Cats, Again

October 13, 2014


Hey Everyone,

As always, I would like to begin with a story. It's a scary story, so little ones, close your eyes. Haha. It was a dark and stormy night, and the great and spacious building decided to pump up the Halloween jams (I have no idea why. Honduras doesn't do Halloween). It's 10:30, and my companion was fast asleep, when I heard some noises by the front door. Figuring it was just the wind, I rolled over and tried to go to sleep. Then, I heard it again, but it was a little braver, but I decided to ignore it once again. After about a minute, there was a noise, and what seemed to be a man fell from our roof. While I had no physical evidence that it was a man, I was very convinced. Absolutely terrified, I ran to the window to see what had happened, but there was no one there. In order to look out the window, I had to kneel on my companion's bed. He woke up, and was pretty angry to find a gringo in his bed. I quickly calmed him down and explain the situation. He decided to call the lady who owns the apartment, which was as good of an idea as any. She answered, and sent her drunk husband to see if there indeed was a man outside of our house. When he found none, he very angrily returned to bed, leaving us to fight this invisible threat all by our lonesome. At this point, it had been fifteen minutes since the fall, so we figured he had left. Armed with the iron in hand, we bravely opened the back door, and looked out the door. In the fresh mud were paw prints. Seeing no other prints, we calmed down, realizing the cat to be the culprit. The cat later actually shoved itself through the broken window of our neighbor to escape the rain.

Can I just say one thing? I have a newly renewed hatred for cats.

We had a great week, but this coming week is going to be better. We have a baptism this week! I am so excited, but not nearly as excited as Denis (that's his name). We have to have the baptism on Sunday before church so his mom can watch. I expect that it will be very cool. So yeah.

Other than these few adventures, there really isn't much else. I ate an apple, which was absolutely fantastic. I found a doughnut shop, which is awesome as well. I am so grateful for all of your support and prayers. Being a missionary is awesome, and you all should be jealous ;)

-Elder Aldrich

The Struggles of a Gringo in Honduras

October 6, 2014

Dearest Family and Friends,

During this week, I have been reminded time and time again that I am not Honduran, and that basically my skin is like unto a beacon that says, "Look Here! But remember to squint and look confused!" One of these great reminders came on Saturday and Sunday during conference. First of all, I want to say that I love the new "speak your own language" idea. It's seriously so cool. Anyway, when the Spanish speakers talk, all the gringos exit the designated gringo room, and make the small journey into the chapel, where we are greeted by a burst of whispers that basically translate to, "Oh my eyes!" We all listen to the talk in Spanish (it was so cool, I totally understood!) and then quickly walk (or more like sprint) reverently back into our sacred room of English. I feel as though the people here resent us a little because the majority of the speakers speak English, and as you have all now heard, it's boring to listen to a translator. Anyway, that was interesting.

My other great story about my gringo-ness is especially awesome, because I am now a very funny part of the legend of "America Lady." America Lady is a legend around here, not much different from Bigfoot or the Loch Ness Monster. Not only is she very terrifying and mysterious, she's very real. The legend goes like this:

There is this creature, with blues eyes that extend clear up her forehead, and black, leathery skin. (She has freaky blue make-up above her eyes that, very literally, touches her hairline, and she wears a nasty black leather jacket.) On one lovely Sabbath Morning, she entered into the Bella Vista Chapel, and took a seat next to an Elder from the United States. "Where are you from?" she asks, shaking with anticipation. "Utah," replies the Elder. Suddenly, with the speed of a fast animal, she lays one on him. I assume that the Elder probably didn't respond at first, but I know one thing for sure, the other people did. The members literally pulled this lady off the poor Elder, and carried her out of the building and locked the gate. The Elder was quickly exchanged for a new Latino, and the lady was never seen again. Until yesterday.

I would like to take this moment to explain that there have been other sightings recently, like when she dressed as an old women with a walker in order to see a gringo. She was discovered as she, in what could only be a miracle, left her walker behind, and walked across the building at the first sign of a gringo. Luckily for this guy, one the the members of the Branch Presidency had seen the previous incident, and escorted her out, thus saving the unsuspecting Elder from a new experience. I also am now a new part of this legacy.

Yesterday, during special visits, Melvin (the second counselor in the Branch Presidency) and I were visiting a family. The visit was short, simple, and spiritual. When we left, we walked for a while, and then, we saw her. She was about forty feet in front of us, talking to a taxi driver. We quickly crossed the street, and I kept my head down. Unfortunately, she saw us, and quickly began to follow us. Luckily for me, we were able to get into the church, lock the gate, and go into the church before she reached the gates. Laughing, Melvin told me to give him his backpack, grabbed the Branch President, and they headed out to talk to her. I could hear her screaming (yes, screaming), "I saw one! You had one with you! He's inside! He had a backpack that was from America!" The Branch President then proceeded to explain that it had been him, and that the backpack was a gift from a missionary, but that there were none in the building.

