Week 31 -- Changes!

Happy Birthday, Brie!

I HAD CHANGES!!!!! But I am in the same zone, hahahaha.  I don't know if you remember me ever mentioning La Entrada.... well, we had all of our zone meetings there and it's an hour away from Santa Rosa...well, yeah, I am there! I'm in El Dorado (which is just the name of a neighborhood here in La Entrada).  I am super close to Santa Rosa and still in Copan! It's pretty sweet! My companion is Hermana C...I think I have mentioned her before because we lived together in the house in Santa Rosa for 3 months and she got transferred here last change and I am here now with her. We live in a house that is really cute and it's just us. There is no hot water and it's Copan so it's not hot outside and so I can't use that nifty camping bag from the Swansons....sad day. But I will be exercising more for sure so that I will be hot when I get in the shower so it's not so cold.... it's starting the rainy season and all the days I have been here have been overcast and not very warm and drizzling. The branch is cute! There are about the same number of members, but they are stronger and more supportive than in Santa Rosa. I already feel so much love here and it's great. They have asked us to focus on menos activos (less active members) so that is more of what I will be doing and the elders that are in our branch have more investigators. And Hna M is still in the zone, too, so I will get to see her! 

I think that it is going to rain a ton and for the next 3 months... but we will see.  I don't actually know. I do still have my umbrella, though, so I will be fine. 

Yeah, Sundays are tiring because we have had the work of the whole week, but P-Days are our dia de descanso (day of rest, relaxation, recharging). 

La familia B is doing great-- B and A (the parents) need to get married still...but he is in the process of getting divorced from his previous wife. They have 3 kids. The whole family (except one of the kids) went to church yesterday! And they have baptismal dates,  Hna V told me that today. And Jorge got confirmed in church yesterday.  :) It's awesome!

 

1.  How was church this week?  Did you enjoy testimony meeting?

 

It was really, really good! The branch is about the same size as Santa Rosa, about 100, but there are more active and strong members here. I really felt so much love here and it was great.  :) But yeah, it's still like bieng in Copan, haha. 

2.  How did your missionary work go this week?

 

It went well. Like I said, we focus on menos activos (less active members) so it's a different type of work, but it's still good. I really feel like one of the best areas for missionary work is with menos activos because they are already members and they are so important! 

3.  If you got transferred last week, how was the transfer meeting?  If you weren’t transferred, who is your new companion?

 

The transfer meeting was good. I always love getting to see President Dester. It was weird, though, because an Assistant to the President and two of the Zone Leaders that I have had here in Copan went home. It was just strange to see people leave who were such spiritual giants to me in the mission. I really want to become a missionary like that. 

4.  Tell me about your investigators and part member families that you’re working with.

 

I have only been here for 5 days so I really don't know anyone.... 

5.  What miracles and tender mercies have you seen this week?  Answers to your prayers?

 

If I was getting transferred, I knew I wanted a good companion that I could talk to and be comfortable with who would be my friend, who I could really be the kind of missionary that I want to be.  Hna Cardona is a great companion for me -- she's a good balance of different personality traits and I can talk to her and it's nice.

6.  How has someone else blessed your life this week?

 

I have been feeling lots of love from the members and I think that it is a blessing that they are accepting me as a new missionary here even though the hermana who left was super great and they all LOVED her...but they are really accepting, too, and that's really what I needed, lots of love. 

7.  What did you do for P-Day this week?

 

We went to Santa Rosa to play soccer just like a normal P-Day and then we went to Pizza Hut and now we are here writing.  :)

8.  What was the best thing that happened this week?

 

Changes! 

9.  What was the funnest/funniest thing that happened this week?

 

I let an Elder, Elder B, use my shorts for Pday today because he forgot his and Hna V brought me a pair of sweats so I let the elder use my shorts...it was quite funny. 

