Lessons Learned

March 28, 2016

Hey Guys,

So, the office has been really pretty boring these last few weeks. We are working here like crazy, but we have been really good about getting to our area on time, and we have a few investigators that are progressing. It is cool to watch an area that was dead and unused before we got here start to show some fruits from our labors. The office has been hard and a definite learning experience for me, especially since this is actually the longest I've ever gone in an area without baptizing, which is really kinda sad. I guess that's what happens when you are opening an area as an office missionary. Hopefully we can see these small fruits multiply.

Yesterday, we had a pretty insane experience, and while I can't explain a whole lot of what happened, here is what I can say:

1) Obedience is not negotiable, and there are NO exceptions, especially in commandments (or mission rules).

2) Follow the Spirit, even when it doesn't make a whole lot of sense.

3) It is better to run over the dog that live on the street and bites missionaries than to swerve and destroy power lines. Always.

4) Always be honest, even when it could be easier to tell a lie.

5) Warnings come in threes or fours, or fives, or any number more than one. The Spirit is strong, but it does not override your agency.

Long story short, two Elders from here in the office disobeyed some rules, took the car out and crashed into a power line. It has been a rough experience, especially since they could face some pretty major consequences, and we now are without a car for the next few months. I was in the house because I just felt like I should have them drop me off before they went to pick up the other Elders. We have been talking a lot about using the car as a taxi (because the car has a list of specific uses, and just getting around town is not one of them) and I decided to not participate in breaking a rule we had all been talking about so much. While in the house, I went to hop in the shower, and the lights went out, and I don't know how I knew, but I knew, so I called the other missionaries and they gave me the bad news. So, I tossed some jeans on and a white shirt and my companion and I went out to help them.

They really didn't do much, but they did a few things that were against the rules, so the situation goes from an accident to something that could have been prevented, and therefore their fault. Plus, it is not only something that affects them, but all of us in the office, and in really all of the city La Lima. At 8 am we were already hearing stories about the "drunk Mormon missionaries" that knocked the power out last night. (They weren't drunk, just for the record, but that will be hard to explain to all of La Lima.)

President Klein has been really interesting to watch as it all has kinda gone on. The first thing he did when he showed up was walk over and hug the two missionaries and ask how they were, then he talked to the police and took photos and all that good stuff. He didn't yell or even look mad, but he definitely taught some powerful lessons. Today he gave us a ride to the office, and we just got pure life lessons the whole drive. It is cool to watch someone so  wise and respected by all the missionaries maintain his calm and do exactly what I imagine Christ himself would do. No yelling, no anger, just love. And a nice solid call to repentance.

I hope that all is well in each of your families and that you all were able to enjoy the Easter holiday. We had a few really cool lessons yesterday as we focused on Christ and His resurrection. I love Christ and the ability that he give us to be clean from sin and live again.

Have a great week. Be obedient.

Elder Aldrich

Spontaneity At Its Best

Hello Everyone,

This week was fairly interesting. We did lots and lots of work in the office, but we managed to skip Thursday and spend a whole day in the field. We had a conference for all of Central America, and we have seen more miracles.

I started the week expecting angry calls from landlords because I messed up on the rents, and I forgot to pay them the three days before the first. Actually, I payed them three days before, but I forgot to account for the weekend, so I ended up having to pay them on a Saturday, which would make the payments appear in their bank accounts a whole three to four days late. I have already had some bad experiences with certain owners, so I was dreading the idea of getting calls from 80something angry Hondurans yelling at me in Spanish. It didn't happen though. Most of them didn't even call me, and the ones who did just called to make sure there wasn't a problem with their account or something. I love when we can all just be understanding of the poor gringo kid trying to play accountant. Haha. I am definitely counting my blessings, and I will be starting much earlier this next month.

On Tuesday, we had a super crazy day. I was literally answering two phones and having to run all over the place. Some people hadn't received their allowance and others had received too much, plus we had to help the APs get things ready for the multi zone conference. It was pretty hectic.

Wednesday and Thursday were the calm after the storm. I had very little to do, so little to do, that on Thursday, we only came to the office in the morning and spent the whole afternoon working in the field. It was great to go back to being a regular missionary, even if it was just for a few hours. We contacted the pastor of a church in our area, and we even managed to get in and teach a lesson. We contacted her and her daughter. The daughter has been deemed rebellious by her pastor mother, but seemed pretty calm to us. She even agreed to let us come back on Tuesday. She had lots of genuine questions and concerns. It will be interesting to see if we can't even convince her and her mom to come to church a few times. It is really a blessing to work with someone who has the same amount of time as me in the mission. It makes it easy to teach because we both have done it thousands of times.

On Friday, we were back to the usual grind, but without the car. The APs took it to La Ceiba to get the Multi Zone Conference ready to go, so we had to go to and from the office in a bus. It is like getting on a 30-cent roller coaster. It is terrifying, not very safe, and comes with entertainment. We had a drunk guy get on while on our way home. The poor guy was so drunk that he couldn't even walk right, and every time the bus would start to move or stop, he would go tumbling down the aisle into somebody new. The driver tried to get him to sit down, but he refused, so we got to watch him bounce around the inside of the bus for a while.

On Saturday, we went to a tiny little town called Morazan, Yoro. One of the assistants served there and has been wanting to go back, so when we woke up, we just randomly decided to go. We called President, and he said it was fine, so we left. The Latins wanted to stay behind, so we went the three gringos in the truck. Its about two hours in bus, but we made the trip in about an hour and a half. The road is a long and windy mountain pass, then you come out to this great view of the valley. It reminded me a lot of when you go into Jackson Hole, and they have that platrunky)

ce to pull off to see the valley. This was similar. SO pretty. It reminded me a little of Idaho and all those family trips. #baggy(

Sunday was a regional conference for all of Central America. We got to listen to three Seventies, Sister Stephens of the General Relief Society Presidency and Elder Andersen. It was good until some investigators showed up, so we gave them our good seats and we went and sat in the back. I couldn't hear over the children around us. I am sure that it was spiritual haha.

I hope that you all have a great week.

Elder Aldrich