The entire branch and district presidencies were there with their wives, and we all had a good laugh after President Dormes returned from his 20 minute talk with this woman. Now you may be asking, why on Earth did you take so long to explain this? The answer, my friends, is that nothing super awesome happened this week, and I find this absolutely hilarious, so hopefully you do too. :)

I will close by saying, I love conference. It is such a great experience, and I learned so much. I love Elder Bednar and Elder Holland especially. These truly are inspired men, called of God. I hope you all took the opportunity to watch it this passed weekend. I love you all, and I can't wait to share more awesome stories and to hear yours.

Elder Caleb Aldrich

"Gringo" missionaries watching General Conference in English (Elder Aldrich is not pictured, he is taking the picture).

Hold fast to your faith

September 29, 2014

Hey All,

This week has been a serious roller coaster, and unfortunately, not in a good way. But I'll begin by saying this, if my companion has a change, I will probably die. Seriously. We find out in like two hours who has changes, and I am seriously terrified that he will have a change. He's never had a companion for more than one change, with the exception of his trainer (but in this mission it's normal to have your trainer change). He rips through companions, and I think it's because President wants as many people as possible to have the chance to serve with him. He absolutely drives me insane, he's one of the most tone-deaf people I've ever met, and I love him to death. He can bring the Spirit into the lesson like no other, and what he lacks in directness, I make up for because I only speak direct Spanish.

Anyway, we lost our two most promising investigators this week. One, our one baptism date, is moving to Comayagua, and the other family had a fight, and the wife left the husband. It was seriously sad when we showed up at their house and it was just this man, his bed, and a Book of Mormon. We worked really hard this week to try to reinforce him spiritually, and when we returned on Saturday, he had actually gone to his wife apologized, and she decided to move back in. Happy Day! Right? Kinda. The problem now is that the husband won't get baptized without his wife, and the wife decided that she thinks God is God, and our church is too far away... So we'll figure that out. I wish I could explain the frustration of watching someone who had the truth right in front of them, reject it. Ugh.

However, I learned something really great form this week, despite the disappointments. Every day of the mission, there is something great. There is always a reason to stay. There is always a piece of hope. I feel like that really fits into real life pretty well too. Therefore, I have this small piece of advice to those of you who can read this: When times of trial come, hold fast to your faith, even if it's a little wobbly.

I know that times get tough, but through the Gospel of Jesus Christ, we can do anything. We are on his team, and He is rooting for us in everything we do. With that being said, I love you all, I love your emails, and I love the Lord. Peace.

-Elder Aldrich

Honduras and Tennesee

September 22, 2014

Aloha! (Or Hola, but they're close enough)

Can I just say that there are 13 Hondurans staring at me because I laughed so hard at that. I am glad to see my friends are still dorky and hilarious without me around. Haha.

Anyway, I have another awesome story, but first I need to clear some things up. For those of you who are concerned with me ironing shirts, I iron my shirts. We actually borrow this lady's iron frequently, which made this story even stranger. However, I did buy us an iron for our apartment to prevent future events like this one. And as for "she's our cook", I guess I should let you all in on the secret. I practically eat bugs here. The rice and beans are cool, but for real, the bugs are insane. I don't like to talk about it because it is super nasty and I like to try to not think about it.

Anyway here's my story. We had splits ( here it's "devisiones") and I got to go with Elder Neuberger, who is seriously the COOLEST missionary I have ever met. When we started walking, he said, "Elder Aldrich, I have a present for you. We're going to teach a lesson in English." Needless to say, I was absolutely pumped as I could be to hear this. All two and a half months of my training had obviously been leading up to this moment, but I realized that we had no materials in English. That was a problem, but we solved it because I'm awesome and, for some reason, had one of every pamphlet in English and one of the blue Books of Mormon. So anyway, we went to this appointment, and it was awesome. But first, some background.

Familia Alaya is a family of four, a husband, wife, and two little niños of 4 and 2. The husband used to work in Knoxville for a construction company where he did acoustic paneling and other internal structuring. He met the wife, they got married, had two kids, and he was caught and deported. She then followed him to Honduras to hold her family together. Seriously brave if you ask me. She speaks not one word in Spanish, which made it really easy to visit with them because we speak English.

Anyway. this lesson was seriously awesome. Elder Neuberger and I, in our rusty English, explained the Restoration, the Book of Mormon, and the Prophet Joseph Smith with insane power. I'm not even kidding. These guys were so ready and prepared to hear the gospel, but it had to happen in Honduras, because in Knoxville, "if the Mormons try to talk to you, you run!" But this lady wanted so badly to speak English, she let us teach, and the mission president was actually in town yesterday, and his wife translated all three classes in church for this lady. Talk about lucky (except luck doesn't really exist for missionaries).

