Halloween in Honduras

November 3, 2014

Hey Everyone,

Hope your Halloween was awesome. Mine was certainly interesting.

For those of you who don't know, Halloween doesn't exist here (lame, right?), so I had to improvise. I used my towel with my name on it, and became Super Aldrich. Basically my costume beats yours because I've got a fancy name tag. My companion really wanted to participate, so he was Santa Claus. He lathered a large amount of shaving cream on his face and walked around saying, "Ho Ho Ho," for like twenty minutes. Haha. One of the youth in our branch here in Olanchito, Josè, visited us at our house, and wore a bag on his head as a mask. I am teaching these people things. You should all be proud of me.

It has started to rain as I expected it. Non-Stop, with pauses to trick missionaries into putting away their umbrella. It started so quickly one time this week that I was thoroughly soaked before we could take the five steps into the house. Olanchito's drainage systems don't function, so the roads become rivers. We bought some stylish black rubber boots. They're pretty awesome, and are awesome for river-jogging.

I locked our keys in our house this week. I had to very shamefully walk over to the lady in charge to give us her spare set. The problem was that the spare set doesn't exist, so she broke through our window thing we had and, with a long stick, broke into our house in less than five minutes. I fixed the window, netting, and removed the ability to open our door with a stick. The goal now is to not forget the keys again. I've been successful so far.

I don't remember if I had already shared this story, so I will share it. We had a girl we were teaching, who accepted to be baptized, but then moved to another part of Honduras, outside of our mission. Yesterday, we visited the family she was living with, and we asked about her, we received an interested response. The little girl smacked her forehead and said, "Oooh Hermano. She got married!" Even more surprising, she moved in next door. They seem happy enough. We still haven't decided what to do there.

I want to finish my email with an invitation. I would like you all to listen to (or read, watch, etc.) a talk by Elder Jeffrey R Holland from the October 2009 General Conference. (the link is https://www.lds.org/general-conference/2009/10/safety-for-the-soul?lang=eng) It is a seriously amazing talk about the Book of Mormon. If you feel as though you are struggling with a testimony, or struggling with anything else for that matter, the Book of Mormon is the key for you to find the help you are looking for. This talk is a powerful testimony of the truthfulness of the Book of Mormon, and you really should listen to it.

That being said, I know that the Book of Mormon is true. I don't just say it because everyone else does and I don't want to stick out. I've read and prayed and read again, and I know that it's true through the Holy Ghost. This talk by Elder Holland is excellent, but it won't give you a testimony. You have to pray to Heavenly Father and ask for one. They begin small, and grow gradually (see Alma 32), but they are there, and they are gifts from God.

I love you all, and I hope you guys all take the opportunity to share this wonderful Book with someone in the week to come.

-Elder Aldrich