Sept 16, 2013 Letter

Hola Familia!

My goal in this email is simple: to help you smile. That being said, keep in mind that the following stories are true and are in no way fabricated or exaggerated. 

The other day Elder Pacheco and I were walking down the street as usual greeting various people with "¡Buenas!" or "¡Hola!", when we walked past a man standing just outside his front door. He greeted us with "¡Hola!" to which Elder Pacheco responded, "¿Cómo está?". As we waited for a casual response like, "Bien, ¿y usted?" or "¡Bien bien!", something a little different happened. Rather suddenly he raised his hands to the heavens and shouted, "¡Bien, gracias por la voluntad de Dios!" (Great, thanks to the will of God!) As we continued walking down the street, we both had smiles on our faces and I could tell Elder Pacheco was on the verge of laughing. I guess some people have a little different way of communicating than others. ;)

Later that day we taught one of our investigators in the church. As we finished our lesson, we asked him if we could kneel and say a prayer and if he would feel comfortable offering it. He gladly accepted and we knelt to pray. Time passed and nothing was said. We waited and waited for him to say something. After about 30 seconds, I looked up to see what was going on. Elder Pacheco also looked up and I could tell from the confused look on his face that he didn't know what was going on either. In a gentle voice Elder Pacheco asked, "Hermano, are you praying?"  "Sí, sí," he responded. "Could you pray out loud so we can hear?" Silence. "I don't think I know how to pray." With a smile on his face, Elder Pacheco guided him through a simple prayer. As I look back, I realize that sometimes people just need a little help. It made me smile as I thought back on the days when I prayed saying the words that were whispered in my ear. :)

That same night we were sitting at the table planning the next day. As usual, Elder Pacheco loosened his pants a little to relax. After we were done planning, he stood up, said something motivational, and starting walking to the bedroom. Just like in cartoons, his pants suddenly fell down to his ankles. He scrambled to pick them up as I burst out in laughter. I couldn't stop laughing for the longest time. :)

You may ask, what was the point of all this storytelling? Well for one, hopefully it made you smile. Second, it was to help you realize that a mission, while it is hardwork, it is also fun. I smile many times every day and laughter isn't hard to find. 

All in all, this week was good. We've got 4 baptisms planned for the 28th of September, Miguel and Jessica (a couple), Yony, and José. Over the past few weeks, I've developed an immense love for each of these people and the fact that they're willing to work so hard to grow closer to God amazes me. You can literally see something change in these people. There's a light that grows in their eyes and they smile more often. It's incredible.

We were also blessed to have Presidente Dester and Hermana Dester visit our ward yesterday. They called us the night before at 10:00 and asked if they could join us for Sacrament Meeting. We enjoyed having the opportunity to talk with them about Santa Cruz, the ward, and our investigators. Afterwards, they stopped by our apartment to make sure things were in order (it's a good thing we're clean!). I can feel their immense love for us every time I see them. They are truly amazing.

Thanks so much for the emails! I love hearing about all your adventures. There's nothing better than feeling the love of family members and friends through your encouraging words. ¡Muchísimas gracias!

Con Amor,

Elder Roberts

Some Pictures

 

Drew and his first companion in Honduras - Elder Pacheco.

 One of his first service projects. Pouring and working concrete

First baptisms.

The desk in their apartment.

 Chasing bugs with a machete.

 When Drew was little, he saw a picture of his cousin standing in a corn field in Nebraska. He (and his brother and sister) wondered if that was the mission field. I'm guessing that is why he took this picture because he is "in the mission field."

 I think this is a Baleada. He says they are tasty.

August (pt 2)

More email excerpts from Drew:

Aug 19
Another week in Honduras and I have no idea where to start. It seems like only a little bit happens every day, but when I go to email every Monday there are a thousand things I want to say! So, perdóneme (forgive me) if this email seems un poco (a little) scatterbrained.

First of all, cambios, or transfers, are this Wednesday. Elder Pacheco and I don't think we're going to be transferred, but you never know. I sure would love another 6 weeks in Santa Cruz! I wanna show these people what I can do. Plus it's super beautiful here. Green, calm, not too deathly hot, and the people are lovely. If we stay here, we'll still be the only missionaries in the city. That leaves a lot of work for us to do because our area is massive. We are responsible for the entire city plus all of the outlying pueblos (small towns). We plan on dedicating a few days every once in a while to taking a taxi out to these areas and working with members to hopefully be able to start the foundations of future branches!

