Week 45: glowing skulls?

The Caves of Talunga ~ Glowing Skulls

So this week was super busy!  On Tuesday we had our leadership meeting. We had to stay the night in the Divino (by my last area), sooo I got to see Elder Navarro and his new companion Elder Caal. Elder Caal is really cool and Elder Navarro is doing good. He seems different now that we aren’t companions anymore. He has grown a lot. I don’t know how to explain it. 

We visited Elder Navarro and his new companion Elder Caal in el divino. We spent the night at my old zone leaders place, Elder Sanchez and Elder Obando

They don’t celebrate Halloween here so I spent halloween contacting for new investigators after the leadership meeting. I look at it like a “backwards” halloween... instead of me knocking and asking for a trick or a treat I gave them something. I gave them pamphlets, not candy but it was something.  Something even more sweet!

Interchanges were on Wednesday. I went to Catacamas to work with Elder Valadez and we had a lot of fun. We ended up finding two people who were really positive and receptive. On their next visit they accepted a baptismal date for the 25th of this month! I'm super happy for Guayape because they have been kind of down in the dumps. They haven't been doing so hot, so these new investigators bring happiness. I'm happy for them and pray for their success. 

I am also hopeful for my area as well.  This week it was a little down because of our being gone to the leadership meeting, and then the interchanges too. So I look forward to this next week and what we can do. 

But other than that we had a lot of fun this week. Elder Banda and I were traveling as well. It’s fun to see and check-in on other missionaries who are new and are pretty cool. 

We also had a presentation in our multi zone meeting about improving our teaching skills. It was really good. I mean, I feel good about it and I learned a lot more about the teaching skills. 

This week we found a couple of good new investigators.  It was interesting... so we found this guy here in Honduras who has never been “baptized”... which is like 1 in 50,000 people who aren't baptized here, I swear. Well, his name is Aomner, and I hope that he progresses. He is 27 but honestly looks my age, it’s kind of crazy. But he's pretty responsive and I hope he progresses. 

Today for P-day activity we went as a zone to some caves here in Olancho. The photo’s explain our adventures. That’s all I have for this week! I didn't take my camera around too much, but I hope you like the photos ...because I really enjoyed seeing the caves.

Keep truckin'

A spiritual thought for this week: I want to center the thoughts I have on a scripture in Deuteronomy 18:20-21 about how if a man is a prophet and speaks and prophecies in the name of Jesus Christ (jehovah) and it comes to pass, that that man is a prophet, and chosen by God. I received a USB from my dad with a talk by Truman G Madsen about the prophet Joseph and I love it! It explains a lot about Joseph Smith’s life and it made me want to study in the Doctrine and Covenants. I came across section 87 where Joseph Smith prophesies of the civil war and closes saying "says the Lord amen". He prophesied of the civil war and it happened. Many other prophesies have come to pass, such as the prophesy in section 111 which talks about his journey to find "gold" in Salem. He didn't find literal gold, but he did find spiritual gold. There in Salem he finds many people prepared for the gospel and they accept it and become saints who later make the journey to Salt Lake to establish what is now a prosperous city. My point is the prophet Joseph in the perspective of Deut. 18:20-21 is a prophet of the Lord. He has proclaimed and testified in HIS name and it has come to pass. My testimony of the Restoration has been strengthened greatly by the talks of Truman G. Madsen as well as these passages of scripture. I know Joseph Smith was and is a prophet of the most high God chosen in the pre-mortal life before the world was. I sustain him with all my heart as well as one of his successors (our current prophet today), Thomas S. Monson. He is once again, a man chosen of the Lord, the man chosen to lead the Church of Jesus Christ in our time. Listen to his words as well as the quorum of the twelve, and the first presidency as it too is the word of the Lord. We have his voice in these men, chosen instruments to guide us, his children, to His eternal presence. I love the prophet and the Lord for restoring this church, the only true and living church of God. I love my family, as well as my 2 cousins for making the decision to go and serve a mission after their schooling. I know their choice has been guided by the Spirit and they will grow in this time in preparation for their service. I love my family and each of you! I hope and pray this message may help some of you in your trials-- I say this in the name of Jesus Christ, amen. 

We ate lunch at a members house, Hermana Sauceda's this week. 

Elder Banda reading Jesus the Christ... 

The youth at Hermana Sauceda's house wanted photos after lunch. 

Juan Lisandro, Juan Manuel, and Alejandra and Nelsy.  Nelly is a recent convert. 

The nieces of Hermana Sauceda

We met some cute monkeys that were leashed to a tree.

2  monkeys. They were really friendly. I'm thinking they were tied up so they wouldn't leave or be stolen. 

straight out of animal planet eh? we just chillin'

truckin' to the caves...
We had to hike from Catacamas to the caves which took about an hour.

the entrance of  Cueva del Rio Talgua

Elder Sullivan and I talked most of the way to the caves about movies and sports we like... etc. 

Single file the whole time. We had a guide but it was a rip off. She charged us 200 Limps --to hold a flashlight.

single file...

These might be the glowing skulls! nope.  We were told later that the sites where the bones were discovered are still under investigation. They do say that they aren't as old as Mayan. It's interesting though that all of the skeletal remains in the cave have been cemented to the ground by the calcite. The public cannot tour the part where the skeletal remains are.  bummer...

Missionaries: Valadez, Sullivan, Banda, Roberts, Da Silva, Laz, Latimer, and Gaez

t-rex in there?  Estalactitas or estalactitas?

glowing skeletal remains this way!

and we are through - we had fun after -  went to lunch - then we all went back to our areas

A side note this week: A lot was taught in our multi zone meeting about sacrifice and obedience from president. For me and for a lot of missionaries it helped. I know more than a few who have been little by little changing or tweaking the rules a bit. Even me, I’ve been using google Hangouts to converse with my parents almost every week during the last little bit of my email time on pdays. I've used it to explain photos and the like as well as have a little bit of a talk with my family. Well, this past week President exhorted us to not use it and to wait until he had it confirmed with the mission offices. I would be shocked if we can. I sincerely believe the answer will come back as a no. In the mission handbook it explains a lot about it. For this I'm in a repentance process as well as a lot of other missionaries in our mission.  I do believe that obedience to the rules brings safety, blessings, and success.