A Week of Surprises

Buenas tardes, querida familia, y queridos amigos. Espero que todos esten bien. Let´s tell some stories! 

        Once upon a time, two sister missionaries, Hermana Hogge and Hermana Platero, were walking along the lagoon in Santa Lucia. One of the missionaries, Hermana Hogge, saw something interesting. A little mini library, the size of a birdcage, standing in the sun. And, something interesting inside. A Liahona magazine! But, a closer look told the missionary that it was in English. What? That doesn´t help many people here. So, the sister missionaries made plans to return with more. They did, on Saturday in the morning, with seven  Liahonas, a Book of Mormon, a several pamphlets. They prayed that the right people might be lead to the magazines and the Book of Mormon, and that might plant the seed of belief and faith that might grow within them. (The only awkward thing was that the Jehova´s Witnesses were about 20 meters away . . .we were just, don´t mind us, we´ll just put a few church magazines in here . . . No, but it was good. They´re good people, but, I´m grateful for the truths that I know.)

         This week I´ve learned about planting seeds, and more about the purpose of what I´m doing here. We´re here to harvest the field that is ready and white, and we´ve been able to do that for the people here that are ready. But, I´ve also helped in the planting and growing of the testimonies of others. I´ve come to understand that that is enough. One hermano in the branch told us that he visited Hermano Eugenio with the missionaries 8 years ago. I was surprised, but I know that the small things we can do can make a big difference. 

         On Thursday, well, interesting story. We were at a members house, sitting outside, eating the early dinner she´d given us. And I looked down. And there was an alacran in my lap. An alacran is like a small scorpion. Surprise! I felt so bad, but it surprised me so much I jumped up, the food fell to the floor, and I yelled for my companion to get it off! Ay, no. It was really funny. And thanks to my companion and her shoe, the day was saved, life is good, and nothing happened.

Out of curiosity, I checked up "alacran" on google.
I would have done more than just screamed and jumped out of my chair. 

         Speaking of surprises, this last week was my companion´s birthday. Let me tell you how hard it is to surprise someone that is constantly glued to you. You have to take advantage of when she´s getting ready to call the hermana to buy her a cake. Which is what I did. Another misionary came and crushed an egg on her head  in the morning (Honduran tradition, don´t know why). And I made breakfast. It wasn´t until just before our last appointment that she realized something was up. But, it turned out to be a success. Yay! 

So, it´s not a true birthday party if you don´t end up with frosting all over your face, right? Anyway, as the bible says, there are times to laugh and times cry, to work,  and times to get frosting all over your comp´s face. I´m pretty sure that´s in there somewhere. Happy week everyone!

         As for our investigators, they´re getting along. We do what we can. Every person has different challenges, whether they´re close to being baptized or starting to listen about the church. We´ve gotten to know one woman who owns a small restaurant and is a friend of a member.  This week we asked her if she would like to hear our message and she told us no. But, she had questions about the church, so we ended up sharing about the first vision and the restauration and everything anyway (becuase we´re sneaky like that - like how Ammon was ¨wise yet harmless ¨). And, as we talked more, she told us that she had been baptized when she was young, but afterwards her family traveled a lot. Wow. We were left with our mouths hanging open, but also with the feeling that she will one day return, because that seed is already there. 

          Oh and, remember my second convert Melissa? Well, keep her in your prayers because whe´s going through a rough time right now. 

         So those are my stories this week. I am grateful for all the stories and photos you have shared with me. I´m glad you all had a good time on your trip and returned home safe and sound. Good luck with all that you have ahead. I love you all so much! 

         Hermana Hogge