This week overall was interesting. We had two baptisms planned for an Hermana Cecilia and her daughter, Grecia for this past Saturday. We've been working with Cecilia since I got here and she is super awesome. She's been attending church for who knows how long and she knows that the church is true. Talk about a golden investigator. We stopped by her house on Friday shortly before her baptismal interview. The first thing she told us was, "No quiero bautizarme." (I don't want to get baptized.) Wait. What? ... We asked her why, but the only thing she said was, "No quiero. No quiero." Even after a long discussion with her, we still didn't understand. So, after doing our best to convince her that baptism would be an immense blessing in her life, we left. Talk about a heavy heart. All we can do now is leave her in the hands of Heavenly Father. Maybe now wasn't her time. Maybe God has baptism planned for her later. We did our best. That's all we can do.

Anywho, on a different note, I saw the biggest spider of my life Tuesday night. No joke. The thing was probably as big as the palm of my hand. Blech. I wanted to get a picture of it, but seeing as it was by our closets and I didn't want to lose sight of it while Elder Pacheco got the broom I didn't get a picture of it. After a small fight between the broom and the spider, Elder Pacheco killed the beast. Did I mention how much I hate spiders?

The work is pressing forward as always. We're finding people who are willing to listen and people who aren't. But I have faith that if we keep trying our best, God will direct us to those who are ready and willing to listen, act, and change their lives. Every golden investigator is worth a hundred no's. Spanish is also coming along. I still can't understand a lot of what people are saying, but I'm doing 10 times better than before. With every day that passes, I learn something new. Believe it or not, some things I say in Spanish before thinking about them in English. Woah. I'm also pretty sure I've had parts of my dreams that were in Spanish. Who knows what's next?

Aug 26
It's official. I'm losing it...my tan, that is (scared ya, huh?). But seriously. If my legs are this white now, I can't imagine how sickly pale they're going to look when I get home. It's okay though. I'd give up tan legs any day in order to serve the Lord!

This week was fantastic! Nothing super fantástico or maravilloso happened, but I decided to make it amazing and thus it was. Mom, you were right when you said attitude is everything. Who would have thought? ;) Anywho, a few out-of-the-ordinary events that happened are as follows:

1. We have been without water in our apartment for a week now. It's a good thing we still have water in our washing station, or pila, just outside the back door. We fill up buckets of water to bring into the house to flush the toilet, wash our hands, clean, and take showers (yes, I've been using a bucket as a shower for a week...it's actually pretty fun). We told the landlady about our predicament, but nothing has been done thus far. But we're not too worried! It turns out running water isn't as necessary as we thought. ;)
2. ¡EARTHQUAKE! Okay, maybe not that large, but it was strong enough that I could feel it! Elder Pacheco and I were eating lunch when we felt the ground moving under our feet. I initially couldn't believe it, but after it was done I thought, "Holy cow. I just experienced an earthquake in Honduras...how cool!!" Never fear, nothing was damaged and nobody hurt. Mother Earth just had a minor spaz attack.
3. Rainy + Hot = Flies. No joke. I have never seen so many flies in my life. They are everywhere and they aren't shy. They'll swarm around your head multiple times even after a few swats. You think they'd get a clue. However nasty they may be, I'm just glad these flies don't bite. What a blessing!

Well, I'm still here in Santa Cruz de Yojoa and I'm absolutely loving it. I'm so lucky to be here in this beautiful town with my awesome companion, Elder Pacheco. We get along great and have had some fun times. I'm learning so much Español and even more about el Evangelio de Jesucristo.

This week was a little tough with investigators. We've had to drop quite a few because they didn't want to go to church, read the material, pray, or even listen. Someone even said, "No hay nadie (nobody's home)," the other day when the front door was open, music was playing from inside, and there was obviously somebody there. But it's all good! We have some stellar investigators progressing in miraculous ways. Por ejemplo, we're teaching a man named Jonny. His wife is a member and they have one little boy. He's taken the lessons from many missionaries before, but we knew when we met him at church on Sunday that he was ready. After a few lessons, we challenged him to be baptized on the 14th of September and he accepted without hesitation. It took time, but the Lord prepared him and now he's ready.

