Week 61 SPS

How was your week? It was a long week and it has been kind of hectic because of changes. We lived through changes and I am beginning to learn a lot more because Elder M. isn't here all the time, I can’t always count on him so I have had to learn for my self. We have done many interesting things one of which was open up a new house and get elders living in it. It was really weird because on Tuesday night I went to look for the house and put everything in it and get a house rented so we drove with a full truck to a neighborhood and started to rent a house on the spot and we left all of the things there and the missionaries got there the next day.

How were all of your trips to the airport? Well the trips to the airport were very tiring but we lived through it. With almost every group that left there was a problem some more serious than others. The first trip we got there and we tried to check in and they said that there was no ticket purchased, we had the itinerary so I called the company of the connecting flights and my comp called president and president called someone in charge of the tickets and we came to the conclusion that his second and third flight had been paid for so we bought him a plane ticket, paid a lot of taxes and sent him on his way. The next trip they said that none of the elders could leave because there wasn't sufficient evidence that they had canceled their residence cards, some of the missionaries almost missed their flights but they all made it OK. The next trip was all of the North Americans and one Latino and they too had problems with their passports and residences but we got them through too. The last time to the airport there were many elders and the only problem was that they had a lot of extra weight and the company wanted to charge us 125 dollars for each bag, but we got their bags down to weight and we didn't pay anything. One of these elders had like 10 pounds of cheese in his suitcase.  Do the missionaries have to return their citizenship when they leave?  Yes they have to return them when they leave; the citizenship is for religious matters.

How were having the new missionaries at your apartment? Well we didn't see them much because we got home late when they got there. And we left early but there are many new elders and that is what we need in the mission right now because there are almost all old missionaries. It will bring some life to us.

How many people come to your ward each week? It’s like over 130 people in sacrament meeting every week.  Do you have any investors?  We don't have many investigators right now.

What was your spiritual experience this week? I think that it would not be one experience but many experiences. For example on the day of changes I had to pay for buses and I didn’t have money to do it, but it worked out good because we got to a bank cashed a check and then I was able to pay for the buses on time. The Lord just makes what we do possible, without the Lord’s help nothing would happen.

How is your companionship going? It is going good we get along. It is funny because my companion falls asleep all the time in whatever place. If we are in the car for 5 minutes he falls asleep. 

One day this week we went out and ate breakfast at Denny's with Pres. D. it is fun to get to know him more and more every day.

We went to the archaeological museum of San Pedro and we went to another that was really bad and boring.  There are many pictures.  After we ate in a pizza place but we know the owner and he made us something special that's not on the menu and it was extremely good. He made Parmesan eggplant lasagna and it was really good. The man speaks almost prefect English and he sat down and talked with us for a while. Then we went and the others went on go-carts but I didn't do it.  Why didn't you do go-carts? I didn’t have money in my wallet. 

Did you find deals in the furnishings of the new apt?  No we just have everything in our house and we just take it there. The church buys wholesale and we just receive what they buy.

What is going to be the hardest thing for you to learn in that job?  Probably learning how to get security deposits back from landlords.

Well love you all. I have to go so I hope that you all will have a good week.

Week 60 SPS

How was your week? Well it was very long. I went to the airport once and I have to go again tonight well really tomorrow at like 3 in the morning. President D. was sick so we have been managing things without him.  He has just had some stomach problems but he is getting over it fast. I have been to the hospital many times because we need back up, pretty much because there have been many missionaries with sicknesses this week. I also did many other things but they are too many to number. I just want you to read my journal entry from yesterday this is a day in the office. 

