Week 65: Temple Miracles

El ejercito

It is finished. 

The temple Open House finished on Saturday and it was a very bittersweet moment. This week was honestly an actual blur because we were in the temple from 7:30am-9pm from Monday to Saturday but I'm just gonna hit y'all with some highlights…

We have a friend named Anny who is getting all of her papers ready to get married to a member who recently started coming to church again! They came to the temple this week and we got to do such a special tour with them. When we arrived to the Sealing Room, they were selected to be volunteers to stand in the mirrors as the guides explained all of the symbolism within that holy room. We watched them look into the eternities of their family and we watched tears fill their eyes. As we left, we asked them how their experience was and they were both speechless. A truly special moment.

Our ward decided to not hire any more buses to haul the people of our area to the temple, so Elder Dávila and I took matters into our own hands and rented a bus and 30 more people got to go have a once-in-a-lifetime experience in the temple.

We laughed a ton. Working so close with Elder Porter and Elder Alvarenga all day every day might be the best ab workout possible. 

A woman who is the mom of a girl who got baptized a little over a year ago came to the temple. Due to circumstances in the past, she was not progressing in the Gospel and moved to a different home and contact was lost. At the temple, the sister missionaries who originally met her introduced us to her and she shared how she has made some changes in her life and now wants to get baptized... and she lives in our area! A true miracle of the temple and we are excited to help this family continue to come unto Christ.

After everything came to a close on Saturday night, all of the sister missionaries, us 4, and President and Sister McClellan gathered together in front of the temple. President thanked us for all of our work, we took some pictures, and then one of the sisters started singing “Called to Serve”. All of us joined in and it was so awesome to all be gathered there in such a beautiful place unified in the best cause.

This week was another very straining week– physically and mentally– but I read a talk this week that changed my life. “Act in All Diligence” by Henry B. Eyring. Christ is our perfect example of diligence to keep going even when we are tired and think we have done enough. I invite everyone to read this talk, it's for real so good. “He called us and trusted us even in the weaknesses He knew we had. He knew the trials we would face. By faithful service and through His Atonement, we can come to want what He wants and be what we must be to bless those we serve for Him. As we serve Him long enough and with diligence, we will be changed. We can become ever more like Him.”

With much love,

Élder Snyder

Temple miracle

Jardines Reunionnnn!

Goat!

Sisters taking candids

God painting the sky

Week 64: Carried to Christ

Albert and his wife, Maria

In the 4 days since I last wrote you, one of the most special experiences of my mission occurred.

11 days ago, I was on an exchange in my area with a new zone leader and we just “got lost” contacting people up in the mountain of our area. After climbing up a tall and very steep flight of moss-covered stairs, we came across a house and we contacted it. Immediately, a woman came outside and told us to come in. As we passed through the doorway, we saw a bed placed in the middle of their living room with a very frail old man placed in it. His name is Alberto. He was baptized by missionaries 10 years ago and the only movement he has in his body is in his arms, neck, and face. The rest is paralyzed. Due to his condition, he has not been able to come to church since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic.

We started to get to know him and his wife and we heard Alberto's conversion story and learn of his deep faith for the restored gospel and his deep desire for his wife to get baptized. We felt prompted to teach them about the temple and we proceeded to feel the Spirit very strongly in this small, humble home. Alberto expressed to us his desire to go to the temple open house and we told him that we would help him get their.

Fast forward to this past monday, we receive a call from a member of the church here in San Pedro, an old friend of Alberto. He told us he has organized everything to accommodate a tour of the open house for Alberto. A reserved parking spot, wheelchairs, etc. He only needed help to get him down the mountain. Elder Dávila, Elder Perry, Elder Muñoz, and I ended our preparation day early and headed up the mountain. We entered the house and saw him all dressed up with his hair combed and a smile across his face. He explained to us that to get him down the mountain, each of us had to take a corner of his bedsheets and hoist him up and carry him down the tall, steep stairs leading to the road. After saying a prayer in my heart that we would have the strength to do it, we carried him down, step by step, to the car waiting for him. Elder Perry whispered to me as we were carrying Alberto, "Bro, we're like the 4 friends carrying the paralytic to Jesus." It was a very special moment to be a missionary.