I had a unique experience with prayer this week. For a few days I had been struggling with Spanish. I couldn't find the words and the sentences just wouldn't click together. I began to wonder why nothing I tried was working. One morning I was praying and I got the impression to ask for the gift of tongues. As I went about the day, working as hard as ever to speak my best Spanish, things clicked. I was saying sentences that I didn't think I could say. Words came to my remembrance that I'd only seen once. I realized that sometimes the Lord is just waiting to answer our prayers. All we have to do is ask! There are blessings in store that we can't even imagine. After a day or two of this heavenly help, I wrote the following in my journal:
"Peace. I feel peace. I'm not completely sure why, but somehow I am filled with an indescribable feeling of peace, comfort, and joy. I know now more than ever that my Heavenly Father is guiding my life. He knows where I'm going and will help me find my way. No matter what happens to me, whether it be good or bad, God has a plan for me. I am in His hands. My future is secure and the road is clear. It's time for me to move forward with perfect faith and trust in God. For in Him, nothing is impossible." -August 24, 2013

I know this gospel is true. I feel the guidance of my Heavenly Father every day. There isn't a day that passes that I don't cry tears of joy, because I know He loves me and I can feel Him leading me by the hand, giving me hugs all along the way. I know He will never leave me. Because of Him and His son, Jesucristo, I can be cleansed from my imperfections and strengthen my weaknesses. I am forever grateful.

Sept 2
I'm officially a Hondearan. Well, I don't know if it's official, but I say it is. Let me explain just a little bit. Almost every time we eat, there's a bottle of Salsa Picante or Red Chile Hot Sauce on the table. If something is a little too bland for your taste, you can just reach across the table and spice things up a little bit. Occasionally I like to put a few drops on my tortillas, rice, or other things. The past few times I've done so, a native has been in the room. The first thing they say is, "¿Este gringito le gustan chilles? (This little white guy likes chilies?)" And my companion always responds, "El primer gringo yo he visto que se los gustan. (The first white guy I have seen that likes them.)" Every time I smile and thank Dad for helping me to enjoy the spicy side of life. ;)

This week was crazy. Below are just a few adventures I had this week.
1. We were privileged to have Elder Kevin R. Duncan of the Seventy visit our mission this week. He gave us an amazing 3+ hour devotional on how the Lord wants us to work effectively in our missions. It was absolutely amazing. I'm all pumped up and ready to go! After the devotional, Elder Pacheco was told that he needed to report to Immigration the next afternoon. So we stayed the night and the next day in San Pedro Sula. What an adventure!
2. I went to the zoo today! Woot! There's a zoo called Joya Grande just 20 minutes by mototaxi from my house. So today we paid the lions, tigers, monkeys, parrots, giraffes, jaguars, zebras, etc. a visit today with two other missionaries from Rio Lindo. It was super macizo!
3. We're still without water...uh huh. I'm not sure what's taking so long, but I've gotten so used to doing everything with buckets that it's not that big of a deal. But like Dad said, I sure hope the water comes back before my tan! :)
4. You'd be surprised how often you hear American music here. I've heard "Money, Money, Money" by ABBA, "Love You Like A Love Song" by Selena, but the best one by far has been "Trouble" by Taylor Swift. We were about to start a lesson with an investigator when the neighbors started playing it from their speakers. As my companion said the prayer, I had to hold back my laughter when the chorus came on. All I could think about were the dang goats in the YouTube video... it pretty much made my day.

I had some pretty neat spiritual experiences this week. I've felt the presence of the Holy Ghost so strongly in my life and at times I'm sure I've had angels holding me up and carrying me along. With this increased help from my Heavenly Father, there is increased opposition from Satan as well. I've had times when tears streamed down my face because I was convinced I couldn't carry on. I've fallen to my knees because I felt inadequate to stand any longer. But I know that God will never let us fail. He will never leave us. He will never allow us to suffer more than we can bear. I can testify of this with all my heart. When we give everything to our Heavenly Father, He will give it all back and more. There is no way we can comprehend how many blessings are waiting for us. All we must do is have faith and carry on. For as Elder Holland said, "[We must] hold on, work on, see it through, and let the distress of earlier hours - real or imagined - fall away in the abundance of the final reward."

