ELDER OCHOA

Monday, October 28, 2013

SO THIS WEEK WAS SICK. We had Elder Adriàn Ochoa, of the 70 and our area presidency, tour the mission. It was really good. It complicated the week, because we had  him do a mission tour, and we got to listen to him speak and shake his hand. He truly is a special witness of Jesus Christ. He bore such powerful testimony and gave such great instruction to us. One thing that he mentioned that I have since put into practice is that we literally represent Jesus Christ, and we need the people that we teach to know that. They need to know that we are literally there in his place. That we represent him, and that gives us the power to make the challenges and commitments that we do. NOBODY ELSE HAS THAT. Incredible. We also had a question and answer session which was fun. I learned a lot. Lots of good stuff. 

And we had an investigator that ended up in rehab...and he is out now. He shouldn`t be. We talked yesterday before church, and this is one of the times in my mission where I have felt the evil more present than ever before. Literally, it was palpable. Like one of the apostles once said, we don`t talk much about the adversary, but we acknowledge that he exists. And I feel like I have really experienced that once or twice now. This was definitely one of them. It's amazing, almost, to see somebody so closed and so dark. It is a pretty haunting feeling. Very empty. I remember one time how dad told me that death row inmates have nothing in their eyes, no light, no spark...nothing. Seen that. Very unsettling. 

On a better note, we are having some success. An elder who is going on a mission soon is having us teach his family. They are very catholic, so we will see how that goes. And we have a 12 year old, ANA, who is so close. Her mom is an inactive. She is very close to baptism. 

And erin mentioned that cody rolled a car. . . .ummm.....please inform about that. I would like to know. Good luck in the marathon...that's a long way to run. And my favorite food here this week....shrimp soup. But with whole shrimp. So GOOD. Heads and all. You gotta pick them out, but its okay.

And love to all! pics of me and Justin Elnicky. Enjoy.

Love,

The abnormal one....

 

Zach and Justin played soccer together when they were 10.  This is the second time they have been in the same area together.

Add caption

 

No subject .....

Monday, October 21, 2013

Well...this week. Interesting. We did a lot, but with little time. We had to go to Teguc on Wednesday, so I got to see some old comps, but it was long. We left at 5 am, so it made for a long day. My buddy Elggren is my ZL, the one who went home for breaking his foot. He got back a little while ago, and is currently zl in our zone. We did divisions of course. Absolutely love him. Our zone stayed almost the same, but the new people that got here are cool. Both are in my group...which means we got to the mission together. 

We are having a lot of progress with Luz and Edwin. They committed to marriage and baptism. Hopefully they will go through. We also had a member give us like two baptisms for very soon, but one is leaving to go work, and will be there every 15 days. So more difficult. Then we had 4 young men give testimonies that go on Wed to the MTC...in various countries. One brought his whole family...none of whom are members. His mom looked so distraught... I can imagine how she felt...not being sure why her son is going to Argentina...for two years. We have a cita with them on Thursday. 

It's been a super slow week. I am super tired all the time now and don`t know why.....oh wait. It's 16 hour days...in this heat. It's bad. 

We have Elder Adrian Ochoa, from the area presidency coming to zone conference on Thursday....and then I have to go to another conference for all zls and dls afterwards. That should be fun. 

I did get my suit. It is SICK!!! I love it. It's gray or grey. I don`t know which one it is. And dad....a cane?!?!? hijole cuate. viejo. andas cojo eh?? jaja. no. Mom...dad will play until the doctor threatens to amputate. 

So this week was sort of slow. No, dad...I am not invited to ward council. I had to invite myself. and I couldn`t give a blessing in English if my life depended on it. Erin...stop making cupcakes. Or make me cupcakes when I get back.

Thats really it for right now. I can`t think of anything else to include.

Fun fact. We saw part of the parent trap...the newer one, last night. Talk about making me feel old. And having kid flashbacks. And then we got soaked by a killer huge storm. It will probably be one of the last ones that I see, for I will be home for the next winter here....16. 8 left. thanks and love you all.

