Week 17 La Entrada

Did the baptism end up happening? Tell us about it. No it fell through of course, 2 hours before it was supposed to happen we get a call and was told that the mom had decided, “What is the rush”.  We pushed the baptism to January so we will see what happens. We had even checked with the grandma the night before and talked with M. and everything was fine. 

Did Elder C. get to visit with his parents? Yes he talked forever, I talked less than 54 minutes and he ended up talking over 2 hours. But all was well, he didn’t have very good connection with the Internet in the other house and he could only do picture for a few seconds and then he would just talk without video.

Did you eat all of the food that members have given you for Christmas? No we still have about 20 tamales left but we have been sporadically giving bags of tamales to the drunks. 

 Did you get the package yet? I don't think so but just asking. No I haven’t gotten the package yet.  I am hoping that I will get it this week, if I don’t I will call the person in charge and find out what happened.  I did open the package from the Isom’s on Christmas

What spiritual experience did you have this week? We had been visiting this family and they seemed really cool.  We taught them the restoration and all was well. We went back for Christmas and everything seemed fine, they gave us the most food of any family and a big piece of pork cooked in the horno.  When we went back, the husband was spent, he hasn’t slept in almost a week, he filled us in on all of the dirty things his wife has been doing. He even filled us in that one of his friends had been murdered and his wife had something to do with it. Well it is a little strange and he is really in a depression, I had never seen anything like it. We have been working with him a little bit, but we know way more then we need to know.  We gave him a blessing and just to see the power of the blessing. He said after the blessing he was relaxed and fine until his wife came back to the house and was really bad to him. One of our other investigators we think is bipolar because she is a completely different person sometimes and it makes it really awkward because she asks really bad questions and makes bad comments. We also had a lesson with hno A. and well lets put it this way we sat there for 35 minutes defending the church with our testimony’s, wow how much power we had when he was telling us that we are liars and that the Book of Mormon is a lie because it says that it can bring a man closer to God better than the bible.  This is true, the book of Mormon is more pure or more perfect, and well it is perfect.  It was a little hard and all I said was my testimony and invited him to read the whole book and pray to know for himself, his attitude was different after this, just for a few minutes there was no contention. Wow what power there is in a simple testimony and an invitation. 

What was the best food from Christmas? I think that the best food from Christmas was pollo hornado it is really good and has a good smoke flavor. The tamales are good but if you eat like 6 or more in a day you are guaranteed to have diarrhea, because there is so much fat in them. But it is interesting they put meat, potatoes, peas and cilantro inside, this makes them really good, and when there are no bones it is really nice. 

My favorite fruit is lychee it tastes like a giant grape.  We buy then in the streets they just have truck beds full of them, they cost 10 Lempiras per bag. They grow on trees. You have to crack them because they have like a shell. Can you eat the nuts? Yes only if there packaged commercially. 

It the branch president’s wife still washing you clothes.  Yes she is still washing our clothes for 200 Lempiras a month

How about your toe?  It is a little infected but not bad, if it gets worse I will call the infermera

We played soccer and went to eat at a played called asados la entrada it was really good. 

This is a picture of hno M. He is a member and he drove us home Christmas night, 

Can you get the torn pants fixed?  I don’t know, I should ask someone.  Grandma says you have enough money you can pay someone.  I hope it is not your suit pants, if you can't fix, throw them away.  No its not my suit pants, I only will wear them when I wear the suit coat, so it will be good the whole mission. Best thing is it was my least favorite pair of pants that I tore. 

Do the fireworks just make noise and not do any show any colors.  We can't believe the kids are so young lighting the Fireworks.   They have both types, the ones that just make noise are just the cheapest and they don’t do much when they explode.   There are ones that are like roman candles and all sorts just like we have, but all are made here or from China. Some of the fireworks are huge.  Do they ever start fires with them?  No I think it is impossible to light a fire here, it all just smokes and nothing burns if it hasn’t been dried for ages.  They all burn their trash in the roads or near the road in front of their houses and it really doesn’t burn it just smokes.  Here is a picture some kids lighting fireworks just in the day, one girl that is named A. and the other S.

Does it rain almost every day?  No it hasn’t rained lately just Christmas night.

Tell all the neighbors hello and thanks for their letters and emails. Well this is all the time that I have to talk. But have a good new year and have a good time in the snow. Remember that I love all of you. 