10.  What was the spiritual highlight of your week?

 

I really liked something that Elder Y said at changes. He used to be my zone leader and he said something to the effect and translated into.... "We shouldn't get down on ourselves for the things that we have done wrong. All of us have sins. All of us will fall. But the most important thing to remember is that Christ already paid for it! He already paid for our sins. We shouldn't get down on ourselves, we should just be happy that He paid the price. Be of good cheer and try to be better." That just really hit me hard and I don't know why because it's something that we really teach to everyone, but I guess it never sunk in.  I don't know. We really shouldn't be sad or get down on ourself because we are human. We should just repent and move on and be happy and grateful that we have a loving Savior who already paid the price for us because Heavenly Father KNEW that we would fall. We just have to pick ourselves back up and move forward, happily, gratefully and everything will be okay. 

11.  Were you able to do any service this week?  Go out with any members this week?

 

Yes! We helped a lady fix her roof. She has like an awning thing outside and its really just pieces of wood tied together with metal hangers and sheets of tin. And one of the logs broke and so we helped her repair it and this week we are going to held her build an oven... really it's just clay in the shape of a square and a comal or a metal grill thing on top....so that will be fun. 

12.  What did you learn from your personal study this week? hna Cardona and I were planning and we were talking about how all the commitments we leave with people are generally the same: read the scriptures, pray and go to church. I was thinking about it and they are so simple but we really need all three things to progress in this gospel! We need all three of those to be firm. So if you arent doing any one of those things....do them! 

13.  What have you learned about yourself this week?

 

I enjoy hanging out with the elders because they are really funny. 

14.  In what area do you think you’ve improved this week?  What talents and skills do you feel you are discovering/developing that you might not have realized before?

 

I don't know...I think that I will learn how to express love and concern for people better because the people here are so loving and Hna C is like that, too. 

15.  What was your happiest moment this week?

 

I finally got to listen to the music that you sent me... Frozen and Mulan were super good to listen to! 

16.  Do you know that I love you SO much and I miss you?

 

Always. 

17. What has been the most beautiful thing you’ve seen this week?

 

El Dorado. It's really cute here and the house is nice (for a Honduran house).

18.  Did anything unusual or strange happen this week?

 

Someone read my palm this week to tell me how many kids I am going to have. She just threaded a needle with a piece of thread and then hit my palm with the needle (which didn't hurt and I didn't freak out, lol) and if it swings in circles then it is a girl, if it swings back and forth it is a boy and if it stops then it means you won't have any more kids. So apparently I will have a boy first and then a girl and that's it. So vamos a ver... (we shall see)

19.  Tell me about a time you felt the Spirit this week.

 

We went to visit a family this week whose daughter left on her mission 2 weeks ago. And they were just crying because they missed her so much and I was just thinking about you guys....but then it just hit me. That's how our Heavenly Father feels about us. He knows that this experience is good for us, that everything will be okay, that we will learn and grow. But it is hard for Him. He misses us and I imagine that it was hard for Him to let us go knowing that some would never return to His presence. And then how happy He must be to hear from us, like parents are when they get missionary emails. Heavenly Father is just as happy I bet when we pray and take the time to communicate with Him. Like missionary emails, you guys can only hear from us when WE put in the effort. It just kind of hit me. 

 20.  What kinds of foods have you eaten this week?

 

Normal food.... People here like to feed us so we have gotten a lot of food from people. Baleadas, tortillas with beans and cheese and eggs and hot chocolate and pinol. 

21.  Glad you got a new shower that’s even better…were you able to enjoy it at least a little bit?

 

Only for 3 days....now I'm back to cold and bucket showers... yay.

I'm not going to lie...I just don't have the energy to do a long e-mail today.  I'm sorry this is a terrible email. 

Hna Gisseman

Familia Ochoa

 

 

With Hna M

 

Our district in Santa Rosa

 

My district leader in Santa Rosa, Elder C.

 

 

 

 

With Mario and Thelma

 

With Hna V, Olvin, and his daughter

 

Sandra's mother (Angelita) and her son (Antoni)

 

With Familia de Baldemar (Baldemar, Ana, Gerardo, Dosnedi, and Paola)

 

With the hermanas and Mario and Ivis, the branch mission leader

 

My new companion, Hna C

 

Our cute little house

 

My desk...  If any of my cousins want to send more artwork, tell them to feel free to!

 

Our very small bedroom...

 

Lovely pink bathroom with bucket shower....

 

My closet

 

Creative hairdo

Elder B