Zach

Fun Facts:  Zach is back in the hotter part of Honduras.  I checked the temperature there on October 22.  It is supposed to be 90 degrees.  What's he complaining about, right?  The humidity level is 89%.  Add that together and you get a temperature of .... wait for it. ...... 122 degrees!  

"The cold season lasts from September 20 to October 31 with an average daily high temperature below 91°F. The coldest day of the year is November 1, with an average low of 73°F and high of 91°F"

Pena!!

Monday, October 14, 2013

 

So this week was rough. Nothing is going like we want it. We had lots of investigators that we were sure were going to get baptized. And right now, all is in jeopardy. It sucks super bad. We are doing everything we can to try and find new people to teach, and getting to be able to do the stuff that we need to do to help them, but nobody responds. It's really frustrating. Makes me want to really kind of hit people. 

But that isn`t what Christ would do....So I try not to. 

All is good, though. Working like always, doing more to work with the ward. They don`t really help us. The same members are always doing the helping, and they will get burned out. The bishop sat us down and tried to give us a talking to about how we need to do better....the problem started with him telling us how humble he is. I respect the guy for a bishop.  Time will tell. 

I did have a huge event this week. We invited ourselves to ward council yesterday, because I am needing help from the members, and that is the easiest way to get it. Well, we were there and the bishop was kind of talking about missionary work and how the members need to be more involved. One of the ladies there, a counselor of yw....spoke up for us in a huge way. She told how the two elders...me and Smith, had been a huge help for her. She has a nonmember husband who drinks and stuff, and she lives trying to stay with him, and help him. He is a hardened man. Anyway, she told the whole council how awesome we were, and how much we have personally helped her and her family. It was a confirmation for me that I am actually doing some good in my area, even if it seems like nobody wants to progress. I felt so much better after that. 

And then, this morning for pday, we went to the Peña. I went there when I got to the mission, but i forgot to take my camera, so i took it this time and wow, worth the climb and all. So COOL!!!!!! We went as a zone, it was so dope!!! Absolutely loved it!!! I got a little burned, but I put sunblock on, so it wasn`t so bad. 

I also sort of kind of got in a members face this week. Not proud of it, but it needed to be done. Nobody in this country understands the whole one true church concept, so its sad. And they have a lot of misconceptions about a lot of things. Even members. I was very strong and very direct. It maybe was a little harsh, but sometimes, I have learned, you have to do it. The church is true, and we have to defend it. Elder James E. Talmage said that ¨Ignorance is a fertile soil for apostasy.¨ So lets do our best to help our friends and neighbors know exactly who we are and what we believe.

I love you all!!!

Zach

 

Waldo or Zach? 

More pictures of the missionary please!!

 

Conference ....

Monday, October 7, 2013

 

So conference was good. I missed most of it due to bringing investigators, and most of the sessions because it was not being transmitted well. But it is okay. We had some interesting stuff happen this week.

First off, we lost our four kids that we were going to be baptizing. They really loved coming to church and all, but their father....banned them from meeting with us.

Also, Noly, an investigator we have, is progressing more slowly than we thought, but it is okay. We are being very thorough, and trying to help her the best that we possibly can to make it a true change....and we are also working with the littlest sister of the member who found us Noly, her name is Adelfa. Her sister that is getting baptized is named Neymi. Names are weird here.

And we also started teaching a couple that the last Elders were teaching. Luz and Edwin. Edwin is 25, and Luz is 35. Her first husband died, and she had four kids to raise...so she shacked up with Edwin.  They are okay.  We will see what happens. 