Elder Olsen

Week 16 La Entrada

We have been wondering how the branch party went and the meat preparations; tell us how you cooked and seasoned it.  Did it take you all day to get ready? Well the party went well, but it started an hour late just like everything in Central America. We cooked 36 lbs. of carne asada on charcoal grills that were way small like 2.5 sq. ft. of cooking area after an hour of lighting the grill and 1 hour of cooking we were done. I didn’t have to cook I just had to purchase all the other stuff and we ran around and made sure that everything was ok.   Three minutes before the meeting started, 1 hour late, we made an agenda and winged it but all went well and we still had 500 lempiras left over from our 2500 lempira budget.  We only were short one plate for someone to take home to their father who couldn’t come. The sister missionary’s did help the day of the party. But the day before we had to buy all the stuff and haul it to the church. We bought nearly 200lbs of charcoal and I was carrying all of it.  I had carried all of it for about 1/2 mile and my comp was like are you weak, so I gave it to him, he carried if for about 50 feet and someone came to help him because he couldn’t do it.  The church writes a check of the amount and we cashed it and we bought everything with cash then turn in the money not used, I had to keep track of all the cash and receipts.

Is the little boy still planning on being baptized soon? Yes he is planning on being baptized the 27^th, so this week, we will see if everything goes as planned.

What was the spiritual experience of the week? I think it was giving a blessing. We went to the tangos again and we visit one of our investigators and he said that he was going to move to San Pedro so I was a little sad. But we went next door to talk with a non-active family, one of their daughters was sick; she had been in bed for 3 days. When we first saw her, a 14-year-old girl, she looked practically dead, lying on her bed. We gave her a blessing.  My companion did the blessing and I anointed. We made some tortillas and went back to the other member’s house that lives next door and ate.   We decided to go back and check on her.  She was going in and out of consciousness, she really couldn’t breath and she was practically dead. My companion said that I was going to give her another blessing of comfort and so I did. Well it was a little scary to try and keep your hands on a head that was moaning.  We told them don’t run next door and buy whatever pills you can just so she can have pills. Give her a drink of this soda and give her some space, not 3 people sitting around her on her bed. I remember in the blessing I said, “tomorrow you will be better.” Well all that night I was thinking and wanted to know how she was doing.

3 days later we went back, she was a lot better.   All I can say is that the priesthood is real and it can change some things and help people. 

Do you think you or your companion will be transferred or could you both stay together for another transfer? Do they try and keep you in the same region or could it send you across the mission? I don’t know I think that I will be transferred but who knows. We will see in 2 weeks. 

Do you have a better idea on when you will be able to Skype? I will try to Skype on Christmas at 6 in the night Honduras time.  We will be at Hna G. house.  How long will you be able to Skype?  I think 40 minutes to an hour.  We have to be home before 7 but we don’t really have appointments this week so we will see what happens.  There are a lot of drunks and the biggest problem is the fireworks right now you can’t walk 100 feet without a firework going off. Some of the fireworks are as big as sticks of dynamite. We have a lot of family’s that we are going to visit on Christmas that say there going to give us food, we have tons of tamales coming and maybe even a couple chickens cooked in the wood fired ovens

Did you get your package for Christmas?   Are you giving the gifts to people? No I didn’t get my package yet but I think that I will get it tomorrow.  I received the package from the Isom’s but I haven’t opened it yet, I will open it on Christmas.  I bought me a tie today for Christmas and I am going to buy my companion a backpack. 

The first picture is of a nativity scene of one of the members.   She is the grandma of the kid that we will baptize.

A picture of my comp. He picked up the bag of meat and got juices all over his shirt. 

My companion and I on the bridge to Santa Luz.

A pastry that I ate this morning it was good but like everything they cook it till it is not soft. 

It cost me 8 lempiras.

A picture inside the bakery

How is the language coming? I can understand but I still cant talk really good so I don’t talk that much which makes the people think that I am not able to, but I really can speak ok. 

Honestly I don’t miss anyone. But sometimes I want to switch my companion for someone from home that knows the customs of the U.S. like when you spill beef raw beef juice all over you, don’t lick your fingers.

If you don’t have anything else to ask. Merry Christmas. I love all of you. 

Tell the Dean, Joan, and Cloteel and the other neighbors thanks. 

Love you all. 

Elder Olsen