“Today was literally full of miracles.  We started early in the morning.  Our truck wouldn’t start, our battery was bad, and so we need someone to jump-start us.  So we opened up the garage door and walked a few houses.  I called a man out of his house and he was happy to come and help us.  We got it started and took some missionaries to the Mexican embassy, and then we went to buy them breakfast but on the way we realized that we didn’t have enough money to pay for breakfast, so we had to go the office, but we couldn’t turn off the truck because of the battery.  We had to get permission from the AP’s to separate and be on our own. Elder M. went up to the office and I sat down in the car.  After breakfast we had to go to the house to pick up more missionaries to take them to the office.  While we were there, Sister Dester pulled up.  We went with her, and the AP’s took the truck.  I did some work in the office, after we talked to Sister D. for a long time.  When the AP’s got to the, I went down with Elder M. & Elder C. and we left Elder M. in the office with Sister D. and 2 sister missionaries.  We went to Price Smart, and when we got there they wouldn’t let us in because we forgot the membership card.  We tried to convince them to just let us in but they wouldn’t.  As we were waiting at the door, a family entered and said “Hello Elders” I didn’t think much of about it.  After a while at the customer service, I said “I know someone in the store and they will let me buy the battery that we need using their card.”  So Elder J. and I set out through the store to find the family.  We found them and we got it all worked out and the battery changed in the truck.  Later I went to Villanueva with Elder Cutode to look at a house that we will be renting.  We are open a new area.  I dropped off the check and talked with the owner about what things he needed to fix and so forth.  We dropped off a lot of the things they need for the house and got on our way back from Villanueva.  We finished up few more things in the office and we left.  We walked down by city mall to catch a taxi.  We got one for 90 Lempiras to our area.  We got to our area, I got some money out of pocket and we got out of the car.  We walked to a few citas “lesson” and then I realized that I didn’t have my wallet.  I felt extremely discouraged to find out it was missing.  I said a few quick prayers.  We retraced our steps and we didn’t find the wallet, so we called the elders in the office to go and look for the taxi by the mall.  They went and talked with almost everyone and when they finished, a driver pulled up with the wallet and he gave it to them.  Today, I had 3 miracles in my life.  I know the Lord has protector angels around about me.  He lives and He guides our lives.”

Are you almost ready to be on your own?  No I am not quite ready but the thing is I have a phone so I can always call Elder M. if I have a question. I have been working on opening a new house getting the papers filled out and everything ready to open the area up. The landlord right now is repairing the house so it will be in good condition for the sister missionaries to live there.

So is your house in the area you teach and go to church?  Yes we have been teaching some new people and many understand its just hard for them to find time for us to come to their house.

Did you make it to the store last week? I bought a lot of breakfast items but I think I will be taking out some money to finish these 15 days because I spent a lot on breakfast food but it will pay off in the long run.

What did you do for p day? We played soccer we went to Altia mall in Castaños and we went to Maeco to buy stuff this is like downtown San Pedro and it is just full of people and street venders.

Where did you eat this week? This week we ate at the normal places: Subway, Turcos barato (they sell chicken), Carls Jr., and in the house of a member.

 Where was the restaurant with the really nice plates and rice?  It is by the office it is called Brasas y Carbon it was Peruvian food.

Did you get the house more organized?  Is it hard or easier with more roommates?  It is normal.  No I don’t do the dishes, we have a cleaning man that comes once a week to clean the house. One night this week we had some elders that were waiting for their Mexican visas that stayed with us in our house, they will be here until Monday. We also had an elder that had a staff infection and he stayed the night with us because there weren't buses at this hour to get back to his house.  This next week is transfers; we will pick up the new missionaries: the gringos we pick up on Monday and the Latinos will come in a bus. Then on Wednesday we begin taking people to the airport to go home.   Do you have to feed the new elders breakfast when they're in your house?  No they go and eat at Baleadas Express.

Does Sister D. come to the office every day?  No, she doesn't come every day but we seem to see her in the hospital all the time helping the missionaries.  Some elder was dehydration and they put 2 IV’s in him, and another had a staff infection.  Our mission nurse goes home on Thursday so we will have to help even more.

Is it starting to get to the rainy season yet?  Yes it is starting the rainy season.

Well I am out of time; I hope that everything goes well this week. Tell everyone hello. Thanks for talking with me and be safe and don’t forget to read your scriptures.

Week 59 SPS

How are you enjoying your new companionship?  Where is he from? Elder M. is from Boise Idaho, and my other comp is Elder C. is from Peru. It is very interesting to be in a trio and sometimes it makes things harder because there are 3 of us that are teaching the lessons and it gives a lot of time in between when one can talk.

How hard is the job? Well it is pretty hard just because its all over the place dealing with houses, all the missionary cards, medical bills and anything else that the mission could need, oh and we have to reimburse people when they spend their money so its a lot of making sure that things are perfectly balanced. For me the hardest part had been not getting bored while I am sitting in the bank for hours on end. This week I have been in a bank for over 8 hours and that was only 2 visits. Yes someone always goes with me.  How is your Spanish in dealing with the banks and other businesses?  Well I need to learn some new words but I will get there.  Do you think you will like this responsibility?  Yes it will be fun.