I had a very cool experience this week. There is a little boy in our area, David. He is 7, and his family are members. He got super sick with Dengue this week. And the poor kid got freaked out of his mind because the clinic where they took him to do the tests had some guy that was like dying from dengue. So when the doctor told him he had dengue, he started bawling because he thought he was going to die from it. So we gave him a blessing. It also didn`t help that his mom and grandma were freaking out like he was going to die. So I took some time to just talk to him. I convinced him that being sick is the best thing ever because he can watch as many real madrid games as he wants. So he took it to heart and did just that. The doctor had told his mother that his blood platelet level would drop before it got better, because dengue attacks platelets. It's a hemorrhagic disease, and when little David went in for the cita, the doctor couldn`t understand why his count had gone up. THE PRIESTHOOD WORKS.

That is pretty much it right now. I have no real cool stories this week. Jst a lot of working, and trying to be me.   I just am surviving here in little old Honduras. loving it. pics!!!

I also got to visit my old area this week, and saw Carlos and Karla, Pamela, Norde and Glenda, all of my old friends!!! It was good!!!! I loved them all, and am so glad I got to see all of them. So here are some pictures....

Cheers!!!

Zach

All the pictures this week are from friends in Zach's first round in Choluteca.  I think the couple in the last photo are those being sealed on November 2.  Zach has permission to go with them!

 

Anti-mormon literature

September 30, 2013

So. This week just made me angry. Like, really angry. We had a great week, don`t get me wrong. Taught thirty lessons, seven baptismal challenges. Have some good positive people. 

What got me most angry was what happened to our baptism.

There are some jovenes and their mom that we are teaching. Suyapa, the mom, and her seven kids Luis16 junior 15 oliver 12 Alejandro 10 Ariel 7 Yasir 3 and Anita 1.5. The father has never been there, due to the fact that he lives and works in Tegucigalpa. So we didn`t even think to ask him for permission. We have had the registros bautismales full for the last 2 weeks, and they come to church. They are awesome, and were found by members, so it was super great. We love this family.  And on thursday we went over to review the baptismal interview questions...and Suyapa tells me that the dad found out and forbid it. Well, logic tells me this. 

He comes once every two months to Choluteca to supposedly leave money with his family. but members told us that he really doesn`t make any money to bring them,  .....He said no. So I said I wanted to talk to him. We were at their house the next morning. I bought the minutes and called him on Suyapa`s phone. We talked for 25 minutes...and he got absolutely nowhere. He was definitely reading straight from a book of anti mormon literature. He would ask me things like, "Why do mormons teach that Christ had 7 wives and lots of children and Joseph Smith Jr claimed to be one of those descendants??¨ I told him that that was the first time in 21 years I had ever heard that. He asked why we can't see the plates, and why Joseph Smith didn`t show them to anyone. I told him that we can't see them so we have faith and believe on something we can't see, and 11 other people saw them. He asked why we practice vicarious baptism if it isn`t in the bible. So I explained that God is a just God, and everybody needs to hear the gospel. Then used 1 peter 3 18-20, juan 3 5 and 1 cor. 15:29. quoted them. And he kept asking. I literally answered everything he asked me, and did it from the bible. He asked why Joseph Smith had to use special magic rocks, ....and I told him the urim and thummim appear in the bible. Everything. And I was fine until he asked why I believe in such a book as the Book of Mormon, and how it just talks about joseph smith. I very curtly asked him if he had read the book. The ACTUAL book. He said no. So I told him to read it, and that it would change his life. I bore my testimony to him, and thought maybe I had it. but he still said no. He wants to speak with us the next time he comes to Cholu. hopefully its soon. 

Then we had a super great experience Sunday afternoon!!!!! We have an investigator that is named Noly. She is super great, and actually very interested in everything. She learned this week that the Book of Mormon is true....and knows it. She goes to a church named Cedars of Lebanon, so I left her one scripture....just one. 3 Nephi 27:8. Go find it. She was very taken aback. But she says it made sense. Then we started talking,...and she opened up. She has had a very difficult life. She has been playing mom for her sisters since age 12, has a four year old daughter, and has 24 years. She has sacrificed her own life and goals for her sisters. so she just opened up and started crying. She told us that she had asked for help from her church, to help her feel better...but she felt like they can`t make her feel like we do when we talk to her. And this day was no different. She was definitely impacted by our chat...and has promised to do everything we ask her to do as representatives of Christ. So I am super excited to keep working with her.

