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| 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
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