September 30, 2013

Rain season in Honduras? 

Psyche no Rain; I now know what the people felt like when Noah was crying rain and it didn´t come! We ask the members, ¨Hey when is it rain season?” They answer, “Oh it’s September through December.¨ We reply, ¨Oh really that's awesome, why isn´t it raining?” Just kidding!

One thing is for sure, once Honduran people put their mind on believing something they believe it! Here are a few examples: 

-I was way hot so I took a bucket of water and poured it on my head. (Hondurans believe this is how you get sick, water poured on your head while it’s hot gets you sick) Not true.

-A member asks, ¨when do you iron your shirt before or after you get in the shower? ¨ ¨Um...I don´t know, probably sixty forty or like twenty eighty?¨ ¨Why?¨ The member, ¨oh because when you are cold and you put something hot on it makes you sick.¨ No it doesn´t.

-We discussed with an inactive member about who were apostles. He thought Moses, Adam, Noah, Abraham and Enoch were apostles. No...just no..It didn’t help that he thought I knew zero Spanish so he acted everything out like I was deaf.

-Joseph Smith wrote the Book of Mormon. Ok, no that didn´t happen he translated it. Person argues more… ¨no he wrote it I know he did¨ How the heck do you know that? How could you possibly have a testimony of that? 

Last one! ¨Oh are you sick? Drink some Coca-Cola it will help. “No it will not, there is a thing called keeping your real teeth for your whole life.”  I saw a two year old with a baby bottle full of Pepsi.  Everyone will think that’s weird except for my mom because my mom... well OK listen here… One day we were at Arby’s... yeah, like what? Arby’s why were we there? It’s like the only failing restaurant in America. (Feels good to write that word one more time America) anyways on to the story. This was when I was probably 10 years old my mom asks for Pepsi and they give her a cup. She pulls out what looks to me like a tube with a funnel connected to it, and it looked like that because that’s what it was. She put the end without a funnel in her mouth and tells me to hold the funnel below the Pepsi and turn it on. I don´t know about you but I honor my father and mother and so I do as I am told. Needless to say I got arrested and was put to death. Just kidding that story didn´t happen but she does like Pepsi.

Anyways, on to my letter! Haha

So no big deal just to give you a little peek of how the church is down here , a dude said an opening prayer in a meeting and said this, ¨Please bless President Hinckley and his counselors¨ Oops! Where have you been...and then I looked up and guess who it was a return missionary!!! Yikes! 

So I guess I started off with the bad so I will just go with the bad first! I got super frustrated the other day during a lesson I was teaching, I was tripping up on my Spanish and no one was listening. To make the situation ten times worse this lady (our investigator) was breastfeeding.... (Ok yeah, yeah Ely get on with it we have heard this story before deal with it). OK yeah but listen. She stops ... Ely says a tiny prayer in his head for thanks. Ok five minutes later the grandma pulls down her shirt and starts breastfeeding the same child. Ok first off this is wrong because this kid has no idea what he is doing, second off, Mom is this normal? Like please tell me this didn´t happen to me....please!!!! Gosh I am so scarred. “Doesn´t that just leave a sour breast milk taste in your mouth?” hahha ok that was bad. Anyways I'm not erasing it, when you come on a mission you have to be ready to leave your comfort zone; you have to be ready for the unexpected! Just like a dog trying to attack you. That has happened three times this week. But, I was able to use my reflexes and avoid a fatal chunk of my calf being ripped out!

Ok the bad just gets worse! Yesterday! Our other missionaries that work in Trujillo got into it. Gosh if you missed “Vampire Diaries” this week listen up closely because this is drama. So one of the missionaries tells a family member they will give a blessing to a member. The other comp doesn´t want to walk up the hill to give it so he sits down. The sit-downer was the senior comp. the junior comp starts to argue and we just leave them and start walking up the hill to our appointment. Then we are at our appointment and the junior comp shows up at the house we are teaching...alone. dun dun dun. Crazy, right? This argument has gotten so big that the comp left the other comp. can you imagine just seeing one missionary walking alone? Gosh that's just weird and gives me the heebeeeyy jeeegggbbiees!!! Anyways, awkward we had to say to the people we were teaching hang on a minute we´ll be right back.. Luckily none died and my comp chewed out the Elders for letting it get that far.  No excuse to argue over something like that and no reason for them both to have that much pride!

I ate 50 Oreos in one day, clarification...they were not double stuff. They do not exist here. But I was ¨stuffed¨ :)

My comp says that I talk in my sleep every night...the thing is I am speaking in Spanish! hahaha if only the gift of tongues was a daytime thing for me. I think it would help so much more!!! Hahaha, so let’s pray for the gift of tongues during the day! I need to start being more specific in my prayers. Proof Heavenly Father has a sense of humor!

Love everyone! Hope you all are well! The power keeps on coming on and off so I am going to send some pictures now!!!!

I have a testimony. I have left my worldly ¨nets¨ just like Peter did. I won´t go back to fishing when this is all send and done. I am no longer the fence sitter! I invite all of you to watch general conference and actually listen to the talks but, as you listen feel the Spirit! It’s a doable thing! I have a testimony. :) Couldn´t be happier!!!!

Working on Winning,

Elder want some rain Hansgen