Week 8: Elder Snicker

Copan - The bag of water is how we drink our water.

First full week done out here in Copan and man I go to bed so tired every night but I just feel so dang happy and fulfilled.

So last email I had a pretty big typo and Copan is the one area in my mission that ISN'T 90+ degrees every day lol. Don't get me wrong, it's still hot every day and my belt melts onto my shirt a little bit, but there's usually a breeze and it cools off at night.

We did a lot of service this week and I absolutely love it. The people here have so little, so having so many opportunities to just get my hands dirty and do what I can to make their life just a little bit easier is awesome.

I can understand a little bit more each day but wow my speaking ability is a roller coaster. Some days I feel way more confident and can say a lot more and other days I'm questioning if I even went to the CCM and learned anything. But hey, it's gonna take a long time and it's all about celebrating the small successes and letting the shortcomings fuel you to work just a little bit harder.

This week, we met a 16 year old boy named Christopher who showed genuine curiosity for what we taught. As my companion did all the talking and I stood there smiling, I felt prompted to give him the copy of the Book of Mormon that I carry everywhere. I gave it to him and testified of its power and how it has changed my life. I could feel the Spirit so strong and that was my first "woah, I'm a missionary" experience. Somehow he understood what I said and hopefully he will read it and we can continue to teach him. The Spirit is real and gives us the strength to complete the promptings we receive when we show the faith to take that first step.

Quick Highlights:

Took my first bucket shower and a couple more. Twas lit.
Two nights in a row we were going to be late to our house and then a little mototaxi (3-wheeled vehicle that might be the coolest thing there ever was) pulls up and gives us a free ride back to the house.
Celebrated Evanson's birthday and ended with a big cake fight with the family we were with.
One of the guys we were teaching heard I played guitar so he grabbed his guitar for me but while I did some tuning to the guitar (it needed it oh my) one of the strings snapped. I felt so bad but the guy was chill about it.
Might've found THE golden investigator this week. This guy lived with members for 6 years and loves everything about the church and he never got baptized only because he didn't want to serve a mission but now he has a wife and a kid so what's stopping him now, right? Hopefully things go well with him.
Played some fútbol with the youth in the branch. I suck at it but it was lit.
Got a little girl a cake for her birthday and a little mariachi-type band came and played.
My new nickname with one of the families here is Elder Snicker because none of them can say Snyder but I love it.

This week, I started to feel the weight of the thought that I will be here in Honduras for 2 years and it really put a damper on my usually positive outlook. A mission is really hard. It's really difficult to get up every day and work your hardest with no end in sight. However, the Lord appreciates and celebrates every single effort. Every step we take, every prayer we say, every person we try to talk to– He rejoices and he is proud. All Christ asks is we put forth our best effort. This doesn't mean having the most success or being perfect. It does mean not giving up. It means having faith. When we have more faith, the good outweighs the bad. It's easier to have a positive attitude and it's easier to see what we have been blessed with. Life becomes easier when we have more faith because we can know that we are not walking alone. We can know that Christ is with us and giving us strength. We can find motivation to keep going. Ether 12 is one of my favorite chapters in the Book of Mormon and it is all about this. If anyone is feeling like me, read it real quick. God loves you all and has a plan and a reason for all things. Miracles happen when we have faith.

Love you all so much!

(Also, emails are very appreciated)

Élder Snyder