I'm just HAPPY!‏

Hi there!

​

(me, Hermana Sauceda, Y Hermana Chub)

We are donig so great! People look at me like I'm crazy and that is because I am just so thoroughly happy! I am happy to be here in Honduras! I am happy to be walking up and down the streets of MiraFlores. I am happy to teach the gospel. I am happy to help others come unto Christ.

Do we realize how blessed we are? You have the truth! The truth of the gospel of Jesus Christ and very few are blessed to have that. I am happy, I am healthy, and I am loved.

Love you all!

 

 

 

(doing Yoga in divisions in my old area in el 21 de Octubre with hermana Alegre)

Special thanks to: Elder Acheson (Albania), Elder Walton (Japan), Hermana Bennett (California), and Elder Hamilton (Chile). Your letters were well recieved and more will be sent soon!

 

 

 -Hermana Snelson

And then we got even crazier

Well hi there! Seems like we had changes this last week!

But they are doing changes even crazier! Normally they call you the night before you have changes and tell you where you are going and who your companion is, but this time they just said we had changes!

It was so exciting!

So I got the call, "Hermana Snelson, you'll be having changes!" So I got to re pack the bags I had recently unpacked and we came up to Teguc!

They announced first all the trainers, then the rest of the changes. One by one, they showed Zone, area, then a picture flashed on the screen. I was sitting when I saw my picture and stood up, there was an hermana who was sitting in front of me standing too, so we hugged, then I looked and saw what area.

MIRA FLORES B

Ummm, say what?!?! 

(for those who don't know, that was my first area!)

I felt confused, excited, I wanted to cry but wanted to scream out in joy. People, faces, places, so many things were just running through my head as the rest of the changes they announced were an absolute blur.

But here we are and we are doing great!

Through out these days I have seen the huge blessings- various times throughout my mission the words "ugh, I wish I would've known this in MiraFlores!" and now I finally have the chance to put it into practice!

We are also in a trio!

Hermana Sauceda-

-from Honduras, she lives like... 15 minutes away

-originally called to serve in El Salvador, but got sick and came home. Then they called her on a mini mission which she has been serving for about 5 months. So she decided she just wants to stay here, but needs the authorization from the area authority, so we're just waiting because she just wants to get far away because occasionally we see people that she knows around here.

-23 years

-the first Honduran I've met who doesn't like baleadas!

-hilarious, and is always smiling!

Hermana Chub- (pronounced choob)

-from Guatemala! but a little pueblito... we're talking in the mountains, far far away

-23 years

-speaks a dialect! She learned spanish when she was 15 and went to high school

-has one month! Which means....

I AM TRAINING! Woo-hoo!

she came here to the mission 2 weeks early (sounds familiar??) and then came here with me! 

I am beyond happy- I am doing everything I never did or never had the knowledge to do. It is the most wonderful feeling!

Love you so much!

Pics- memory card reader isn't working :( I'll have to look into it. So here's some flash backs to MiraFlores! :)

 

 

 Happy to be here!

 

 In a members house

 

Our house!

...and then we danced‏

Hello there people of the world! :)

This week was just full of awesomeness!

Often when telling people any story (well, anytime not during lessons- don't worry) I normally end it with "and then we danced!" It's just the only description I find to say how happy I am!

Last night we were walking with a member (shout out to Hermana Sandra who walked around with us in the rain for TWO HOURS) and I was wearing my wicked sweet poncho for the first time (shout out to Mama Lisa Mott) and was just turning happily in circles. Life is just so beautiful!

Justin told us the Book of Mormon is true!

 

 

We went up to a pulperia and we always joke with the owners who were sitting outside. So we asked if we could just go inside to get our bags of water. They obliged :) So now you know where I buy my water and semitas (little things of sweet bread) everyday! This one is really big and nice but this is generally what they look like!

We had Zone Conference on Wednesday with Elder Duncan- It was AMAZING! We just felt so energized to just forget ourselves and go to work. He is expecting us to do bigger and better things- it is because we really are the some of the best the church has ever had and it's a huge blessing!

 

 

 Some of the ladies who leave with us! There's 11 gringas in total!

 

 

 

 Found in a less active's house. Their reasoning? "It was raining and I didn't want them to get wet"

We cleaned a pila! 

Pila= a large bath tubish thing that you find in any Latino home. They get water here to wash clothes, cook food, anything! Because water doesn't come consistently, you fill up your pila and well any container you have so you can save as much water as possible. But many people have them outside so they can get really dirty. So we went to an investigator (Nixi) and her mom said she had to clean the pila before we could teach her. So we went to work!

 

 

 

This pila is one of the biggest I've seen! They're normally like.... a fourth of this size.

On Thursday we left to Tegucigalpa to go to (I think that's what they call it in English...) Mission Leadership Counsel! (or for those spanish speakers, "consejo") The bus ride is about 3 hours so I took some pictures of Honduras!

 

 So beautiful!

Consejo was even better than zone conference! Basically just took everything Elder Duncan taught at zone conference and upped it up a level. We had the opportunity to go to the temple after and just meditate and ponder all that we learned!

