Week 29: I am really really happy!

Hello Guacamaya!

Ok time for this week's email. First of all thank you to everyone who has written to me these past few weeks! Your thoughts have helped so much.

This week was honestly incredible. Not a ton of crazy incredible things happened but I am just so dang happy.

We went to the ruins last pday with the zone which is always a party and then we did exchanges with our zone leaders in the night and the next day and WOW I learned so much. He helped me realize that every time we talk with someone, we should be focused on their personal progression in the gospel of Jesus Christ. By doing so, we can be much more direct and help them make changes in their lives. As I have put that into practice this week we have seen sooo many miracles.

My favorite miracle of the week was a man named Hector. He was a Facebook referral and normally the referrals we get don’t really go anywhere, but not Hector. After our first phone call with him, he texted US and asked when we were gonna talk with him again. We met with him in his home a couple of days later and he has no electricity so we taught him in the light of our flashlights. Turns out, he used to go to the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in 2005 with his aunt but then she passed away and he stopped going. He felt a need for something more in his life and remembered the church and then saw an ad on Facebook for meetings with the missionaries. Under the light of our little lamps we talked about faith and how he can change his life through faith. We asked him if he knew how to pray and he said no. He immediately grabbed a notebook and asked to use my pen and then proceeded to write down every step we told him. I almost started crying watching a 35 year-old man, living in a small home in the countryside with no electricity, choosing to have the humility of a child to learn how he can grow closer to Christ. Hector genuinely changed my life.

We also found two kids a couple weeks ago and they are sooo smart. They are doing everything we invite them to do and are always so excited and ready for our lessons. They are reading the Book of Mormon and told us they want to be baptized but they are just scared of going to church alone and don't think their parents will want to take them. We have tried to talk with their parents every time but they have always been “busy”. However, they gave us permission to teach their children so there is still hope.

About a month ago, I screamed “buenaaaas” in front of a house in a neighborhood of our area that is known as “dead” because nobody ever wants to listen to the missionaries there. A woman answered the door and let us in. 5 years ago she listened to the missionaries but then moved and lost contact with them. We are now teaching her and her 19 year-old daughter and they have such a strong desire to learn, feel the Spirit, and read the Book of Mormon. Yesterday we had an incredible lesson with them about baptism and they want to be baptized after some more preparation! The hardest thing will be getting them to church due to work but I have so much faith they will make the sacrifices necessary to attend.

Another miracle is that so many inactive members came to church this Sunday. As I directed the music for the Sacrament hymn, one person after another entered the room and by the end of the hymn there were about 10 more people ready to renew their covenants with God. Such a happy moment.

Rapid fire stuff:

---Some random kid in the street gifted me some Cole Haan dress shoes but the catch is they are size 14

---Saw a dude carry an entire refrigerador on his back.

---Hauled more dirt and rocks up the same hill from a couple of weeks ago and ate more pancakes. The perfect morning if you ask me.

---The book “Saints” is incredible.

---The song “How Firm a Foundation” is incredible.

---Spanish has fully clicked and I feel like a genuinely useful missionary.

God is blessing Copán right now and I know soooo many more miracles will unfold in the months to come. Although I will be leaving in 10 days, I am so excited and filled with so much love for the Savior, his gospel, and the opportunity to serve Him in this town and grow closer to Him in the process.

He is joy!

Much love,

Élder Snyder