Then, we celebrated a birthday, and broke eggs, and everything, but it just went downhill. Today we are eating a TON of ice cream....so stoked. and cake.  Can't wait. 

Everything is good. This week was super freaking hot, but it stormed like NUTS on Saturday. rained like crazy. Crazy crazy rain. This has got to be winter season now. 

But I am loving it here. We are working hard...and doing everything we can to help people down here. I love the ward, and the investigators are awesome. I can`t wait for General Conference, and am looking forward to hearing the prophet's voice. 

And home sounds crazier than ever. I talked with a member this week...she has a very good life, her husband is very successful, and they have two kids. the kids go to a bilingual school, and have the American school schedule. She was telling me about how she doesn`t let her kids to extra curricular stuff because its too much wear and tear for her, and how she wishes they didn`t want to do stuff. OH MY GOODNESS. Thank you, MOM and DAD, for sacrificing everything for us kids. Thanks for always putting us first, and making sure that we are happy before you. Thank you for taking the time to raise us in the gospel, and getting us into good programs, and doing whatever we ever asked you!!!! I love you both so much!!!!!

That is all for this week.

Zach

Making pancakes, Glassett style -  many at a time.

He's not a fan of homemade self rising flour, but he now has the real deal so hopefully his pancakes will taste more like home.

I think this was originally a birthday party because of the flour all over the girl.  Zach hasn't changed too much.  He is still the one who is the most clean. 

Pancakes

September 23, 2013

So, this week was good. Solid new people and good lessons. It wasn`t what we hoped for in some aspects... But it was still good.

As for Carlos and Karla, They are going to the temple the 2nd of November. I almost told them to switch it to the 3rd, but that is a Sunday. And president told me I had permission to go. So I will be going. Super stoked. 

As for everything else, it's great. We have a super pilas lady named Noly that we found this week. She is awesome. She goes to two churches right now, but she really wants to know which church is true. So she came to the chapel for a kids day activity with her 4 year old daughter, and while they were playing, we took her on a tour of the chapel, and it really changed her. Not like oh my gosh, baptize me here is water Phillip said the eunuch, but she said she felt something. She got to the chapel chapel, where we do sacrament, and said she just felt something incredible, something she had never felt before. It was cool to watch her. You could see it- it was a visible. How she was acting, talking, held herself, everything. different. She said that she wasn`t coming to church on Sunday, that she wasn`t planning on it, until she went to that room. I am a full believer in the fact that our buildings are something special. The spirit really does dwell. 

Wendy and Roman are never home, and Roman told the kids around there that we bug them a lot, so we don`t really go by there anymore. It is sort of sad, but they are just choosing to not progress. 

We have two baptisms for this weekend. Two jovenes, Luis and Alejandro. They are so cool. Their family is awesome, and love us. They are of scarce resources....and it is sad. But they love us. And we love them!!! They all came to church. all the kids, anyways. They loved it.

And then we got rained on a lot, and ate a ton. Yesterday we ate with our lunch lady. Normal. Well, then there is a member here who is from guate, but served in ciudad nueva years ago, and married a chick from there. Well, they have two kids, and one of them turned 7 yesterday. So he begged his mom to let us come, they love us. His restaurant is super good and REALLY successful. They are pretty well off. And the food is so GOOD. They have a super spicy sauce, ...almost as bad as the habanero I bit once. Hot. And yesterday it was free with a drink and cake, and candy, and bocaditos, and all the food we wanted.  Then our cook lady made us baleadas....oh my gosh. My body was mad at me. Then this morning we ATE PANCAKES!!!!! Mostly homemade, but they just weren't the same. The homemade self rising flour didn`t work. But its okay. They still tasted BOMB. I would send pictures, but won`t send pictures. But they weren`t the same. 