We arrived at the temple and hoisted him into a wheelchair and began our tour. Him and his wife were amazed by each room and left the temple with so much joy, and with many questions about temple sealing for all time and eternity.

We returned to the mountain, hoisted him up in his bedsheets and carried him back up to his house.

This week, we have stopped by a couple of times to hear their thoughts and teach them more about the temple. Yesterday, Alberto asked us if his wife could baptized and sealed to him on the same day. We explained to him that there is a little bit more of a process and he then explained how she is ready to be baptized. She expressed some doubts, but also the love she has for her husband and her desire to be with him for eternity. We are trying to help her faith and testimony to grow so that she can make her first covenant with God so that a little further down the road, she can live with Alberto for eternity. Please keep María Serrano in your prayers.

I am so grateful for this time I have to be a representative of Jesus Christ and give everything I have to share His Gospel. Temples are the House of the Lord and they have power to touch the hearts of all people. Please go and worship in the temple and please share the good news of the restored gospel and temples with those who don't know of these life-changing covenants that bind us to Christ and our families eternally.

With so much love,

Élder Snyder

P.S. I also got attacked by a massive German Shepherd while on exchanges in a different area and was miraculously protected by God. The dog completely bit my leg and pulled but only got a hold of my pants. I felt the teeth on my skin, but after escaping I looked down at my leg and not a scratch was to be seen. All I could find was a ruined pair of pants.

Week 63: Temple Open House!

With Elder Olsen (Central America Area Authority) and President and Sister McClellan

Okay I don’t even know where to start.

This past week, the temple open house began and it has been the most special experience as well as one of the most physically and mentally straining weeks of my life. I have had the opportunity to help supervise the organization and management of all of the missionary-volunteers who are serving and let’s just say it has been hectic. We get to the temple at 7:30am and leave a little bit before 9pm every night with little to no breaks, so shout out to all of the sister missionaries giving it everything they’ve got for these 14-hour workdays. This last week, we worked together with the San Pedro Sula East Mission in the open house so it was really cool to get to know some other missionaries, however it did make our workload much heavier.

The first day was a VIP day and I had the privilege to get to know some Area 70s and see the temple touch the hearts of a lot of prominent leaders of the country. They had a live orchestra quartet and a ton of fancy food, I felt very out of place haha.

Thursday was absolute chaos as thousands of people started to come and we really had no idea how to organize all of the missionaries and organize the groups. Amid the chaos, we got to enter the temple for the first time with our ward, La Primavera, when they arrived. We have two teenaged recent converts who are brother and sister and their parents- who are not members- visited the temple with them. As we all sat in the sealing room, the spirit was so strong. Our guide gave everyone the opportunity to stand up and look into the mirrors with their families and this family was so excited and the four of them stood there, looking at the potential of their eternal family. It was so special to see their smiles and we are praying that the hearts of the parents soften to accept the restored Gospel in their lives. Our guide was also super funny, whispering jokes to us missionaries that we couldn’t enter the bride’s room or look in the mirrors to keep us focused on our missions. 

On Saturday, approximately 11,500 people visited the temple and we had to call in extra backup. Almost all of the Elders in San Pedro pulled up and saved us helping organize the lines and groups of people, as well as answering questions and helping all of the visitors learn more about the church! One of my favorite things about working in the open house is getting to see so many people from all over the country who I have met during my mission– especially my converts. Yuk Shan has come to visit the temple 4 times, and every time she has brought a different friend who is not a member of the church. Guillermo came and was absolutely blown away by the beauty and spirit of the temple. Missionaries come and go, but the temple is an eternal missionary that will continue to nurture the testimonies of all of these special people.

Yesterday was a holiday here so there were no buses, so almost all of the sister missionaries came to church with us and it was honestly a sight seeing so many missionaries in one tiny chapel. Another consequence of no buses was having to drive for about 4 hours taking many of the sisters back to their areas but it was fun talking about all of our conversion stories and experiences from our missions. We were finally able to get back to working in our area after 4 days in the temple and we had such a good lesson with a girl we are preparing for baptism named Jimena. We spoke of the power and importance of asking questions when we pray and how that is how we can be sure about the decisions we make. She was so excited to try it out, as well as go to the temple open house today with all of her family!

Other things:

● Saw the one and only Elder Jared Poulsen at the temple open house and it was so lit. I love how small the world is in the Church.

