I'm actually living it!

I found batteries for my scale this week! They cost me 55 lmps each so it was like 5 dollars in the end but it was worth it! It feels great to know where I'm at with my weight and everything. Plus its nice to weigh bags and everything, especially for my companion as she's packing things up. So I'm grateful for men on street corners that sell batteries :)

There were 2 deaths here in the neighborhood this past week, so that kind of shook things up. One was expected but the other was an accident as a result of some ladrones (thieves) that ended up choking a man apparently. Horrible, horrible things. But mostly it’s a result of people being on drugs. So what do we learn from this? Don’t do drugs...

So I'm getting excited for the changes meeting. It's always a ton of fun to see friends and best friends and see how people have been doing and how people have changed. It’s always exciting to see where people go. Having the mutual drive to work through the entire day can be challenging. We keep going even at 7:30 at night when the day for us ends at 8. It's a great practice to learn more about the real meaning of "perseverar hasta el fin" (endure to the end). We teach it all the time but now I'm actually living it!


So not only are we out here saving souls, but we're here saving little kitties :) We were out making visits with a member when we were walking out of an alley and saw like an old rusty cake pan full of not cake, but cats! Poor babies were like 15 days old and hadn’t even opened their eyes. We didn’t really know what to do and we figured we couldn’t do anything for them...but after like two citas I turned to my companion and I was like "I want to do something for the cats..." So we went back and dropped the member off and carried them back to our house to take pictures of course, and then asked around if anyone could take care of them. It was actually a great way to find people to talk to! We ended up being able to give them to a family of recent converts and they’re still taking care of them. So that felt good, to save three little kitties from death in an alley.

I made a Family Home Evening house for the M____ family.  The recent convert family I'm always talking about :) Little piece of home I felt like :) They LOVED it! It was a huge success!!!


I ran everyday this week! It was great. It’s still hard but it’s worth it. But the little dog we take out to run with has started getting a little crazy...I walk out to grab my shoes and one of them was missing....then I look out to where the little dog is waiting and she's out there with my shoe like 12 feet away. It was actually hilarious. So you could say she motivates me a bit and is out there waiting for me :)

Sometimes it's hard to be on a mission and have the desire to just go to a library and read a book by myself or watch a movie like 12 Angry Men. I never wanted to do that before! Sometimes I feel like I’m going crazy, but it’s all worth it.

N___ was asked to say the closing prayer on Sunday and he did a great job! He's always so willing to try new things. He's great. We went to go visit him on Sunday and he was like talking about his prayer and then he was like...."Yo voy a ser obispo"... (I'm going to be Bishop!) He was just joking around but he had us laughing. He's fun to be around. But we were telling him he could totally be the bishop and he was like "No, I have a lot more to learn". I love how even at his age, he’s so motivated to learn more. I feel like it’s the same in the mission, even at the point I’m at, I’m still learning more every day. The learning never ends and it’s a really positive thing. We can always make more improvements or fix things...I’ve learned that by using my planner and making a plan and keeping to the schedule keeps things less stressful. Even being here in Honduras where the culture is so loose about things, if things don’t go the way we planned, we can still feel good knowing we made a plan. I’ve heard people say that if you fail to plan, you just plan to fail. The missionary schedule was made my inspired people and it just makes sense.

Didn’t have a ton of time to write since today was Independence Day so things were a little different, but we had a good day in B____ with our district cooking lunch and just relaxing.

Love you guys and I hope you all have a great week :)

2 weeks until changes!!!

Love,

Hermana Despain

Patches of Light and Running with the Cows

If you want to know where Hermana Despain is at, at 6:30 in the morning....she's out running with cows and a little dog :) I went running 5 out of the 6 possible days this week and worked out after each time! I pretty much run back and forth on the roads outside our house because my companion doesn’t run..... I've been feeling great and it helps me have more energy during the day normally. I've loved getting back into running and working out. I feel so much better and it's helped me see why everything is the way it is in the missionaries schedule. But why the cows? One morning a man started turning the corner behind me with a huge heard of cows...they were so pretty! They were all different colors. We give a little service to the lady who owns the apartment we live in by taking her dog out to run in the morning so I'm usually the one pulling the dog along or trying to chill her out because she's straight up spastic, but it seems to be helping everyone! :)

Part of my whole "health surge" that I've had lately is exercising everyday, except Sunday, and I quit drinking soda! Completely! I've felt such a huge difference and I started the first day of September. It's been awkward at times in citas (appointments) or when we have dinner at a members house, (that only happens once a week for us, the Elders have lunch and dinner like everyday) but it's been totally worth it. So I'm calling it "No Fresco Septiembro" ;)

I celebrated 13 months in the mission on Saturday! Crazy how time goes by. At the end of the day I wonder if I'll be able to last another day, then the next minute I just want to put it all in slow motion :)

