The Field is White: Week 41 -- A Baptism, Slaughterball, and a Haircut

Hola!

1. What did you do for P-Day today?

Today we were going to play Capture the Flag in districts but not everybody came so I ended up teaching them how to play slaughterball... what we always played after mutual. And it was so dang fun! Then we went to Wendy's to eat! And now we are here!

2. How are Hna Marcia and her family? What kinds of food does she cook for you?

She usually cooks some kind of meat, pork, chicken (but all chicken here is still on the bone which is so much work to eat!) or beef and rice, beans and tortillas. Sometimes she does spaghetti or like a fried rice or something.

3. Did you hear that Germany beat Argentina and won the World Cup?

Yeah, haha. We had to stay indoors from 1 to 5 pm for the final! But everyone here wanted Alemania (Germany) to win (haha) and we wanted Brazil to lose so most people here are pretty content, lol.

4. How was church yesterday? Did you have any investigators there?

Iris came to church with her brother and his family! She seems to have real interest and still has the baptism date for the 2nd of August so we will see what happens... And another investigator, Nakima, came. Three days ago we went to a cita and while we were waiting for her to come out I saw a lady sitting outside in the same living complex and I said that we should go talk to her. So we go over there and she starts talking to us and tells us her whole life story and how sad her life is and how she has no money for food and her sister is sick and she has to move the next day, she asked us if the church could help her and we talked about Christ and how He can help us in our trials. So Sunday rolls around and halfway through the meeting she came in... and I went to greet her and she starts talking about how the church needs to help her. And we were like...well, let's talk about this after Sunday School and then after Relief Society and at the end of everything she asked me again if the church was going to help her. She said, "Well, never mind... I will just come back next Sunday". So that was interesting... but I guess she's coming back next Sunday.

5. Did Karla get baptized? How is Israel doing? How is Iris doing -- did she come to church again?

Karla did get baptized and it was very sweet. We decorated a cake for her (well, I did) and it was pretty cute but I forgot to take a picture of it. Her whole family was there to support her and it was nice. I got to play the piano for it, too. Israel knows the church is true but doesn't want to act on that knowledge still... and he didn't come to church. :-(

6. Are you working with any new investigators or less actives?

Both. Mostly we are working with investigators... Not really new ones but we are looking for them.

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

One morning I was so very tired and I slept through my alarm....I was so VERY, VERY tired. My companion woke me up and let me sleep a little so I woke up at 7 am. I promise I was not planching (being lazy)! But it was seriously a blessing to catch up on a little bit of sleep because I was so cranky. That extra 30 minutes did wonders for me.

8. How has someone else blessed your life this week? How have YOU blessed someone else's life this week?

I let Andrea (the sister of Hna Marcia who lives below us) cut my hair! She also dyed my companion's hair twice... She cut it and I was really sad at first because she cut layers in it and they are really short (almost like side bangs) in the front, but then I let it dry by itself one day and it dries really really well and looks good so I am happy and it turned out to be a blessing because my hair really needed a cut. Hna Marcia and her family are just so good to us. This week we did some service. Hna Juana (Marcia and Andrea's mom) made pan de coco (chocolate bread?) and she's too old to mix or knead the bread because everything is done by hand here... no Kitchen Aids! And she's too old to do it alone now so we went and did some physical labor and kneaded the dough for her and then we got to eat some!!!! Hna Marcia made bread twice this week too so I got to eat lots of rolls. We also did some service for a family this week and refolded and organized their clothes and then they gave us pancakes! I think that maybe it was just an excuse to give us pancakes, haha.

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

Karla's baptism! It was really sweet and they already have plans to go to the temple in July of 2015 to get sealed! I love that she sees her baptism just as a step and that there really is more and she sees this as a true comitment and not just something to do. (And getting to eat bread was good, too!) Hna V sent me a really sweet e-mail this week and aid that I changed her life and that she learned a ton from me, and I really don't know how. I didn't do anything but it's nice to know that she feels that way and that she enjoyed our time together, too! I think that she will be one of my favorite companions because we worked so dang hard together! And Jorge got the priesthood yesterday!

10. What have you been grateful for this week?

The language studies that we have. Hna U really wants to learn English so we have been using the book that the church gave to the Latinos to learn English and I have been teaching her! It's been really really fun actually and I think that it helps us grow as a companionship and I feel like she's learning so at least I'm helping someone.

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

We did get to watch the video we made and it was pretty dang funny... but I don't have a copy.

12. What did you do for your district meeting and zone meeting this week?

We had a zone meeting this week and it was really really good. We talked about how we really need to be inviting more people to get baptized because that's why we are here and nobody can get baptized unless we invite them first. And then we held a council. So we sat in a circle and talked about the things we can improve, what we lack right now. They showed us the standards for our zone and the dats (numbers?) from months ago and where we are at now... the mission really has fallen in its dats, especially in baptisms. But I loved that the Zone Leaders shared with us a real view of what's going on and what we can do and that we all shared together. It reminded me of a scripture in the Doctrine and Covenants that talks about the saints counseling together. We all left really feeling the spirit and the importance of our calling here.

13. What was the spiritual highlight of your week? .

The zone meeting, I think.

14. What did you learn from your personal study this week? Where are you at in the Old Testament? What else are you studying right now?

I am still in Isaiah! But it's getting better because in the last few chapters he has talked about Christ and it makes a little bit more sense... I am in Mosiah in the Book of Mormon and in the Doctrine and Covenants I'm around Section 50 in Spanish... slowly but surely. I have too many projects that I want to finish and so I need to finish some of the ones that I am working on so that I can work on other ones!

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

Always

16. What has been the most beautiful thing you've seen this week?

My new sheets on my bed!! You don't know how happy that made me!

17. Did anything unusual or strange happen this week?

Not really.

18. What are you looking forward to this week?

Israel invinted us and Hna Marcia to have dinner on Friday. His aunt or something owns a little restaurant and so we will go eat there this week. We have a Family Home Evening tonight with Andrea and I just love her! She speaks some English and she's just real. I'm just looking forward to work in general!

19. What do you love most about the Honduran people?

I love how they share everything that they have without expecting anything in return. And they are very open and aren't shy or embarassed aout anything. Well, sometimes it bugs me, but from a missionary standpoint we can ask pretty much whatever and they are very open and honest with us.

20. What do you love most about being a missionary?

I love that I get a little taste of what the Savior's life was like. I get to help people come unto Him and be baptized and I get to teach like He did. And I even get to taste a little of the ridicule that He faced from others. I think it was Elder Holland who said that the mission is as close as we will get to live real life, His life.

21. What do you love most about Honduras?

I love that it's hot and that it's a completely different world. I love the little things now even though they drive me crazy like the pilas, like dirt roads and no AC. i love tortillas and eating with my hands and jsut getting to live a different kind of life here!

I got 3 packages this week. Two from mom and one of them was my birthday package and one from Grandma and Papa! THANK YOU!!!!! And I got a birthday package from Melissa and Bryan, too. Thank you!

My camera is fine now. The bishop is a tech guy and he fixed it. It had a few viruses on it but it works fine now. I bought a new skirt today for 29 lempira, which is a little more than a dollar. It's black with horizontal stripes. I think someone had a maxi skirt and they just shortened it, but whatevs. It rained a lot here yesterday...the street was flooded. It's not fun when the dirt roads flood.

I hope everyone is doing well! I love you all!

Hna Gisseman

Gotta love my tan lines...