to get the key to the church?" 

"uh, I´m in MiraFlores"

(MiraFlores is where the church is, plaza is by my house... there like 10-15 minutes from each other in a taxi)

"Oh well, the thing is the Elders and I have to meet the new  hermanas here in plaza so we´re gonna be late to english class so you could wait outside the church or just come get the key."

"yeah I´ll come... Wait, NEW HERMANAS?"

Yep, we had emergency changes. The Elders were out, and we got 3 new hermanas. I was teaching people colors and then they walked in, Hermana Jimenez, Dubone, and Reyes. Dubone and Reyes were at the CCM with me, so that was fun. 

Well, class finished and the elders didnt´look like they were gonna do anything. So I spent the next half hour calling members, explaining the area of the hermanas the best I could and helping in anyway I could. 

hermana Brown and I went back to our area, where we tried to visit people, and only were able to visit the Salinas family and watch the movie "John Tanner" with them. They loved it :)

Wednesday- got my comp back, and we went back to Hermana Elida´s to help out some more. and we also met wtih Miriam, Jose´s mom. like.. 1 week before we visited Miriam with a sister from the ward and Jose. That was when she told us that for the last 15 years she had been going to an Evangelical church. Then she saw all the faults in the doctrine and the things they were teaching and doing and just wanted out. She had quit going to her church, and prayed to god to help her find the path she needed to go. "And what do you know? These lovely ladies showed up on my door step just a few days later!" SO COOL.

As we left, Jose asked her when she was gonna be baptized. Then said, "If I get baptized, will you?" She thought about it, and said yes. Then Jose left to get the picture we had given him of his baptism and showed it to her. She was shocked at first, then said, "Well, I guess I´m getting baptized!" Wednesday was when we finally were able to meet with her. She said Saturday would be too soon (as in last week) but this Thursday would be fine. So holla, baptism this Thursday! She is really really excited and we´re even more excited for her :) 

Thursday- we went to the temple with our investigators! It´s always fun and I really think that helped seal the deal for Miriam. She really is seeing that this is right, that this is what she needs to do and the difference it will make in her life. I am so so happy for her :) 

Friday- was spent trying to find a list of inactives we got from the stake. We got lost many times- Honduras doesn´t have addresses. Literally, some of the addresses were like, "go to the buidling TIgo, the street next to it, the fourth house." and we´re all, "uh.. okay." So that was fun :)

Saturday- Taught english classes, taught Miriam, a good day but nothing memorable. 

Sunday- Yesterday was awesome! It was the primary program! Something I´ve decided- Doesn´t matter what part of the world youré in, the Sunbeams are always the best part! After we jetted up to class where we were informed that Hermana´s Dubone and Reyes got their visa´s and were headed to Argentina, and Hermana Jimenez was gonna come be with us!

 This dress is a gem I found for one dollar, and it even has pockets!

I´ve been told I look like a Disney princess and Dora the explorer.

So now I have a new comp. It was crazy because then we ran to their apartment to pack, then the mission home to drop off the sisters, eat Baleadas, chat with President then go to our area. We had gotten all of Hermana Jimenez´s stuff upstairs (including another chair, mattress, and other food that was at her place, aaaaand a toaster!), got our scriptures, prayed, and were about to leave.... when the power went out. It´s a rule that if the power´s out, we can´t leave- too dangerous to be out in the street if the lights are out. So we spent the next half hour chatting, getting to know one another, ran and visited Miriam, and were home again. 

and today we went to Valle De Angeles! always fun to see all the cute things- some of it´s waaay expensive because it´s where all the tourists go, and they try to jack it up because I´m white. But we had plenty of opporutnities for fun pictures and lots of laughs.

Announcements: this weekend is the presdential elections so I´ll be holed up for 3 days (thus a baptism on Thursday) so I won´t be writing until Tuesday or Wednesday next week. but don´t fret! I´ll be fine! :)

LOVE YOU ALL!

Hermana Snelson

Hello from Honduras!

This week was another great one!

