Week 43: Knock (with faith) and Ye Shall Get Yelled at by a Dance Coach

Fire, miracle-filled week.

Elder Cano and I finished off the transfer strong and he got shipped over to the beautiful Chamelecon. My new companion is Élder Dávila! He is from Guatemala and was my Zone Leader back in Campana. While there, we talked and said “one day I hope we can be companions” and the Lord heard! It has been great and I am already learning so much from him and his incredible ability to utilize the scriptures to teach the needs of the people.

Due to the circumstances of our area, we have to focus a lot on new member retention this transfer and it has been so incredible. It is important to be focused on baptism as a missionary, but this week I have really learned how important it is to work with the recent converts and answer their questions so they can continue to grow and know their Savior. 

In this area, about 80% of the houses are in gated communities where we can't enter unless we are invited by someone who lives inside and every house that isn't in one of these communities has cameras so the people can pretend to not be home very easily. As a result, it is very difficult to find people by knocking doors. Because our teaching pool shrunk a lot after this last transfer, Élder Dávila and I decided we would try knocking some of the few doors we can with all the faith possible that we would find someone. Got rejected, accidentally contacted a dance studio (it was a house), got rejected, and then found Jamil. This man is so prepared. He received us and we taught the Restoration of the Gospel and of the Book of Mormon and he told us he believes! The next day, we found an old lady who told us she feels like she is missing something in her life and doesn't know what it is. Music to every missionary's ears. I am so grateful for these miracles God dropped into our hands and I am so excited to see where it all goes.

Other things:

--Brother Richards, the temple construction manager, finished his work and moved back to Utah to start building the new Provo Temple and he will be very missed :(

--Ran into some members in Denny's and they paid for our food🤝

--Hermano Molina (a dope member) made us a soup that contained just about everything you can find under the sea and more and it was actually fire.

--Three of our recent converts and one of our friends went to the temple in Tegucigalpa on Saturday!

I think one of the biggest changes of heart I have had on my mission is my love for the scriptures and the change of priorities I have experienced. I just want everyone to read the Book of Mormon. It truly helps us know Jesus Christ like the brother he is. Pray to understand its words, pray to know of its truthfulness, pray to have the humility to apply its principles to your life, and watch the miracles and joy flood into your life. 

Love you all so much

Élder Snyder

Week 42: Unexplainable

GOATS

What up what up

Such a happy and stressful week.

Gadiel, Alejandro, Alan, Aaron, and Justin were able to enter into the waters of baptism and it was so special. I love asking each person how they feel as they are dripping wet once we are out of the font and every time no one can express the feeling they are experiencing. The Gospel is real and the authority and power of God is how we can feel this way. Whether it be through baptism, making covenants in the temple, or daily repentance, He blesses us with unexplainable peace and light through His power and Priesthood authority.

Went on some awesome exchanges this week with some day 1s of the mission, Elder Grant and Elder Perry! These two days were so fun and I learned so much from them both. They both teach with so much love and just love everyone. This is something I know I need to improve and watching these missionaries teach with so much power in that way was a great wakeup call and help to me.

We ate really really good this week. Like too good. I'm scared I will get fat here. We went to an all you can eat sushi buffet with the office and I proudly put down 25 plates of sushi. However, my father, Elder Perry, put that number to shame with a whopping 40 plates (a new mission record). Our bishop took us out to eat at a taco place called El Pinche (sorry to all my beloved Mexicanos on this email) and wow it was incredible. They had this electric shock machine that they brought over to our table and it was the weirdest sensation. I can still feel the buzz in my arms.

Other things:

-Found some dope new music in the sacred music app so that was like Christmas.

-Got visited by President McClellan, his wife, and President and Sister Ostler of the San Pedro Sula East Mission at church. It was so amazing to talk with all of them and just feel the Spirit and love they bring with them.

-Sheyla came to church!!!

-Ate Denny's, again

-Played basketball with the stake president and some youth and wow I am so out of shape but it was so fun to play something other than fútbol.

-Had a goodbye party for Brother Richards who has been the construction manager of the temple and the food was incredible. Like I said, we ate a lot this week.