● In Elder’s Quorum, two old guys started having a super funny argument about the parable of the ten virgins and what the oil represents. I love old people.

● A missionary from 63 years ago who was the first branch president in San Pedro Sula visited the open house and saw the fruits of his labors 63 years ago. That was a big faith-building and motivating experience to see him there talking with his converts who are now patriarchs and other foundations of the church here.

Friday was honestly a tough day because of the EXTREME heat and the extra efforts Elder Dávila and I had to do to organize the hermanas as well as make sure they always had enough water and breaks. By 3pm, I was dead. President McClellan noticed that and told me that we’re running a marathon, not a 100 meter dash. Those words had a huge impact on me. In a 100 meter dash, everything has to be perfect if we want to win. In a marathon, you can slow down and speed up– even fall down– and still finish victorious. The 14 hour shifts are a marathon, but this life is a whole lot longer. There is time to take it slow, to do the little things, to pace yourself, and to progress. There is room for error and room for improvement. And there is always a need for Jesus Christ. Perfectionism will be a lifelong struggle for me, but because of Jesus Christ, I can become more like Him little by little, step by step. Moroni 10:32

With so much love,

Élder Snyder

Week 62: Runnin It Back in the Gardin

Mirian's Baptism

This week was very very special.

I got to do divisions three times with 3 incredible elders this week and each one was so awesome.

The first one was with Elder O'Ryan, one of the secretaries in the office. He is from Antofagasta, Chile and is quite possibly the funniest missionary I know. We were lowkey having a really slow day but then at 8:30 we got a call from a member from another part of Honduras. He was asking us if we could come to his hotel to give his uncle a blessing who would be having surgery the next morning. It was pretty far from where we were but we kicked it into gear and started racing over there so we could get home in time afterward. On the way, a member and two young men in the ward of Elder O'Ryan pulled over and gave us a ride to the hotel and accompanied us in the visit. The Spirit was almost tangible in that hotel room as we all bore testimony of the Infinite Atonement of Christ and the power of the Priesthood. A moment I never want to forget.

The next day, I went with my dawg and fellow Californian, Elder Rosales. This exchange was just fun, pure, and diligent missionary work. We don't have a ton of people progressing in our area right now so we just contacted all day and just had a great time inviting literally every living human to the temple open house!

On Thursday, I went to Jardines!! It was so awesome to be back in my favorite area again and seeing a lot of my converts and Hector. This day was very special for me because I was able to see many fruits of my labor. All of Darwin's siblings got baptized, Yuk Shan invited a friend to listen to the missionaries and will be getting baptized this coming week, many of my converts have callings, and Gadiel goes to help the missionaries teach. There is no joy more pure than seeing others come unto Christ. I would be happy serving in that area for the rest of my mission but seeing the progression since I have left really helped me to know that the Lord is truly in control. 

Yesterday, I got checked out by a dermatologist because the weird skin infection I have keeps spreading but I'm confident my new meds will help a lot more. Afterwards, we went to the temple! Elder Dávila, Elder Porter, Elder Alvarenga, and I are going to be involved with a lot of the logistics of the temple open house so they got to go to a training (I missed it because of the dermatologist) and then sneak peek of the work we will be doing with all of the sister missionaries and volunteers (I did not miss this part). I cannot express how excited I am for this city to receive a temple!!

Also, Mirian got baptized yesterday!! She was so ready. Without an ounce of doubt or fear, she stepped into the baptismal font with confidence and made her first covenant with Heavenly Father. She bore her testimony afterwards of how her faith has grown in her time learning about the gospel. When we were all eating cake afterwards, there was such a strong spirit of peace and tranquility that all of the members recognized and commented on. Also right before the pictures we took, Mirian walked straight into the glass door without seeing it and helped everyone to have a very real smile in the picture hahaha but she was a champ about it🤝

I have been loving my life recently and feel very blessed, but I have felt a little bit empty from a lack of consistent, fervent prayers and focused scripture study. The basics really are so important. We had MLC this week and we focused a lot of goals, plans, and accountability and how these three things allow us to show a lot more faith unto the Lord. I have set goals for myself this week and I am excited to feel a difference. One of my favorite quotes from General Conference is by Emily Belle Freeman which states, “Remember, pace or placement on the [covenant] path are not as important as progress.”

With much love,

Élder Snyder