Weeks 80-81: The Church of Joy

Hey I'm back!

Sorry I missed last week, I was like dead sick and slept all day. But now we are back to normal and honestly even better.

I'm so happy right now and I just feel like I am growing so much and that the Lord is blessing this part of his vineyard so much right now.

Elder Prior is a beast and learning so much so quickly.

We are finding so many people right now who are prepared to receive the gospel message. We had a whole family show up to church last Sunday and we already have one of the children on date for baptism! Please pray that her older siblings will also receive an answer to their prayers about baptism! Their names are Marbely and Joshua. We also found a 16 year old boy named Jairo who came to church and loved it! He said he really wants to prioritize God more in his life and he is currently praying about baptism!

I had an interview with President McClellan last week and it was great to see him again and to talk about my personal progression and how to keep growing. We also had the Multizone conference this week and it was awesome to see so many good friends even though I was still dying from my stomach sickness haha.

One little miracle we saw/lesson I learned this week was that of the power of simple acts of love and simple invitations. As we walked back to our house to eat lunch on Saturday, I saw an old man standing in front of his house. I recognized him as one of the converts of my trainer Elder Perry who got baptized about 2 years ago. I hadn't seen him in church the past few weeks and I had the feeling that he had kind of been forgotten. We stopped and asked him how he was doing, chatted for a few minutes, and then invited him to church because he was very missed there. The next day at 9am on the dot, he walked through the chapel doors in his old green flannel, sat down next to his old friends, and renewed his baptismal covenant. It truly is the church of joy.

Among other joyful moments, I have really found so much joy in prayer recently as I am focusing more on gratitude. I have always felt like my prayers have never been very powerful or meaningful but 2 Nephi 9:52 inspired me to seek joy in prayer and I can testify that it is real.

This time is so precious. This gospel is true. Prayers are answered and the Spirit is real. A scripture that has really helped me this week is Doctrine and Covenants 6:36 “Look unto me in every thought; doubt not, fear not.” I know the Gospel is true, so there really is no need to fear to testify of it and invite others to know for themselves.

With much love,

Élder Snyder

Week 79: Hit the Ground Running

Buenas

First of all, my thoughts and prayers are with anyone who has been affected by the catastrophic wildfires that are affecting such a beautiful part of California so close to my home. 

Apart from that, this week out here in Honduras has been so so so awesome.

My time in the office came to a close and it was such a fun and special time. I learned so much getting to serve so many missionaries in so many ways, as well as getting to learn so much from my humble mission president. But now that chapter has closed and we are on to the next!

Before receiving my new companion and traveling out to our area together, I had the privilege of getting to go to the temple 2 days in a row and participate in initiatories and endowments. It was so edifying to be able to remember what truly matters most and all of the physical and spiritual promises our Savior offers us. I love the temple and can't wait to regularly attend and serve there.

On Thursday, I got my new companion! His name is Elder Prior and he is from Salem, Utah. He is an absolute work horse and maybe that's because he literally was a horse trainer, bull rider/raiser, dairy farmer, and cowboy before the mission. He is not afraid to try new stuff, to mess up in Spanish, or to contact, so –in short –he's a beast and I got super lucky.

Our area is Campanas! I was here about a year ago but only for a month and a half so we have the chance to complete some unfinished business as well as break the limits and work as hard as we can. We have been seeing major miracles as we have been working hard to work with the members. We have already received 7 references from them in the 3 days we have been here and we are so grateful.

However, I think my favorite experience from this week was on our 2nd night here in Campanas. Elder Prior had been a little quiet his first day and understandably because Honduras is very different from Utah, but then the second day he started opening up more. He expressed to me very similar emotions that I experienced in the beginning of my mission about missing home and not really wanting to work very much. But then he said that he had already gotten over it all and that he realized that this is for the children of God here, not for himself. He expressed the joy that he is already feeling by getting outside and trying his best to serve with the abilities he currently has. I'm so proud of him and the missionary he will be.

As we have been studying the Book of Mormon as a mission with a focus on Christ, I feel like I am truly coming to know him as a brother and truly coming to see how essential the Book of Mormon is in our lives if we want to “come unto Christ.” He always answers prayers, he always blesses the faithful, he always knows the truth, and he always knows exactly how to help us. I read one of my favorite scriptures today that just gives me strength. 1 Nephi 14:14. We are Christ's church. All of his promised blessings are real and all will be okay in the end, despite the opposition.

With so much love,

Élder Snyder

Week 78: Bye Bye Primavera

Happy New Year!

These last few days have been super good. I got to run up some exchanges in Villanueva with Elder Holbrook and in Jardines with my son Elder Abarca. Both of them are absolute beasts and we had some super spiritual lessons. In Villanueva we did many straight up hikes to go teach people that weren't home but the view was pretty so that's lit. It was also so awesome getting to see some of my converts and other super special people from Jardines.

Celebrating the new year was super fun as we watched a couple more Disney movies as an office and then fireworks at midnight. We really gotta step up our game in the United States on New Years.

Our mission broke an all-time mission record of baptisms this year and 900 people entered into an eternal covenant relationship with the Lord. It is just so happy to know that each one of these people now has the Gift of the Holy Ghost. I am so excited to see what this next year holds in store for this part of the Lord's vineyard with all of the recent changes we have made to the mission!

On Wednesday there are transfers and I will be leaving the office to go train a new missionary and I am so excited and hungry to work every minute possible. I have loved my time in the office and everything I have been able to learn and miracles I have been able to see, but I am so excited for the time I have to now put into practice the many lessons I have learned.

I had my last Mission Leadership Council this week and it was so good. I am going to miss working so close to these absolutely incredible and dedicated disciples of Christ. Everytime, I left the meeting inspired by the testimonies and ideas of these people and it will be very missed.

In my mission, we started a Christ-centered study of the Book of Mormon for the next 5 months and I am loving it. Studying with a specific purpose makes all of the difference. Everytime we read with a specific purpose, new impressions, new ideas, and new hope can fill our lives. I love coming to know my Savior and little by little He is teaching me what really matters in this life. Charity is quite possibly the most important. One of the goals I have set for this year is to consciously make the decision to love each person I meet, teach, or see. As I have imperfectly tried to do this, I am just happy and each moment means so much more. This world really is beautiful and each of us can find more and more beauty as we try to love a little bit more.

With so much love,

Élder Snyder