-Transfers are this week and it is going to be so sad to say goodbye to Elder Cano😢

Coming back to the electric shock machine… Elder Cano spoke in church yesterday and shared an incredible analogy. With this machine, there are two handles. If you hold on to one handle and not the other, you don't feel anything. The machine doesn't work. If you hold the two handles, the electric shock is too strong to withstand and the natural instinct is to let go to relieve our muscles from the discomfort. However, if another person holds the other handle and you take the hand of that person, the current runs through the two of you and is bearable. If more people join in the circle, it is easier to withstand each shock.

The gospel only functions in our lives if we take hold of it with two hands, fully committed. However, it is inevitable that being a disciple of Christ will bring its trials, doubts, discomforts, and so on. If we try to live this life alone, we will not be able to make it through. If we take the hand of Christ, our families, our branches, our wards, our neighbors and support each other in the gospel, we can make it through and we can help others who are struggling. The love and blessings that result from this are unexplainable. Incomprehensible. Perfect. Reach out to help and to receive help. People are waiting to take your hand and overcome this world, sin, and weaknesses together. 

Love yall

Élder Snyder

Proud of my stack

Another Goat (Gadiel)

More Goats

Basketball

The sushi aftermath

Goodbye Dinner Party for Bro Richardson

El Pinche

A perfect family reunion

Goats from Church

Honduran Market

Week 41: The Best Lesson of My Life

Buenas

This week was super awesome and so dang tiring.

Mirian and Mario both got baptized this weekend! It has been so incredible to be a part of the conversion of these two people. Mario completely flipped his life around to start following Christ and Mirian went against everything her family was saying and their disapproval and chose to follow what she felt in her heart. I will never forget the smile on Mirian's face as she came up out of the water. She was so nervous beforehand and I was praying and praying that she would feel joy that outweighed all of the nerves and fears she had. Those prayers were answered and she could not describe the way she felt afterward.

However, please keep Mirian in your prayers. A few hours after her baptism she received the news that she tested positive for cancer. The Lord gives us trials but he also gives us so much help, such as the gift of the Holy Ghost, to guide us and give us comfort and peace.

Elder Cano and I were also in exchanges almost the whole week. On Tuesday, I served with Elder Johnson which was super fun because we got to Honduras at the same time and he's an absolute workhorse. On Wednesday, I served with Elder Abreu from the Dominican Republic which was dope and I also got to do a baptismal interview. Elder Abreu also threw up all over the porch of an old lady who had never spoken with missionaries before so that had me absolutely dying laughing and I sure hope she doesn't think that every visit is like that. On Thursday, I served in a trio with Elder Allen (who goes home in a transfer) and Elder Bryant (who has 4 weeks in Honduras) and it was sooooo fun. For the first time, I was the shortest companion in the companionship.

This weekend, we have 8 baptisms lined up so please pray that all will go well and that everyone can feel ready! 

This week, I have found more answers to my questions than ever before in the Book of Mormon. It is the Word of God and I invite everyone to read it. Every time I read, I feel closer to my Savior and I just experience joy. As I read it this time, I am marking every counsel it gives us to have eyes to see and ears to hear the promptings of the Spirit, as well as the promises of the Lord. We truly can “live in revelation” if we are consistently reading and if we do our part of each promise, He will open the windows of heaven upon us and we can be the believers He needs us to be.

So much love and appreciation for all of you!

Élder Snyder

Mirian's Baptism

Mario's Baptism

Week 40: Edified

Welcome back everyone. Gonna be a quick one today because I don't have a ton of time due to zone pday and I need a nap.

Started the week off sick. Elder Cano got the flu pretty bad and I've had a gnarly cough all week. Tuesday we couldn't leave to go work because Cano had a 102⁰ fever but Wednesday we made it out.

Thursday we had multizone conference and it was so good and I learned a lot. Humility has been a concept on my mind recently and how I can learn how to have more of it. Something that came to my head during the message of our mission president was I need to be 100% responsible for my errors and 100% grateful for each success. As we have tried to put this in practice these past few days we have seen miracles.

Mario, Miriam, and Gadiel are still progressing so strongly toward baptism and it is just a pleasure to be a part of this process with such prepared people.