Anyway, that was really the only super cool thing, but it was super cool, so I think it counts. Also, my companion loves Despicable Me, so his speaker is a minion. Said minion also doubles as our investigator during companionship study.

I love and miss you all. Stay strong, drink some Coke, and do something awesome.

-Elder Caleb Aldrich

Offically Catratcho (Honduran)

September 16, 2014

Hey All,

So, I've finished another week in Honduras, and I have seen many a great thing. However, I would like to begin with another fantastic story.

On Tuesday, my companion needed to iron his clothes, so we borrowed an iron from our cocinera. We stuck it in my laundry bag with my laundry and carried it back to our  house. At our house, I took out the iron and handed it to my companion. I started to fold my clothes on the table, when my companion plugged in the iron. This of course is the turning point of the story, so I figured I'd add a pointless sentence in here for dramatic effect. Anyway, he plugged in the iron, and after about 30 second of the iron heating up, the iron released what had to be 150 ormigas (ants) that were bigger than any ants I had ever seen onto our table. I honestly have no idea how they all fit in there, or why they were so insistent on being in our house, but that wasn't really important at the time. What was important for me was getting my clothes off the table before they could hide in my shirts. While I scrambled to kill the ants and rescue my clothes, my companion just stood, horrified. I actually don't know why he looked that way, but it was pretty funny. Anyway, when it was all said and done, it kinda sounds like the beginning of a bad joke or a riddle. "A Gringo and a Latino are standing in an apartment in Honduras with an iron, 50 pairs of clothes and a bunch of dead ants."

In other news, I'm still a boss at Football, and by Football, I still mean Soccer. On Saturdays we play football, but this Saturday we had what my comp calls "lluvia de miedo" or in English, Rain of Fear. Basically the rain was so torrential, it flooded the church and people couldn't drive. It was awesome. Anyway, we decided to just go buy some dinner and then see if we couldn't scavenge up an appointment before bed. After dinner, we were walking back by the church, and the court was dry, and our investigators were playing Football without us. So naturally, my companion wanted to run home to change our clothes, but I didn't hear him because I was already out on the court with Elder Gibbons playing in missionary attire. My companion apparently accepted this, because we challenged the investigators to see who could beat the team of missionaries. Needless to say, Elder Gibbons and I tore it up, more or less. I had two goals (giving me a grand total of 5 in Honduras) and an investigator told me not to look so surprised when I score. Anyway, this pretty much means I'm Catratcho (another name, not offensive, for Hondurans) and I'll replace Jozy Altidore in the next world Cup.

And finally, we had the Children's Day celebration. Here there is a Children's Day just like Father's and Mother's Days. We had a super big party with some recent converts, and just got to take a deep breath from all the strange things of Honduras. There was even a pinata. It was super cool. Anyway, these are my stories and such for this week. I love you all, and love to hear from you.


-Elder Aldrich

Todo Es Increible (Everything is Awesome)!

September 8, 2014

Everything is Awesome!

In case you were wondering, we watched Lego Movie in Spanish for P-Day. I could understand the whole thing because I pretty much have to whole movie memorized. Whether not that's sad or super sweet is a decision for you to make.

Anyway, I would like to begin with a short story. It's a beautiful day in Olanchito, 200 degrees, pouring rain, and two absolutely devilishly handsome missionaries are knocking on the door to the house of an investigator. Unfortunately, no one is home. This is their fourth appointment in a row to fall through. Pretty discouraged, they turn to face the street. Then, to lighten the mood, the missionary with darker skin picks up the cat on the porch, and in perfect English (so perfect, I think he's prayed that he would know how to say it) yells, "FLY, KITTY, FLY!" He proceeds by throwing the cat across the yard and over the fence.

The reason I tell you this story is because it describes my companion pretty well. He is a missionary, and he works hard, but he is a child as well. This was probably the funniest thing I have seen since we've been here. I really needed a laugh after such a frustrating day, and man he brought it. I don't think it was a super great thing to do as a representative of Jesus Christ, but I think he repented, so we're good.

In other news, people here are rude, but they don't mean to be. I can understand almost total conversations now, but I really struggle to speak. Anyway, because I don't speak much, I think the people think I don't understand. They often in the middle of conversations ask my companion questions like if I make him speak Ingles or if he likes that he has to talk so much. People on the street are fascinated by gringos, and always ask my companion questions about me. Finally, my companion has stopped explaining and just calls me over to explain myself and answer questions. I can't answer all of them, but I answer them enough that I get an awesome shocked face from them and me and my companion laugh about it.

On Thursday we had "Divisiones" with the district leader. Our district lead is 6' 9" and white, so we were quite the pair roaming downtown Olanchito. We had fish for lunch, and I got to practice my kissing a little.