First of all: thanks for the letters from Elder Baird (in Texas, and doing great!), Miss Brooke Michele, Elder Walton (still loving Japan and eating crazy new food) and a letter and package from Mr. Weaver, who is preparing to serve the people of Mexico! 

Fun things that happened:

On Monday Hermana C's "daughter" (I have no idea if other missions use these terms... your children are the people that you trained) called saying that she was in the city because she is sick. So we decided to get lunch together. We got food, chatted, and surprised Hermana T (one of my crazy Mexican roommates from the CCM) was there too so it was a huge party with us and their comps. Well, we went on to write our families, and they called to ask if they could stay at our place. alright then. So now we had to fit 4 more sisters at our apartment. Well, after writing we met up wtih the sisters, bought tortillas and avocado so I could make baleadas for dinner, and Hermana C left with some sisters to get blankets from a neighbor. Have I mentioned that we only have one table and 2 chairs? We ate on the floor but it was hilarious and tons of fun. After, some were still hungry so we made smores too. 

This is miss Hermana T, who is from Utah and was in the CCM with me ;) 

I ended up sleeping on the floor, sharing a mattress with another Hermana.

Welcome to the mission, always an adventure.

The next day we went to the mission office with them, then ate at Tipicos where I finally took a picture of my food. Don´t worry, we shared, but oh gosh it´s so so good.

To anyone who wants to come to Honduras, we´ll share a plate at Tipicos, my treat :)

Wednesday there was an activity at the church with the Relief Society to make soap. We´re trying to get Rosa more involved, and she was excited to learn, so we made soap! It´s pretty easy, just stick the ingredients in a bucket, but the trickiest part is you have to... blend it.

 

 Our arms were exhausted by the end of it but there was a lot of laughter and fun :) 

Thursday was Halloween! Oh wait, no one celebrates Halloween here. The ZL´s made an effort to dress up, but I was definitely feeling baggy and already had my costume picked out for 2 years! (disclaimer, it´s a peacock) 

The rest of our time is the same as always, running around our area

 teaching less actives, Catholic priests who invite us over "just to chat about Jesus" and always always looking for new investigators.

And now some updates:

Jose: He is amazing! We brought a new investigator to church yesterday, and as soon as I said, "Jose, will you take him to class?" he was on it and during class was helping him find the scriptures and explaining things. Someone asked him to share his testimony about missionary work, and like always he said,

 "I´m so grateful I opened my heart to these two beautiful angels, because without them, I have no idea where I´d be."

 He even got a calling! He´s the secretary for the Elders Quorum, (the president baptized him- they´re the best of friends) and was super stoked when he was told he would have a calling. He has the biggest desire to learn EVERYTHING. He is literally counting down the days until he can go to the temple, and every lesson turns into a 2 hour discussion about the Book of Mormon. 

Plus, once he finishes school (did you know he´s a pilot?) he promised to pick me up in Africa and take me back here to go to the beach :)

The Family Salinas: They are amazing as well! They just love, love love the gospel. Allison is still determined to be a missionary. The other day she asked, "hermana Snelson, what class is after Relief Society?" 

I explained that we are pretty much there until the day that we die. She got confused, thought for a moment, then asked 

"so what class do I have to take to be a missionary?" 

bless her little heart. I explained the entire process, and she looked with rapt attention. 

"GOD picks where I serve? Wow."

 Katherine is just as stoked. The other night she grabbed my stack of pamphlets and said, 

"Okay, Tonight I´m missionary Salinas. Let´s talk about the word of wisdom. Now, we know that our body is a temple so we have to treat it with respect....." 

Katia is the only one we are concerned about. She is shy, and is at that age where the girls just don´t know how to act. And because she´s 11 she just wants to be in Young Womens. So she´s our focus now. 

They really are my second family. Tonight, they´re making us a huge dinner, and I´m bringing pictures of the parents to show to my honduran dad what my African dad is up to :)

Love you kids! Remember to see the little miracles God places in our lives each and everyday ;)