This mission is a miracle. If you would have told me a year ago that I would be living in Honduras speaking Spanish with 6 weeks of formal training, I might have laughed. Yet here I am. In three short months I've learned enough Spanish to communicate the basics with others and to understand almost everything. My body is healthy, despite the general uncleanliness here. All in all, I'm living a miracle, thanks to my Heavenly Father.

I could write so much more about the work in Honduras and the work of the Lord in general, but I don't have time. Just know that I know that the church is true and that if we do our best, God will open the windows of heaven and pour out blessings upon us. There is no doubt in my entire being. I don't believe these things, I know them.
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That is everything to this point. It is great having a missionary!

July and August

I haven't posted an update for a long time so here are some highlights from the rest of July and part of August. Here are excerpts from his letters. I will make them as short as I can but there is usually a lot of good stuff.

Jul 22:
Everything here is going well. I´m still adjusting to the complete change of lifestyle, but things are getting better and better everyday! I have a water bottle that filters the water well (though it leaves a funky aftertaste, but it´s worth it) but we usually just buy drinks from the pulperias (small street stores) that are just as good. The weather is still hot and humid with rain storms in the evenings. The storms are so cool here! It´s like God picks up the ocean and drops it all at once over Santa Cruz. You can easily get drenched within a few minutes outside. For this reason, I am forever grateful for the boots! Haha :) I´m pretty much used to the humidity and it isn´t too bad, especially in the 'cooler' climate of Santa Cruz. We have someone who does our laundry, a cocinera (cook) who feeds us lunch, and members that rotate feeding us dinner. We only have to fend for ourselves for breakfast, so I usually just have a bowl of Corn Flakes. Yum!

Our area covers the entire city of Santa Cruz de Yojoa. It´s pretty big!  Our apartment has one bedroom, a study room, a tiny kitchen, and a bathroom. It´s pretty nice and works well for our needs. I´ll hopefully send some pictures later!

I´m struggling quite a bit with Spanish. I can hardly understand my companion sometimes and it´s even harder to understand the members and other people. The hardest part is that some members think it´s funny that I can´t speak or understand them, so sometimes they laugh at me when I don´t respond. But for the most part the people are very kind and I've had a lot of people help me practice or slow down their speech so I can understand. I like these people :) One night I was having a particularly hard time, so I wrote this in my journal: "Patience. This virtue needs some work on my part. I must realize that not everything comes when I want it or how I want it, especially in missionary work. Why? Because nothing in this work is for me. I´m here to help others, not myself. Why should I have any reason to expect everything to happen on my command? This is God´s work and He will do what is best according to His will. I must simply trust Him and let Him lead me. That´s the only way things will ever get done. So I pray for patience in everything I do."

Well, guess what?? I had my very first baptism on Saturday!! And my second and my third! Talk about amazing! We baptized Familia Aguilar: Papa Ernesto, Mama Leticia, Son Ernesto, and Granddaughter Jenny. My companion baptized a young man by the name of Ronal. What a great day! Earlier in the week Ernesto and Leticia were married because it´s a requirement for baptism and no one in Honduras is married...haha. What an amazing experience to be able to participate in the saving of so many souls!

The baptism was quite interesting, in a good way of course. That morning we went to fill up the font and there was no water. We talked to the bishop and he told us to flip a switch in the breaker room, so after lunch we did that and it worked. So we filled it up and left. We came back around 4:30 for the service at 5:00. No one started to show up until well after then, so we started late. It was a mad dash to try and scramble together a program, but we got it done and it turned out well. We went to baptize Ernesto, who only has one leg, and discovered that we should have put more water in the font, but we decided to keep going. Then, as I was about to say the prayer, the lights went out. Luckily we could see from the light from the window, so we baptized a few people in the dark before the lights came back on. Then, after we were all done and dressed in our Sunday best again, we realized that we didn't drain the font. So I rolled up my slacks and sleeves and struggled for 10+ minutes to figure out how to unplug the drain. Finally, I just screwed the whole thing off and it worked. Despite all this, and having to baptize two people twice, the service was amazing!! I just love missionary work!

I want to share a quote that gets me through hard days. Mom sent it to me in one of my letters at the MTC.   "We must be willing to get rid of the life we´ve planned, so as to have the life that is waiting for us." -Joseph Campbell  In my case, I´m giving up practically everything I once had to live the life God has planned for me. Two years seems like a long time, but because I am in the service of my God, it isn´t. I´m so glad to be here serving the people of Honduras!