We didn't get any pictures but just as we were about to leave, we saw a member from Mira Flores (hermana Groll served in my exact area in Mira Flores so she knew her too!)

 

 We love you Hermana Linda!

Well... Changes are this week! And Hermana Groll is probably leaving :( but we are still giving it our all and doing all we possibly can!

I love you- more than a cold bag of water on a hot Cholutecan day!

-Hermanita Gringita Bonita Esnelson

Why I love my job!

Why I love my job:

       *  I love the knowledge that even since the pre-earth life, I have been divinely chosen to follow Christ and will forever continue to do so!

        *Getting love notes hidden in my agenda after divisions         
* Eating freshly made tortillas with beans- that people so willingly share the little food they have

      * Toothless old lady kisses

       * I love it when people hit mosquitoes off of my legs. I feel it is one of the highest forms of affection that there is

       * Eating with my hands- it is sooo common so often you rip up tortillas and pick up food in a bit of tortilla and eat it that way. Even soup! The meat still has bones in it or the vegetables have parts you don’t eat,so you just pick it up and eat it with your hands!

        *  I love that during a lesson an investigator, Christy, asked  me for a pamphlet then proceeded to fan my sweaty face during the lesson.

       *  I love getting drenched everyday- first in the morning with sweat,then in the afternoon with rain.

       *  So many little children running up to you yelling “hermana!” then giving you the biggest hug they possibly can

       *  Sitting in plastic lawn chairs, upside down buckets, rocks, a bed,  a hammock, and the floor all in one day

       *  Animals. In an average day you will probably see: horses, sheep, goats, pigs, chickens, and so many dogs. But it is also during the lessons! Pigs running in the house, dogs and  cats everywhere, and if you drop ANYTHING on the floor generally a chicken will run out to peck at it

      *  Hearing people’s conversion stories

       *  In an average day we will generally hear- “So which state are you from? Utah? Is that close to Houston?” “Wow! Your hair looks SO pretty! How did you do that? Did you do that yourself?” “Your skirt is so pretty! Will you give it to me? Did you buy it in the states?” “So you guys worship Joseph Smith?” “Wow! You look so White!” “Wow! You look so tan!” “Oh my gosh! Did you know that you have a lot of mosquito bites? Be careful- dengue is about!”

       *  People who remember my life details and ask about my African parents or new nephew

On Thursday we were supposed to go with Justin but he wasn’t home. Friday morning we saw him when we were walking down the Street. He apologized for not being home but asked if we could come that day. We said of course! He also told us he wouldn’t be able to go to church- he had work. So we went to him later that night and taught about keeping the Sabbath Day holy. (in which Hermana Groll used Exodus 31:15 which says, “whosoever doeth any work in the sabbath day, he shall surely be put to death.” Which resulted in explaining that he would only have a spiritual death but we ended up just all laughing really hard)

At the  end we said like we always do, “Justin, will you keep the Sabbath Day Holy?” to which he replied, “Hermanas, I know I told you this morning that I wouldn’t be able to go to church but it’s a commandment from God so I know that I have to complete it.”

And then he came to shirt in a button up shirt J

The church is true folks, and we feel so privileged and grateful to be able to declare this doctrine!

Love you so much!

-Hermana Snelson

p.s.- for whatever reason the computer can't read my memory card. Bbbbut I did include the musical number that Hermana Groll and I are singing on Wednesday. It's mas o menos... I think I had my mp3 player too close to us. Oh well :) Talk to you next week!

OIH‏

​Sometimes when you move to a foreign country you learn to accept that many things that happen are just a part of life and there is nothing you can do to change them. And thus why we have: OIH- Only In Honduras

Monday- 

​The best transportation system there is!

Tuesday-

​Just so beautiful! :) And overcast ;)

Wednesday- 

We were in divisions and went and I met a girl named Jocelyn- she knows the church is true and told me the entire seed comparason in Alma 32 while we sat cross legged on her bed with our shoes off (they were wet, of course) as we all tried to cool off in front of  one little fan. Sadly she can´t get baptized yet becuase her husband (who is a less-active member) doesn´t want to get married. But she goes to church every week and just feels grateful she´s found the truth :)

Thursday- 

Divisions again this time with Hermana Moran. We were walking along when I needed to use the bathroom so we went to a woman she talked to once who offered me her cement bathroom with a flimsy curtain. She did have toilet paper so we´re counting our blessings!

It also POURED rain and we just happened to get caught in it :)

 

​Friday-

Now, I don´t know if it´s just laziness, lack of parent attention, or in some cases, lack of money (dipers are expensive!) but it is so common to see naked children everywhere! Especially playing barefoot in the street.

This one happens to be our next door neighbor, Mirian, who had the good fortune of coming right after Hermana Groll made some popcorn.

Saturday- Bueno, Only Hermana Groll.... massaged my feet and gave me a pedicure :)

​

 Today- as our zone activity we had to complete a series of challenges and if we lost we got water poured on us, but towards the end they stayed true to the Honduran tradition and cracked eggs on our heads. All because I couldn´t quote Ezquiel 3:5 (apparently it´s "very important" when teaching plan of salvation.... say what?!?!) but it was all good- there were so

me in the zone that got like 4 or 5 on their heads!