Juticalpa street via Moto Taxi

Elder Huscrgoft's gopro captures two smiling Elder's riding in a Moto Taxi

and an unflinching dog in the street...

Week 57: su melón and...

so this week went by really fast! Elder Huscroft and I don’t have trouble being invited in to houses, but the people lately have not been wanting to continue with our lessons so we visit them less frequently. 

This week we had a lot of baptismal interviews to do. We don’t really mind them, but it takes some serious time away from our area. So we tried to make all of our time count in Juticalpa. 

So I have a new nickname. Elder Huscroft calls me Melón. It is because some kid thought I had the same skin color as a melon. So now Huscroft has just been calling me su melón. haha

We have had a lot of fun while we are out. We make the hard times good, and the good times great! I love this about our companionship. This week was particularly hard for us because our baptismal date Wilson decided he doesn’t want to get baptized now. He has been scheduled to work on the weekends now, so he doesn’t want to get baptized. It is super sad and so Huscroft and I are going to focus on some other people that we have so that hopefully February will be a really good month.

A pretty big power outage happened this week. It was a real bummer because we didn’t have power for two and a half days. A group of protestors decided to destroy an energy tower. So the power went down at 1:00 pm on Wednesday and the rule is-- if there is no power at 6 then you go home. Most of the people that we meet with are only available at night.  We had very little time to work, I felt like the work we could have done was cut in half. It is hard to work if we don’t have electricity.  So it wasn’t super good with putting new fechas on our calendar like we were planning on. 

So now Juan Orlando is officially president of Honduras. Honduras has gone crazy in the capital.  The protests have been affecting everywhere really.  Power outages and the way food is being moved around.  We are fine, but I hear that in Tegucigalpa it is craazy! 

My hope for this change with my new companion is that we will have some more investigators who will progress. Finding people to teach and who will or want to continue learning has been our biggest challenge.  I just hope and pray that next week will go better and that we can get in touch with some people that the Lord is preparing.  

The weeks are passing by really fast, it’s kind of freaking me out, but I know I’m making it last.  I love everyday that I am out here. I love you guys and hope all is well-

Keep Truckin’

Nickname for Elder Huscroft?  He is wearing the sunglasses of one of the kids that was at the home of Dora.
Dora needs to be married to be able to be baptized.  We are kind of waiting to talk and teach her husband before she can really progress. 

We are in Guaimaca doing the baptismal interviews of Karen and Alejandra.  They are soon to be baptized! They are the investigators of Elder Castillo and Tun.

a sleeping Elder Huscroft and I on our way back from Guaimaca.

maybe I'll start a scrapbook of sleeping elder photos!

The Honduran countryside...

This is the bus stop in Campamento, one of my old areas. 

a place I have spent a lot of time waiting "forever" for buses

 2 1/2 days with out power.  The people here aren't really affected by it because the power is sketchy anyway.

Week 56: boogie board magic

The Gringo's of Juticalpa. Latimer, Walton, Huscroft, and Roberts just getting back from the multi-zone meeting in Torocagua. 

So this week has been kind of sucky, but pretty good, you know spiritually and stuff. We had a good multi zone meeting that I had to conduct (dirigir in Spanish) which was really weird and nerve wracking. President presided and we focused on companionship study and other things. Our meeting was in Torocagua so we spent a while in a bus. 

Elder Huscroft and I have had to focus on finding other investigators.  A lot of people that Elder Banda and I were teaching have lost interest in our message. This week has been a bit discouraging and uneventful. We went to appointment after appointment and almost all of them fell through! Because of that Elder Huscroft and I have had a lot of time to talk. We have been discussing our zone and what we can do for it. Our ideas are flowing.  I think that is why the Lord has put us together. So far they are working--we are expected to have as a zone about 8 baptisms this month. If it all comes together it would be so great after last month that was so unsuccessful.  I’m very glad the Lord has helped us missionaries find people who are ready for the gospel. 

One of the cool experiences of this week was that we came upon a guy who is a mute. He talks with his hands. Elder Huscroft had this little draw board in his bag (like the ones we played with as kids), so luckily we used that as our way of communication. His name is Freddy and he is pretty cool. He can hear and read, but he can’t talk. We just basically have him write on the board to us and then we respond back on the board. It was a funny experience to be communicating that way at church. Everyone was looking at us weird, like what are the Elders doing with this guy?  Why aren’t they talking? I would have been curious too. It was a cool experience for me and Huscroft. 

We had a lot of fun this week we are definitely close as a companionship. We get along. I just hope next week is a little better. love you guys!

keep truckin’ 

--like the draw board in Elder Huscrofts bag.  A Magic Sketch by Boogie Board!

We are writing from the internet cafe, Sicos to be exact. It is not too far from our house and we don't have keys to the church. but hey- we got to write!