We have to travel like 15 minutes to get to the mission office. And sometimes we have to go really far, for example, on Tuesday we travel from Puerto Cortes to Yojoa.  Do you always travel by the truck now?  Who usually drives?  We travel by truck and by taxi sometimes. I have driven a few times but I still don’t know where everything is.

Do you have air conditioning? Yes there is air conditioning in the office and in the car when we are driving. In our house there is not air-conditioning and thank goodness because the water and light price would be way high. Do you have a washer and dryer?  We don’t have a washer or dryer but there is a sister that washes the clothes for us.  We don’t pay her to wash clothes we just bought the soap and she washes them for us.  What do you eat?  We eat lunch at the mall quite often.  I have eaten Subway’s, Wingers and we also eat at a place by the office that sells grilled chicken.  How are your finances with all the eating out?  Do any members feed you at night? Sometimes we get fed at night. I might take some money out because we are going to go to the Costco equivalent here and I want to buy some good foods.

Who are the AP’s and where are they from?  My comp will be elder C. from Peru. He is learning English he doesn’t speak it.  How long has Elder C. been in the office?  He has been here 1 transfer.   How long will you be training? Until changes so like 10 more days and then the old secretary will be transferred. Elder M. has been the secretary 8 months.  He has 8 months left on his mission. The AP’s are: Elder J. from Colorado and Elder T. from Mexico 

What was your spiritual experience for the week? Well the most spiritual experience this week has to have been that I am learning these things fast and it is a lot. I know that the Lord is helping me so that I will be able to do all that is necessary in this assignment. And it is also very fun to see president around all of the time. I had to call him a lot because we always need permission to do financial things and I always have to bug him for signatures on everything.

What is your ward name? Jardines Del Valle. Do you have any investigators? We have many investigators and they all understand what we explain. The hard part is this is the rich area and everyone is traveling all of the time so it makes it a little hard to find him or her at home. We taught one man last night that like 8 years ago investigated the church and he had begun to work so he didn't go. But he expressed a great desire to change because he had really felt a difference during this time not going to the church.

What did you do for p-day? Today I cleaned the fridge and organized the food in the kitchen cabinets.  We also ate at Carls JR.

How many new missionaries are you getting in two weeks do you have to set up bank accounts and everything for them before they get there?  We get 15 and the church sets everything up.

Well my time is up. I really liked the videos of the VW, thanks for starting it for me, and keeping it going.  Love you all and have a good week. Send me some pictures of the garage door and whatever else you do.

Week 58 SPS

Well you guys didn't know that I would be writing on this day and neither did I, but this week on Wednesday we were in a lesson and my comp answered a phone call from President Dester. He told my comp that there was a new missionary from Peru and he would be in the office tomorrow and that I had changes to the office so I could be trained to be the next financial secretary. So i said good bye to the family's that I had come to know in the short 3 weeks that I had in Villanueva and we got home at 9 o'clock at night and I packed my bags so I would be able to go the next day to the office. The next day came and all of the elders had interviews with President and we loaded up my stuff in his car and we came here to the office. My comp Elder R. got with his new companion that just came from Peru and they went back to Villanueva I ended up here in the office and from the get-go Elder M. began to teach me what I needed to know to be able to do this job. It’s one of the hardest things that has to be done in the mission.  So here I am learning its not too hard but there's a lot of stuff that I still don't remember. But it has been a good week. I had my first opportunity to drive here in Honduras on Wednesday it was really weird because I hadn't driven in along time.  We have been teaching some of the investigators we only get time in the night to go out and work but we have taught a few people and they really understand. We taught one lesson and the spirit was really present and the sister understood really well, her name was Sister M. 

The first day here I had to call President Dester like a lot of times because everything we do needs his permission or signature. I also was able to go and eat in City mall wow it is nice in there. We don’t have anyone that gives us lunch so we have to almost always buy it. Today for P-Day we went and played soccer in the ward building Jardines del Valle. Then we went and moved a neighbor into the house. Then we got showered and dressed and then we went to eat at Denny’s and then we came to the office to write.  I hope you all get this and can respond, if not no worries next week I will email on Saturday. So I’m the new financial secretary. 

From Elder Olsen