Change Week

April 4, 2016

Hey Guys,

As the title points out, this week was change week, and I have a new companion, and the old one I had before as well. We are in a trio until Elder Rosales learns his new responsibilities as the Immigration Secretary. I have known Elder Rosales since he started his mission, and he is an excellent missionary. I am really excited to have him as a companion and finish out these last two changes working hard. He is from Guatemala and speaks fluent English. Although I will never have a gringo comp, this is as close as I can get, and I am content.

Wednesday was a rather bittersweet day, because Elder Ramirez, my companion from back in Miramar and one of my favorite companions, finished his mission. It is really cool when you get to have a companion that you get along so well with, then get to be his district leader, then drop him off at the airport. We really got to be great friends,and I hope he will make a trip up to the Estados Unidos to make a visit.

Saying goodbye to Elder Ramirez at 3 am.

The highlight of the week was conference. It was so good! I really enjoyed the Priesthood session. Elder Owens' talk about being a great leader and a great follower was probably my favorite, followed close behind by Elder Holland's pep talk. Elder Holland's talk reminded me a lot of his talk "An High Priest of Good Things to Come." Also, I was excited to hear President Monson talk, and while his talks were short, the both of them were incredibly powerful. I love to listen to the prophet and apostles speak, especially in English. Haha.

We had an investigator and a inactive man who hasn't been to church since the 80s in church this weekend. I am really excited to see the slow and steady progress our area is having. I am excited to keep working hard in the office and in the field, even though our lack of car makes getting from one place to another kind of difficult. I hope you all have a great week.

Elder Aldrich

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

Rainy Season

February 27, 2016

Hey Guys,

This has been another crazy week, especially since I have been glued to my computer all week. I've been changing houses, opening areas, and in meetings with President trying to help the missionaries have better houses. As you all have heard from some of my house experiences, the housing situation here is not great, and sometimes that makes it hard to feel the Spirit, so we have been talking about a way to make the houses better without paying a ton of extra money. I think that we have finally found a solution and we should be able to improve all of the houses in the next 4 months or so, just in time for me to hit the road. It should be fun.

 On Tuesday I went with Elder Ruelas (the new office Elder) to do the Ruta (and our companions went to the district meeting and stayed in the area to work). We get to drive from zone to zone taking everyone the things that they need in order to be missionaries. It is a blast. I get to hang out with an Elder that I get along with and go see old friends. Anyway, we started about an hour late because of a small issue, so we were racing to get it all done. In our haste, we forgot to give some Elders the packages they had received, so we had to double back afterwards and take care of that. It was this guy's first time, so some errors were expected. Haha.

Elder Ruelas (Texas) and I washing the car in the rain.  It was so gross and black that we had to wash it, even in the rain.  #HelpFromHeavan (get it: Because the rain rinsed it too) :)

So we got back to the office, and I got a call from the landlord in an area across town, so we had to go over and look at the house and pay her. (But first we went and picked up the packages from the post office, and that took a long time.) We got the keys and decided to help the new Elders move in. So we ran back and forth between their house and ours taking them the beds and chairs and table and so on that they needed. Of course, we decided to go ahead and do all of this during rush hour traffic... It took almost three hours to get it done. Now it was 8 pm, and we still hadn't actually gotten what we had to get done, done. We went to dinner at 8, then headed back to the office to actually get started on our days work at about 9 at night! We stayed in the office until about 10 and then made our way back home, where I collapsed into bed, exhausted. Talk about a busy day.

Late night working at the office.

On Friday morning, I got to go drop President Klein off at the airport so that he could go to Roatán with Sister Klein. I got to drive President's car, which was super awesome. He has a neat little Toyota Rav4. It drives way smoother than our clumsy little pickup we drive. I was tempted to go for a joy ride of sorts and go flying across Honduras, because it is just a blast to drive it, but I withstood the temptation and flew only to our house, where I safely parked it. The bad news is that it is leaking some fluid onto our tile floor, which should be interesting to explain to President when he comes to pick it up tomorrow. Wish me luck. Haha.

When President came to pick us up on Friday morning, he came in to see in what shape the house was in, and saw my make-shift ping-pong table I had thrown together. Last year I got a ping pong set for Christmas, and it has been a hit in all of my areas, but somewhere between Miramar and Progreso, the net went missing, so we always have to improvise with our net. This time I used tape and two pencils (I feel kinda like Grandpa "B" when I think of clever stuff like that. Haha), and it seems to work nicely. Anyway, President saw it and, without hesitating, picked up a paddle and challenged one of the assistants to play, follwed by my companion. It was fun to watch, although I think I will have to invite President over this week to play me, I want to see what he's got. Haha.

Last night I managed to download some talks, and I printed one that I couldn't find a recording for. It is called "Becoming a Consecrated Missionary" by Tad R Callister. Wow. That talk is so good, and it reminded me of some of the things I could be doing better. Anybody who is serving or is going to be serving a mission (cough cough Tyler) should read it. It is really so great.

Well, I hope that you all have a great week. I am enjoying my time here in the office, but man does time fly. Be good.

Elder Aldrich

Our window from the inside

Our window from the outside.

Me waiting on the last 2 Elders before going to eat. #DesignatedDriver

Us eating lunch.  We all bouth the exact same thing. Chicken fingers and Mtn Dew. Good Stuff.