After we practiced for the special musical number one morning, we were packing things up and saying goodbye when I look out to the foyer (weird to use that word) to see the Elders with a chair against the wall and their foreheads against the same wall, and my first thought was, "what are these Elders up to now..." So then they were all like "Hermana Despain, you try, you try". Apparently you’re supposed to put your forehead on the wall, lift the chair and yourself up without falling....I thought they were just trying to make me look like an idiot....but then I did it! They were all like applauding me and everything it was the funniest thing. So I sent a video of it when I tried again with my companion in the apartment before we left to go work that afternoon :) Apparently the Elders found this book in their apartment of a bunch of like "impossible things" to try. But they said only girls can do the chair lift thing....idk something about center of gravity, but it was fun :)

We had the multi zone conference this week and that went so well. It’s always a big spiritual boost to get together with a bunch of missionaries, reminds you that you’re not alone, just you and your companion. But one part that I loved was when part of our zone sang "Señor Yo Te Seguire". They asked me two days before to play the piano for it so I had to learn the hymn super quick but in the end, everything was FLAWLESS. It was great! The Elders (and my companion) did a great job of singing and the Spirit was so strong. It fit perfectly with the order of the conference. The rest of it was fun as always and I learned a lot about not letting Satan get to us as President talked to us about the temple and how Babylon was overtaken within an hour. Satan doesn’t need much time to do his awful work, so we have to keep an eye on things! We had a little test of seeing if we could write down all the chapter titles of preach my gospel and then all the 42 principles we teach. It was harder than it seemed! They let us know beforehand but when we were handed the sheet I just wanted to ask, "Um...is there a matching part, mejor?" but I did the best I could! It was good to see what I remembered and what I still need to work on. Most of mine was like Spanglish but it was good. We also needed to memorize Mosiah 2:41:

"And moreover, I would desire that ye should consider on the blessed and happy state of those that keep the commandments of God. For behold, they are blessed in all things, both temporal and spiritual; and if they hold out faithful to the end they are received into heaven, that thereby they may dwell with God in a state of never-ending happiness. O remember, remember that these things are true; for the Lord God hath spoken it." 

It was rough and I tried in English cuz i about cried doing it in Spanish.  But it’s a great scripture. President also pulled me aside and checked on me to make sure I was doing all right and that really was so special. We didn’t say much but he said just what I needed to hear and it reminded me that he really is the father of 250 missionaries. It's incredible what he does for so many. He handed me a package of Pop tarts as we were leaving :) So precious.

We were running some errands here in C_____ this morning when we went into a thrift shop and I found some Juicy perfume that I used the summer before I left on the mission and I bought it for like 40 lmps! It was such a fun thing to find and brought back a little bit of home :)

I would not suggest swallowing a bug. I've done it like twice on the mission and it's actually really painful. Especially mosquitos. Those hurt.

Today for our pday, a few of us decorated Easter eggs with the dye kit my mom sent me back in March!!! So that was a ton of fun to do something different for a pday. I just didn’t like having to pick feathers off of the eggs we bought in C____...jajaja. But the Elders really got into the dying and everyone seemed to have a lot of fun. Then we all went to go eat at Pizza Hut so that was fun to play Uno while we waited for our pizza, then we all shared an ice cream!

After the multizone conference I was super determined to work so we went back to the apartment to drop stuff off and normally we would sort of take a bit getting things together but I made sure we were back out in like less than 5 minutes. It was great and the weather was great too :) So we were trying to find people to teach, trying to look for investigators and not having much luck when I looked at the mountains. It was a really cloudy day because it had thundered and rained a ton during the conference, but the mountains were pretty clear. All the sudden there was this little patch of sunlight on my patchwork mountains :) I call them patchwork mountains because they have little patches of different colors because they’re planting different things in different parts and it’s so gorgeous, with all the browns and greens and reds. But that little patch of sunlight, it was just breathtaking :) In all the shadowy, dark mountains, there was a little patch of sunlight that was just so bright and happy :)

As for a N___ update, he blessed the sacrament on Sunday! It was so beautiful to tell you guys the truth, to hear it in from an old man with his gentle little voice...he was practicing so hard so he wouldn’t mess up. It was the sweetest thing! He surprised us though, he had told us earlier that week that he would rather receive the sacrament than bless it or pass it, but then there he was in front, blessing the sacrament! He only stuttered a bit but he did such a great job. Then he surprised us again by bearing his testimony during the testimony meeting?! I had turned to my companion to ask her something or tell her something when all the sudden, there he was bearing his testimony! Sometimes converts tend to have pretty different testimonies because the language we use in the Mormon culture is a bit different, but his testimony was so sincere and just beautiful. He said something that really stood out to me, he said "Ha hallado todo lo que buscaba". That just made me feel so good, that he has found what he was looking for and that he feels good in the barrio :) He's made his other transportation payment to go to the temple the 11th of October :) One day we brought cookies to eat with him and he bought fresco. He is just the sweetest man. The other day he took us out to his little garden of a backyard and cut us a coco so we could have agua de coco :) I love it. Just another day in the mission field, drinking agua de coco with your recent convert like it’s totally normal :) That’s just what you get when you serve in Honduras. It’s the best.