We are just chilling.  There are protests going on, so we can't really do anything super cool today. We have to stay close to our house. The country's President Inauguration is on January 27th. It probably won't settle down until after that.

We came upon this cow while out contacting on Thursday, the day before our multi-zone meeting.

This Honduran cow doesn't want any of our gringo weeds...

It has been rainy. I had to buy this rain jacket for 40 limps. 

It fits me better than the one I brought with me, which is huge on me now!

Week 55: Gringo's own Juticalpa

So my week has been super fun.  Elder Huscroft and I have really kicked it off.  Well, we are pretty good friends and it has been a week, so that says a little.  Our week went by really fast as we spent most of it in travel. 

Tuesday we went to changes and I said goodbye to Elder Banda and then my new comp and I headed back out with Elder Valadez´s new companion and Hermana Latimer’s. You guys will remember Valadez´s new companion in Elder Candia who came the same time as Elder Navarro. Hermana Latimer’s new companion is another gringo-- so us gringo’s own Juticalpa! 

So far it has been a lot of fun. We are working super hard. The only weird thing is when my new comp and I go out contacting/looking for people to talk to well, it seems that the people are rejecting us a lot more. So that’s a bit aggravating, but when we actually get in the door magic happens! (kind of like when we prayed for the Vikings! haha. I just saw the score in my dad’s email before writing my letter (Viking shout out! -you’re welcome Brett! haha)). 

So since we are struggling with not being able to get in the door and finding a lot of people... Huscroft and I have put our frustrations aside and have all the faith in the world that good things will come for this next week because one) we don’t have any travel plans and two) we are going to put everything on the table and see what the Lord can do for us. Elder Huscroft and I had a lot of time to talk about the area and the people so we have come up with a couple of ideas for the zone that I hope will help us out and let us have what we call success. 

We also had a ton of fun with the package I got. I want to thank everyone who sent me Christmas presents and also thank Mission On The Fly for delivering them. They made a lot of missionaries happy! 

We had a weird moment this week which was actually kind of funny. So we got this reference from the church, so Huscroft and I were basically thinking it would be golden so we setup an appointment and we headed out. We get there and the guy gives us a seat and he starts talking... It took me like 2 minutes to figure out what the guy was wanting. He was trying to pitch to us. He had contacted the church thinking he was going to get a business deal. Huscroft was super funny. When he realized what was happening he started talking to me in english about what we should do. I think the guy thought we were actually considering, so when we declined he got super disappointed. Definitely one for the books! Anyway, overall it’s been a pretty uneventful week,  just a lot of knocking on doors and travel. I hope to see and focus more on some of the little miracles instead of meetings. 

Oh and by the way- I didn’t feel the big earthquake last Tuesday. I don’t think anyone in Juticalpa did. Some of the people here are freaking out, but I really think we have just a bunch of people that want to say that they felt it. 7.8?  The members that were up that late tell us they didn’t feel it and nothing happened here.  All is good and I can’t wait to go about the work of the Lord.
Love you guys keep truckin’ 

Elder Gunnar Kihci-Miyikosowin Huscroft from Saratoga Springs, Utah.  He has lived there since he was 14.

This is Hermana Walton. She is Hermana Latimer's new comp and she is from San Diego.  She completes her mission in February so Juticalpa will be the last area of her mission.

with some hilote - it is corn on the cobb and Huscroft loves it.

The guys liked the rubik's snakes from my package.  I like them too but was busy figuring out my new camera ;)

Two missionaries on a moped.  It is the moped of the family Soleno.

??  remind you guys of anything ??

Huscroft and Roberts eh?

Dumb and Dumber!  slackers and dim-witted we are not!

This snake freak me out. We found out that it was dead so we shot a Steve Irwin video with it. 

 

Our encounter with the devil snake was touch and go... maybe we should start an animal show for PBS

Week 54: Good bye Banda - Hello Huscroft!

SO Im going to start this weeks letter off with a “sorry” for my mom. I didn’t take too many photos this week and it’s because Banda and I have been working our butts off! It’s been a good week all in all. 

And Banda had a couple “baggy”, “trunky” or “frito” moments depending where you served. He completed his 2 years on Friday. He gave his last testimony in the chapel today to our zone. It was sad the man couldn’t hold back the tears and the thanking of the Lord for his time serving the people in Honduras. 

This last week went by super quick and I hope I can get some of the highlights down. The Lord really helped us out this last Sunday and it took most of our week to pass by for people to actually commit to go to church on Sunday. We ended up with 5 people that came to church yesterday! That so far has been the most I’ve had in all my time in Olancho. So it was cool. Sometimes it’s just the little miracles. 