The Lord is real. This is His work and He works harder than we do. Our friend Sheyla told us yesterday that she wants to be baptized. I talked about her a few weeks back but for those who don't remember, we have had some of the most spiritual lessons of my mission with her but she has just been so trapped by the fear of her extremely Catholic parents. We lost contact with her for a bit because she left for the capital of Honduras at the beginning of Holy Week and wasn't responding to our texts. We were just praying and praying that something would happen and she would believe a little bit more. Well we saw her yesterday as she accompanied her aunt (a member) to her first Sunday in the Church. We watched the first session and then afterward I asked her if she had a favorite talk and she told me it was Elder Holland's from the day before. Turns out she watched every session. And loved it. She also had a very special, personal, and spiritual experience during the week before. Her parents gave her their acceptance of her desire to go to church, she decided she wants to be baptized, and she wants to serve a mission one day. My heart has never been so full and I have never felt so heard and seen by our Savior. He answers prayers. He loves all of his children. His gospel is for everyone. Go find out for yourself and watch general conference😁

My time in Honduras has been the best of my life.

Love you all so much!

Élder Snyder

Dream Garage

Gadiel

Breakfast with the office Elders

Week 39: He is Risen! Here is Hope!

MLC

Semana santa = heat and no one is home

We hit 111⁰ out here in San Pedro Sula this week. But we ball. We found our way around the heat and taught a lot of lessons inside the church building or institute building and the Spirit was just so strong and it was super cool to be able to use big whiteboards and TVs to show videos and help our friends visualize the Gospel.

Had my first mission leadership council (MLC) this week and it was so cool to be a part of the process of brainstorming how we can improve the mission. It was also super awesome to see some absolute dawgs again and maybe for the last time🥲

We had interviews with President McClellan in his house and it was so good. We talked about what I have to do to be the missionary the Lord needs me to be and let's just say my studies are about to go crazy.

Cool stories…

We got a text from some sister missionaries in Canada that they found someone through facebook who lives in San Pedro Sula and is super interested in the gospel, the Book of Mormon, and being baptized! The only catch, he only speaks English. I was honestly so nervous to teach in English because I have never done it before, but the Spirit came in clutch and it was so surreal to teach in my language. We did a video call to teach him (Chris) with the sisters and then yesterday we met in-person with some other missionaries. The Spirit was so strong and as we taught the Restoration we arrived to the account of the First Vision. As missionaries, we memorize this passage of scripture to recite to the people we teach because of the power and testimony it contains of Jesus Christ and God the Father. However, for the past 9 months I have only studied it in Spanish and in our lesson with Chris, somehow, the exact words in English came to my mind. It was honestly something so small but such a great testimony of the power and importance of the Spirit in our teaching. We aren't the teachers. Christ uses us to share His message to ALL of His children. It turns out Chris lives just outside of our area but he is in good hands and I can't wait to see his progression.

We are teaching a medical school student named Gadiel and he has had some doubts recently about how ready he feels for his baptism. However, his faith is incredible. He is from a city about 2 hours away from here and during this week of vacations, he stayed in San Pedro instead of going home to visit his family so he could continue to listen to us. He has the desire to be baptized but still felt like he wasn't ready but yesterday we had quite possibly the most powerful lesson I have been a part of in my mission. In front of the baptismal font, us missionaries and converts to the church of all backgrounds shared our conversion stories and afterward, Gadiel texted us and said he feels ready to make his first covenant with his Heavenly Father! No words can truly describe the joy and Spirit I have felt while teaching him.

As many of you know, we all had the sacred opportunity to celebrate the most important event in the history of all eternity this week. The Resurrection of our Savior, Jesus Christ, is why we call him our Savior, Redeemer, King, etc. The Resurrection of Christ is why we can have hope in this life and in all circumstances. He suffered everything. Every pain, temptation, sin, weakness, sickness, and even death. All so we, his imperfect family, can receive the empathy, healing, forgiveness, and hope we need to have joy in this life and for eternity. Joy is not your circumstance, but your perspective. There is no sadness, pain, or despair in an eternal perspective. God made it perfect and Christ completed it all for us.

Love you all so much! Happy Easter!

Élder Snyder

Tiny Chair

Elder Cano takes lots of pictures without me knowing

Best tacos in the world

Chris

Video call lesson