53 Lempiras (about 2 dollars) buys us dinner for two and I love it.  #Baleadas4Life #BetterThanTheDollarMenu #ImLovinIt #Catracho

Gym Time

February 13, 2016

Hey All,

This week was pretty boring, to be totally honest. I feel like every week in the office is exactly the same, and it is especially rough because one secretary left to fill a hole in another area, so we all have to work more in the office trying to do what he normally did. It hasn't left much room for working in the field, but it will be over soon. Wednesday is change day.

BIG NEWS: I don't have changes. Actually, I got to have a little mini interview with President Klein on Wednesday, and he told me that I was for sure going to finish my mission here. I feel weird not being worried about getting changed every six weeks. But let me tell you, it is funny when President just shows up in your office and is like, "Elder Aldrich, can I have a word with you?" I still am not used to him being so close all the time.

This week Elder Hodson and Elder Hansen (the APs) convinced me to go to the gym with them in the mornings. It has been a blast, but man am I sore! We did legs on Thursday and I can barely go up the stairs in our house, but I'm sure it will get better as I go more frequently. Elder Hodson is on his way back to Las Vegas THIS WEEK, which is so baggy (trunky) that I can barely stand being around him. ¡Huele a muerto! Haha.

We are going to make being in the office kind of like a game this next change. We are going to make a rule that the first ones done get the car, but you can't take the car before four in the afternoon. That way no one will waste their morning to stay late, because there are no busses home at 8pm (and I would never ride a bus at 8pm in San Pedro. That would be like asking for someone to kill you). It should help to keep the Elders out of the office and in their areas.. Maybe we might even baptize some people! Haha.

Anyway, I hope that you all have a great week. I can't wait to share some more great experiences. Read your scriptures, pray, go to church. Do it. Haha.

Elder Aldrich

20 Years of ALL THIS

February 8, 2016

Hey Guys,

Thanks so much for all of the great birthday wishes. Today has been a great day. We went to eat at a place called In N Out. It isn't the same as In n Out in the States, but it is really good. We invited President Klein, and he came. It was a lot of fun. I got to eat onion rings for the first time in 19 months. President and Sister Klein also bought me a cake. It was sooo good. It was chocolate and strawberry with real strawberries on top. I had forgotten how much I missed strawberries. It was excellent, and probably the first time I have ever eaten cake on my birthday.

This week I got to go to Progreso to watch one of my old investigators get baptized. It was amazing to watch the complete 180 degree change that has occurred in her life. When we first found her, she didn't even want to speak to us. She is the daughter of a recent convert who had recently moved back in with her mom after what must of been some sort of split from her boyfriend/husband. She full on rejected us the first few times we tried, so we let up for a while, always including her when she chose to stay seated in the room. After about three months, we decided with my companion to try again, and this time she accepted. And on Saturday she was baptized. It was so cool to watch her come out of the water, and see the weight of all that had happened just lifted off of her shoulders. She just seemed to glow as she sat grinning in her seat as the ward leaders welcomed her into the fold. I am glad that I could go see that.

Also on Saturday, Hermana Jessica, my old cocinera, invited me and my companion to celebrate my birthday in Pizza Hut. It was a blast. They came out and sand to me, put the silly hat on my head (gross) and everything. I felt much more at home with all of them than I feel here in Lima. I feel like being in the office prevents me from getting to interact with everyone as much as I could in my old areas, which is kind of lame, but it was great to get to see them. Plus, several of my mission buds are in that ward, so they were there too. I had a ball.

We didn't get to do a whole lot of teaching this week because we were in a trio. One office Elder left to go fill a hole, and when one of the three had an emergency, we all had one, especially since I am the only one that can drive. I now know how to do all the jobs in the office, which is interesting. Hopefully this coming change will bring more stability and greater opportunities to teach.

I hope you all have a great week.

Elder Aldrich

End of the Month

January 30, 2016

Hey Everyone,

We had another good week here in the office. The end of the month is always the most busy time for the financial secretary. Rents to pay, light bills to pay, people calling to ask why the money hasn't shown up yet. Good stuff, all of it. Needless to say, we have been working nonstop in the office. My poor companion runs out of stuff to do and I just have to keep plugging along. Luckily, the week is over, and I should probably have enough time this week to get out and teach some people.

Sunday was the most exciting day this week because we are able to get out and work on Sundays. This last Sunday we excitedly went out to contact. I don't think I have ever been so excited to go contacting before, but I was ready to be out talking to people. At the very first house, we yelled "buenas!" then took a step back. A guy walked out and offered to let us in before we even said a word. He had listened to the missionaries about a year ago, but never got baptized. He's been to church and everything. We talked a little and placed a baptismal date in the first appointment. He will preparing to get baptized the 27th of February. We are excited for him.

Then, the very next house we went to, we yelled "buenas!" and a lady came out. She listened to the whole "Hola, somos misioneros. Me llamo..."spiel, then invited us in. We quickly explained our purpose as missionaries, and she explained that she had just moved to La Lima from Olanchito. She has had lots and lots of problems in her life recently and just had been praying that God would send her someone to help her with her problems. It was so cool. We have another appointment with her today, and we are really excited about that. Hopefully we can commit her to baptism today.

Last night I learned a new card game. It's called "Spades". I am sure that you all have heard of it, and if not, you are missing out. Elder Adams came to do divisions with the APs, and he taught it to us. It is similar to "Hearts" (one of my favorites), but with a few weeks. It was a blast, but I am still yet to win.

I am so grateful for the opportunity to be an Elder in the office. I love getting to be around the mission president and the other office Elders. I am learning a ton, and I love getting to be a witness to the Lord's miracles.

Have a great week.

Elder Aldrich