Aug 5

Now I think I should explain my cravings a little bit more. Here in Honduras, it's rare to find anything that is the same as in Los Estados Unidos. So many times when I see, hear, read, or smell something that even remotely resembles that of things in Utah, I get crazy cravings. I've had cravings to watch Arthur, Dragon Tales, Scooby-Doo, Sound of Music, and countless others. I've had cravings to travel to Vermont, South Carolina, and Southern Utah. I've had major food cravings for things like Cocoa Puffs, brownies, PB&J sandwiches (with milk), doughnuts, and many others. The list goes on and on, but I don't want to bore you. I even caved in and bought a Milky Way the other day just so I could taste chocolate. Mmmm...anywho, though my mind tends to wander, it is always on the Work of Salvation.

This week was interesting. We invited all of our investigators and their dogs to church this Sunday and even offered to stop by to pick some of them up. Sunday rolled around and we only had one investigator, two new referencias, and one dog show up (No joke, un chucho, or wild dog, came running around the chapel during Sacrament Meeting. Just evidence that the Spirit can work in everyone, even dogs!). But never fear, all is well! This past week the Lord directed us to two new familias. We call one the "Familia Especial" because everything they believe, do, and say is in accordance with the standards of the Church. All they need to do is come to know of the truth, attend church, be baptized, and endure to the end. Seriously, the Lord is in this work. One golden investigator is worth all the heartache for the other hundred that fall through.

Aug 12
This week was super macizo! Every day was as busy as ever and every night I went to bed dead tired. Missionary work is draining, but when you find possibilities for success, all the hardwork pays off. For example, in the past few weeks we've found 4 familias nuevas! All of them seem to have desires to follow God, we just have to help them find the true way through el Evangelio de Jesucristo. It's a great responsibility, but with God on our side, nothing is impossible.

Elder Pacheco celebrated 6 months in the mission last Monday, so as is tradition amongst many in this mission, he burned a tie. At the one year mark he'll burn a shirt, and at the 18 month mark, he'll burn a pair of pants. Honestly, I like my clothes, so I think I'll keep them and eat a candy bar to celebrate instead. ;)

On Wednesday we had a Multi-Zone Conference about 30 minutes outside of San Pedro. 3 zones participated and Presidente y Hermana Dester were there. We learned tons and were spiritually enlightened. I have the best mission president ever. God has truly blessed the missionaries here. After the conference we stopped by Wendy's and got Frostys (heaven in a cup). Yay for Frostys!

A few things I absolutely love about Honduras. Primero: ¡Las tormentas! When it rains, it rains. The clouds get super dark, the air cools down, and BOOM, it rains. Well, not that dramatic, but you get the point. The rain comes down so hard that the sound on the tin roofs drowns out all other sound and many times we have to yell the lesson...poor investigators...scarred for life... Segundo: Baleadas. What is a baleada? Buena pregunta. It's basically a delicious homemade tortilla, filled with bean puree, eggs/avocado/pollo/etc, cheese (not like any cheese in E.E.U.U., usually it's nasty by itself), and a butter cream. Talk about heavenly. I'll make some when I get back, trust me. Tercero: The looks people give me. I'm serious. Practically everyone here is a head shorter than me, is super dark, a little bit on the large side, and speaks Spanish. As a skinny, tall, white, English speaking gringo, I stand out. It's so great when little kids stare at you and giggle. Lastly, I love the fact that I'm constantly humbled. Some of these people have nothing, and yet they insist on giving us mangos, cucumbers, frijoles, or soda. I mean, it's amazing. I realize that I can always do so much more to be Christlike.

Yes, it's true, even though I'm far away from my 'piano studio,' I am still teaching piano every Saturday at 10:00. It's so hard! One, I'm speaking in Spanglish because I don't know piano terms in Spanish, and two, I have no piano books to help me. I'm basically teaching piano out of a notebook to students (Arjanie y Jefrey) who don't have a piano of their own. We don't get very far, but it's still fun! Oh, and I've been asked by the Stake President to play for Stake Conference in Septiembre. Woot!

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This is getting long so I will post more weeks in a new entry.