Sometimes Heavenly Father blesses us with alleys. Most of the time we associate alleys with bad things and danger, but I learned this week that they can be a real blessing. We were in the sketchiest part of our areas, La C_________ at like 4 in the afternoon, when we realized that at one end of the street were a bunch of jovenes smoking marijuana, yelling things at me, then at the other end were a bunch of men smoking marijuana and drinking and watching us, so my comp was super good about protecting me and was like "not so fast Christeli (one of my nicknames)" and we ended up taking an alley out of the area. I've had some companions that have been really great with watching out for me and protecting me. In S___ R___, the other hermanas were always really good about protecting me and putting me in the middle when we would walk together and in parts that were a little more dangerous. Like a little baby elephant being protected by the mommy elephants :)

I watched the video about The Atonement and Missionary Work today and it brought back memories of when my parents showed it to all us kids one time. I just love that video. Love when Elder Holland says about missionaries: "They have every reason to stand tall". Sometimes it’s easy to look down at the dusty, rocky road because the sun in right in your eyes or you’re just tired from hearing your own steps or seeing the same palm tree, but it’s true! We have every reason to stand tall. Jesus Christ knows every bit of sadness, sickness, guilt and suffering we have experienced, are experiencing and will experience in our lives. It’s true that we just don’t  know how it could be possible, but it was possible through him. That’s the incredible thing. And like he says, when we have the tendency to ask why the work isn’t easier, why it has to be so hard, we have to remember that someone a lot greater and a lot better asked the same thing, a long time ago...So we're never alone. Repentance is hard but its worth it.

I hope you all have a great week and that you all work hard at what you’re doing and that you notice the little patches of light on your cloudy mountains :)

Love,
Hermana Despain

So not "Out of our League"

Let's just say...it was a long week. Pero allí vamos. Como siempre.

It's been super hot here recently. There’s like zero brisa but we do what we can...it’s just felt like another semana santa. But it looks like we've found a good place for me to run in the morning. And my comp said she'll just sit and watch...

I went and did divisions on Thursday in Pmo and it went really well. I was happy and I felt really liberated. I learned a lot from Hermana Bz :) It was fun to be with her again after I had been in SR for 6 months and she had been in R for 6 months. We taught a ton of lessons and had a lot of success. That felt good :) I liked being obedient, working shoulder to shoulder, and feeling confident in our ability to really reach those we were teaching.

We visited this little tiny old lady that was super fiery...She was like "I don’t go to church but God blesses me, I know he does". So that was interesting to talk with her about why we go to church and how God will bless us, but how we're losing more blessings that are there waiting for us. That night we were talking and we heard literally 10 disparos (gunshots); We later heard that someone had died there. Later we were with a member and she was buying us food when we saw some really horrible things. Believe it or not I do have a personal "filter" so I just won’t share what I saw. I just know that everyone has worth no matter what and that every soul is great in the sight of God. (D&C 18:10)

Today for our P-day, we made tacos. Just us missionaries that are serving in the ward here. It was fun and chill and the elders had us cracking up the whole time. They’re so fun and it was so, so nice to just laugh :)








So I've found that tajadas con pollo are my weakness. They’re just so good! We went to Baleadas Express and I was not in the mood for baleadas so I asked for pollo con tajadas and the girl just starts piling them on and goes and goes and goes! It was crazy! It was a mountain of tajadas!!!

I'm in 2 Nephi and going strong! Really keeping with my goal of finishing the Book of Mormon by the end of my mission!

The Hurst family will be happy to know I found myself singing "The Leland Stanford Junior Farm" this morning :)

Yesterday we were having a really hard time finding who to teach. No one was home and I was getting really depressed about everything until the member I was with suggested a house and we just walked right up to it and I was like "Hola, venimos a compartir un mensaje con ustedes". (Hi!  We've come to share a message with you!) And the girls just let us right in! Sometimes we just have to be direct and the people will accept us.