It has been tranquilo. I will say, though, I am disappointed. UTAH BEAT BYU AND NOT ONE MENTION OF IT IN ANY OF YOUR LETTERS. The MUSS and Crimson Club would be sad and disappointed. I had to learn from another elder. Shame on all you ahahahahahahaha. just kidding. 

Everything is good here. Just waiting for my 2nd to last conference. That means that I am really coming home soon. HAHAHA. 

From the Phantom.

Skeletor Glassett

What a week

Monday, September 16, 2013

 

I had a fairly nuts week. We have found our area super prepared for us, and even with no help from the Elder that stayed, we are seeing miracles.

So at the beginning of the week, we had a FHE with a family that is mostly kids...there are 7 of them. And the mom. she can`t get married because her spouse comes and visits once a month from teguc....nuf said. But her kids want to get baptized. And they were given to us by members. pilas (great) members. Their kid is on a mission in Peru, and they love working with us...something about treating the missionaries like she hopes they treat her son. Needless to say, they always feed us. We have the registros ready for the baptisms, and just need to have them come to church again. 

Then on the mundane side, we got a phone call on Wednesday night that Elder Martinez had a plane ticket for Friday, so he had to be in Teguc on Thursday, and we had to take him. So I spent 3.5 hours going, 1.5 hours in Teguc, and 4.5 hours returning to my area. It was HORRIBLE. Worse than the rides to Teguc from Yuscaran. The bus died coming back...and I just said a little silent prayer...God, if this bus dies, you are going to have one unhappy missionary...so don`t let it die. And it started right up.  Such a good result. God really does answer prayers. haha.

and then for two really spiritual experiences....

The first one was with a lady named Ada. She is a married lady that has her and her kids baptized, but her husband is not a member and won`t get baptized. We went to visit her to ask her to help with an investigator...and longer story made less long...she ended sort of spilling to us a lot of stuff that was going on. I could tell that she was going through a really tough time....and then she asked for blessing. I honestly didn`t know what I was going to say, and was just waiting for the spirit to kick in. From what I can remember, it was a super specific blessing. And it was sort of personal for her....when I finished she was crying. The spirit was super strong. I shared with her the story of Carlos and Karla, because she is going through like the same thing. I hope it helped her.

The second one was from yesterday. We were teaching a lesson to two jovenes (youth) that had fecha for this weekend. One of them at least, Wendy, 13. She and her brother go to a baptist church, and they didn`t come to our church yesterday because their pastor came and got them. so it was super like...do or die. So I laid everything out on the table for them. I felt like I was literally having words put in my mouth. And then we tried something I started using in my last area...where they pray to see if its true, and then we just all be silent for like a minute. So she asked if she could say it silently, so I just told her to say amen out loud. She did. And then she started just biting her lip, and looked kind of funny. So I asked her if she could describe what she was feeling. And she broke down sobbing and said that she couldn`t. She just kept sobbing...and had just put make up on, so then she wouldn`t look at me afterwards. But I asked her if she knew it was true, and she said yes. Then I asked her about baptism and she said she was too young. haha. One thing at a time, then. 

But I started thinking about as she had broken down sobbing. It made me think of all the times that I had felt that spirit, and how I had reacted. I cry very rarely now, and I think that it comes from being used to having this kind of spirit with me. It was SO STRONG yesterday in that lesson. I could totally feel it. But how strange it must be for her to be feeling that. She literally couldn`t describe it with words. I am so grateful that the Lord comes through when you need him most. I know that the spirit touches lives. And with force. 

That is sort of all that happened this week. We are working hard, and trying our best to do our best. I can barely wrap my head around 9 more months. Seems like just yesterday I was starting this whole shebang....but whatevs.

I love you all!!!

Zach