Then we had a cool moment with an investigator who had been baptized but had never received the Holy Ghost. In teaching and explaining it to her she said that she feels like she needs to be baptized again, and says that she’ll keep learning and listening. 

Now, what all us missionaries have been waiting for-- changes. My new companion will be Elder Huscroft. He is transfering from the city. He was a mission secretary for a time and now will be coming to Olancho. He’s super excited to work with me as the two of us have talked a lot in multi zones.  It was always one of our jokes to serve together in a pueblo and now we are doing it. He’s cool and is really calm or tranquilo as we say it in Spanish. He puts in a lot of work and I’m looking forward to learning from him. 

Hermana Gamez will be going to the city to finish her mission. She dies in February. Hermana Walton will be coming here to serve with Hermana Latimer. It is the last transfer of her mission too. I don’t know where Hermana Walton is from, but she is a gringo, so that that means that Juticalpa will have all gringo’s here as missionaries, which is pretty cool. 

Campamento will be receiving Hermana’s. It will no longer be an Elders area, which is kind of weird to me. Having to think that there will be no more interchanges there is a bummer. I think having sisters there will help out the area. The Hondurans definitely react differently to us Elders than the Sisters. 

I’m looking forward to the next change and how it will go. I hope it to be better than this last one which was pretty great! I don’t have much to write. I’m thinking more on who I have to visit with my new companion and how we are going to help our area and the zone to be better than it is.

I love you guys, have fun and 

keep truckin’

Elder Banda and I had these zone shirts made for the Christmas party we never got to have.  It wasn't until today that we were able to get our group together because of all the political stuff that's been going on. We didn't have a party we just ate lomo relleno.

We ate waffles at Oh Crepe's after our meeting in the chapel and then we plan to watch a movie. Banda picked it and asked president so it should be fun. 

who knows what's happening in this pic.  I forgot to put the timer on, so while trying to figure out what went wrong I got this picture. ha!

Elder Banda is excited and happy to be going home. He is ready.  He is at peace with all that he has done on his mission.  Tonight we will be saying goodbye to some members and then he will pack up his bags and we will go to bed.  Tomorrow morning we will go to Tegucigalpa.  I will pick up my new comp and he will go on to go home.

A note from Elder Banda to my dad: Thanks Brother Roberts, I love your son. Thanks to your family your son is a good missionary and helped me. The truth is he is one of my best friends.

Week 53: The New Year

a new years tradition of Honduras- the Naka Tamale

So this last week went even faster than the last one!

On Christmas day, after talking with my family we quite honestly had nothing to do. Everything is closed for the holidays. 

Our week was full of inter-changes as Elder Banda and I are trying to find a way to help the zone out of a little holiday slump. We had some good experiences with the people we are teaching. It could be better, but they are committing to come to church. 

It´s hard to say it, but our week didn´t go how we wanted it too. I have been feeling more than a little exasperated with all the travel and being out of our area. We found out that two people that we have been teaching and had a baptism date left to a town, they moved and didn´t tell us... SO bummer. We are looking into staying in contact with them and hoping they come back. 

It is the first week of the New Year! I am hoping that this week goes way better. It is Elder Banda´s last week in his mission. We want it to be awesome. Pray for us!

I´ll tell you guys a little about a new year tradition here in Honduras, one of the biggest is Naka Tamales. They are just like tamales... and if you ask me, better the the tamales I have had at Doña Maria´s. They are a tamales, but inside they have meat --usually pig or chicken, potatoes, rice and corn inside, but the best part is the ketchup on top! 

The 31st went by really nice. We had a lot of members who gave us food. We got a ton of it! I felt enormous going home with our hands full of Naka tamales and fried chicken. You can´t even imagine how many I ate. Back at home Elder Banda and I sat around waiting for the new year. We listened to some music, we messed around and called other missionaries. The new years fire works here in Juticalpa weren´t anything too spectacular but the firecrackers here did the job announcing the new year. Banda started joking saying, ´I´m in the new year, I´m going home!´ I started telling him to stop being trunky or baggy. We laughed and we headed back down to the room from outside. He is going home next week.  The guy is awesome. I will miss him.

I hope you all had a happy New Year and I hope this next year can be better than the last, as magnificent as it was as a missionary of the Lord! 

I´m so grateful to be where I am, and I hope I can do so much more to be more like Christ.

I love you guys and 

Keep Truckin´ 

Elder Banda and I eating with our convert Javier for the New Year. 

Javier's dogs Peppa (the closest), and the blue eyed one is Pantera.

On Friday we had district meeting. After we had lunch at a texaco

I saw this rainbow while on interchanges in Guaimaca. 

It was so big that I couldn't get it all in one photo. Imagine that!!

The end of the rainbow is over there!

This is a torrejas. They are made of bread and stuff and are super good actually.