Could it be possible that it's easier to be obedient when you’re alone? We always hear that we should be obedient and do what’s right but that what really matters is when we're alone, as if it's harder...and I could see that, but honestly, being in a companionship and being with someone 24/7, sometimes I feel like it would be easier to be 100 percent obedient if you were alone. But don’t worry. This doesn’t mean I'm ditching my companion, just been thinking a lot about obedience...I've gotten so much better about waking up on time and exercising though and not sleeping in the afternoon. There are so many advantages. Sure I'm pretty tired throughout the entire day, but I sleep so much better at night and I know the Lord is helping me and that everything is for a reason :) Hasta el horario :)

I taught a big English class in our zone meeting on Tuesday! It was a great success...we had all the gringos line up and face all the Latinos. Each gringo was given a phrase to learn that could be used in a testimony. It was great practice because it was interactive and fun and they always  got to change who they were practicing with...plus it will help them for when we have the testimony meeting in English on Thursday at the multi-zona! :)

Earlier that morning, me and my comp and two other elders were asked to talk about families to a bunch of parents at a school here in P called the SJ. It was great to talk about families and give some ideas of how to demonstrate amor (that was what I chose to talk about!) Some parents were really attentive and that felt great. It was great to hear the lady that introduced us say, "Today we have with us some missionaries from The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints". Idk why, but hearing the name of the church and knowing we were representatives just felt so great and I couldn’t help but smile :)

We can now add the name "Claudia" and "Spinky" to the list of names people call me here..When I was on divisions, an investigator and N___ asked where I was but used those names. I have no idea where they come up with those! But its all good haha. Makes us laugh and sometimes my comp will call me them and it makes us laugh together :) Another time when I made my comp laugh this week was on Sunday after meetings. We were waiting to say goodbye to everyone when a little kid with a slobbery red lollipop shoved it in my face like three times and I went running after him. He wasn’t trying to be cute though. He was trying to annoy me...but my comp was laughing and was like "Hermana Despain...Hermana Despain!"

Apparently there was a joven this week that mentioned, "cuesta encontrar personas sanas aqui". It’s really true. This area is just full of maldad, it’s so sad. People have just taken so many wrong turns, or maybe just one wrong turn that has led their life into a downward spiral, but with the Atonement of Christ, we can all change that direction :)

Saturday morning I looked back in my journals from the beginning of my mission. It’s been interesting to see how I've changed how I write, what I write and my tone in everything. It motivated me to finish strong and look at how I can still change and improve. I was reading things from "everything is just so dirty here!" to "these people's Spanish...?!" Huge flashbacks were going on though, it was really cool :)

Sunday was great because J___ came to church for the second time in a row! That was a miracle right there. She came all by herself! We passed by but she wasn’t ready so she said she'd go on her own, and she did! Usually that’s a super easy excuse for everyone to just say they’ll get there eventually. And then O___ came! It was so great! But I kid you not, O___ was literally flexing during Sacrament meeting. It was hilarious...He’s doing great though and we were so happy he was in church! We taught the Gospel Principles class on "Repentance". So that was a pretty serious lesson but I love giving those lessons because people usually really pay attention.

N___ is working on memorizing the sacrament prayers! He's doing a great job! we're super excited for him to be able to bless the sacrament this next Sunday :)

Last night we stopped by to visit a family of recent converts and everything was going well as we shared lesson three...until the mom started complaining and complaining and started crying about this and that. It was so sad to sit there and listen to her...Honestly I wanted to record the whole thing to learn "what not to do". She was complaining about her kids while they were there in the room and talking about how she wants to leave them and I just couldn’t even look at her. I was just looking at the wall. I  was just thinking, "This is so wrong..." It was really sad but just goes to show how important the decisions are that we make in our lives...If we study, if we go to school, if we go to church, where we work, with whom we work, who we marry, how we raise our families...everything. I had such a headache when we left that house. The whole time I was thinking, "This is stuff out of the league of 20 and 21 year old kids like us". But all we could do was emphasize the doctrine we are taught in the church and that Satan is real, but that Christ lives and how he is our greatest example. It was honestly one of the worst times I’ve had on my mission. And I haven’t had too many...but I just felt horrible during that whole time and I felt so helpless. But we followed the Spirit and did what we could to help. So as horrible as I felt, it was interesting to realize that it wasn’t something out of our league because Heavenly Father has left us all the tools to succeed in this life. We just need to implement them in our lives to have that success.

We went to visit an older lady this week but she was talking with a friend who was a Jehovah’s Witness. I was thinking, "Oh no, here we go..." But I tried to open it all friendly and calmly. Then by the end things weren't going so well and I was like "Ok, this is just dumb". So I stopped everything and was like "Hermano, gracias por todo lo que ha compartido...queremos hablar con usted entonces necesitamos escuchar y no interumpir, para que escuchamos todo". So that went so well. I won’t lie, I was frustrated too. But in the end, the Spirit wasn’t there. So something had to be done. But you know what was interesting? It was starting to thunder and lightening and rain when the "discussion" was turning into a fight of interrupting but when I suggested listening more, I noticed the thunder stopped and the rain stopped....... :)

I know everything in life happens for a reason and that when we do what is right we are blessed. I love my family and love my friends and even the strangers here in Honduras. I love being a missionary here, I wouldn’t trade this experience for anything.

Con todo mi amor,
Hermana Despain