Week 17: Miracles, Faith, and a Whole lotta Pancakes

Marcos..."The Goat"

Welcome.

So this week was awesome. It was awesome because there were some pretty trash days but also tons of miracles. The trash days are awesome because they just motivate me to study better and work harder the next day. And miracles are pretty cool too I guess. So let's get into it shall we?

So Tuesday and Wednesday were just average days but Thursday we saw God's hand in the work. About 2-3 weeks ago, we found a 22 year old guy who is very educated (sadly that's pretty rare here) and we had a really good lesson about the Book of Mormon. Since then, it has been really hard to meet with him again because of his job and also he got pretty sick but on Thursday, we were finally able to meet with him again! And he texted us asking where we were when we were running a little late. That NEVER happens. We talked for a little bit and then he was basically like "so what are you going to teach me?" but in Spanish so we were like shoot this guy is ready. We jumped into the Restoration and he had a lot of questions and then opened up to us about how he's been searching for religion again in his life but he felt like all other churches were not correct. (Sounds a little familiar right?) And he said he felt something different about our church and us missionaries. God has been preparing this man but he still has a long way to go so please please please keep Angel in your prayers so that he can continue to have a desire to learn!

Right after that, we visited a recently reactivated member's little tin home and while we were there, a woman showed up with a child who was just screaming and appeared to be hyperventilating. This boy had cerebral-palsy and was the nephew of this member. They asked us to give him a blessing and as soon as we began, the boy stopped screaming and calmed down for the first time since arriving. He continued to remain calm after the blessing. This experience was a testimony to me of the reality of the power of God on earth through the priesthood and also God's love for his children.

Next miracle– so there is one family the missionaries have been teaching for like 6 months and the 11 year-old daughter is a member. In this entire time, the mom has never said a prayer with us and has always directed it to someone else when we invite her to. Elder Perry and I had a lesson with her where we simply explained prayer, bore our testimonies, and shared special experiences we have had with prayer. When we invited her to pray after that, with basically no hesitation she agreed. She proceeded to offer a beautiful, heartfelt prayer. The Gospel of Jesus Christ is for everyone.

Last story for the email because I don't want these to be too long. The 2nd Couselor in the branch went inactive about 6 months ago but we still visit him every once in a while and recently we have dropped some really powerful lessons in that home. Yesterday, he pulled up to church and gave the opening prayer for 2nd hour and participated in class. He then asked all of 4 of us missionaries to come to his house on Wednesday to try help his wife trust the church again. Huge and completely unexpected miracle that has opened up a great opportunity for this family. Please keep Jesus and his family in your prayers too!

Quick hits:

-- The other elders baptized two teenagers who are siblings on Saturday! It is so special to see the church growing here in Copan.

-- Our pensionista started making pancakes and eggs for us for dinner every night and my stomach has never been happier.

-- On that note, had my best week health-wise this past week.

-- I just love the people here so much.

Clearly, miracles have been on my mind this week. There's a scripture in (you guessed it) Ether 12 that has stood out to me a lot this week. Verse 12 says, "For if there be no faith among the children of men God can do no miracle among them; wherefore, he showed not himself until after their faith." Faith is the most critical thing in missionary work and also in life because we NEED God's help in this life if we ever want to feel lasting peace and happiness. Because of this, I have really tried coming to a full understanding of the concept of faith and how to have more of it. As I thought about it, I found myself struggling to comprehend it and come to a conclusion on how I can increase my faith. Then I realized that it's not that complicated. It's actually really simple. Faith is our thoughts and actions. If we want to increase our faith, try harder to do what Jesus Christ would do. Try harder to live a life consecrated to loving God, doing ALL that he commands, and serving others. If this is our goal and desire, blessings and miracles will shower us more than we know. I challenge everyone to find one way they can try to increase their faith this week! God notices every effort, no matter the result!

Love you all! Read the Book of Mormon!

Élder Snyder