Today I bought a Honduras jersey, and what I think is a Dodgers hat (sorry dad) that's a little too big for my head. The choices were Yankees or Dodgers, and I think there is a rule about missionaries wearing Yankees gear. I also bought a super cool watch. All are fake, and all were ten American dollars (200 Limps). I'll keep you all updated on how long they last.

Anyway, that's my week. I miss you all, and wish you luck in your daily adventures. You're in my prayers.

-Elder Caleb Aldrich

John (Elder Aldrich's dad) asked him a few questions.  Here are his answers:

*We leave at 11 every morning. We have to study the First 12 Weeks and do language study on top of the normal companionship study and personal study. Then we get one hour for lunch and one hour for dinner. We have lunch everyday at noon, and dinner at 8 at night. 8 is rough because I'm usually starving by then.

*We contact door to door, but it doesn't work. If people won't let you in right then, they won't answer the door when you go back two days later. We have one family of three we found and taught lesson one the next day, but if they don't answer today, we're gonna wait a few weeks and try again.

*We are starting an English Class this Saturday at 5. I'll let you know how that goes haha.

* We have 16 investigators. The problem we have here is that no one has cars, and most of our investigators either own pulperias (small convenient stores every 50 feet) or live more than 25 minutes walking distance from our Chapel. The other problem is that when it rains on Sundays, lots of roads are impassable, so we are averaging one investigator in church per week. He is awesome. He lives almost 40 minutes walking from the Chapel, and wants to be baptized, but his wife doesn't want to get married, and he has three kids,so we are kinda stuck...

*We set up to teach about 7 lessons a day, but only teach an average 2 or 3. People are never home when they say they will be, or as previously mentioned, or just don't feel like it and leave us in the rain.

*I feel like my challenges vary from day to day.  I'm just learning to cope with things and enjoy the challenge of missionary life. It's hard to be too stressed when you're always 30 seconds from an ice-cold Coke in a glass bottle for the equivalent of 15 cents. I feel like that is something Grandma Aldrich would've loved, and I can't help but think about her every time I have one.

Anyway, I really do love it here. I love the challenge of learning the language and dealing with companions. I can't wait to tell you guys about baptizing my first family and all that awesome stuff that is coming up.

Mission Blog

The Honduras San Pedro Sula East Mission President's wife has a blog where she post pictures and information about what is going on in the mission.  Her latest blog includes the missionaries that arrived in August.  There are pictures of Elder Aldrich!  The link to that blog is located on the right margin of this blog.  Just click on "The Mission President's Wife or go to http://themissionpresidentswife.blogspot.com

Coke is Life

                                                                       

                                                                                    September 1, 2014
Hi Everyone,
Guys! I'm in Honduras! It still hasn't sunk in yet, but I can honestly say that I love it. It's hard, and some days are super long, but every day has something that reminds me of God's Love for us. For real.

Anyways, I seriously love it here. My companion can be a pain, but I love him to death. He is the nicest, hardest working dude here. He just wants to make sure he trains me to be just as good (if not better) than him. He is THE MAN.

Coke is Life. Sorry Sports Fans, Ball is not Life. Here, if a family has 20 limps and needs to feed their family, they buy two 2L bottles of Coke (or Pepsi, but those families are confused...). No joke. It's more common (and often more safe) than water.

So the food is nice. It's super good, and always a little sketchy. This week I had Spaghetti Tacos, accompanied by an awesome side of refrigerator grease. My cocinera dropped my tortilla between the fridge and the oven, tipped the oven, grabbed it, and just tossed it on my plate. Delicious. And we had this weird "bone soup" stuff. It was good, but super strange. Oh, and if I ask my companion what something is, he only says, "No se precupen, es super rico!" Rico means tasty, and I honestly don't care. Hahaha.

We had a Multi-Zone Conference in La Ceiba this week. It's a 3 hour bus ride there at 4 am, and a 3 hour bus ride home at 8ish. I was asleep when we reached good-old Olanchito, so my companion threw my bag on my lap and ran to get off in time. In my running, my watch disappeared. I consider it a donation to the kind people of Honduras. I miss it, but I'll move on and find another that will stay with me longer.

It rained Saturday. I broke the "No Swimming Rule," as seen in one of the pictures below. It was a torrential downpour, and I loved every  moment of it. I love the rain, and the Hondurans think I'm nuts when I walk around soaking wet instead of hiding under the umbrella with my companion.

I love the mission. I learn something new every single day. I can now understand Spanish if they don't mumble. Speed isn't an issue anymore, but the Hondurans don't seem to know what an "S" is... Anyway, I can understand a lot of the time, but now find my usual comments to not be sufficient. I am so ready to share the gospel, that I feel like I'll explode some days. The Spanish comes in pieces, and I am always waiting for the next piece. I have Faith.

That's all for this week. I love you all so much, and I love to hear from all of you.

-Elder Aldrich