Week of Inches

(Andrew's parent are late again- he sent this on Monday May 25th)

Im pretty sure we straight destroyed the adversary this week...

Andrew didn't say who or where this is

We’ve been working real hard this week.  But also got some letters, burnt a pair of socks, and realized that my time here is flying!  I don't know how to feel about that, but well see...

Honduran bench-press (concrete formed in buckets)

We almost got robbed again, but didn't... We were walking to dinner this week and I decided to take a shortcut, my companion told me that he didn't want to go that way because it was late, dark, and he felt like we shouldn't go that way.  Ya, I completely ignored him, and I told him I was hungry, and kept walking, and he followed me.  MISTAKE!  We arrived at a corner pulperia (very small market) just as one guy was mugging another guy.  We quickly took shelter in the pulperia, but that didn't do anything. The mugger came in (had a gun), and started looking us over, and asked for money, trying to see if we had anything.  I had 20 limpira (worth $1 American), but he then told me he was hungry- So I read him Amos 8:11-12... 

10 And I will turn your feasts into mourning, and all your songs into lamentation; and I will bring up sackcloth upon all loins, and baldness upon every head; and I will make it as the mourning of an only son, and the end thereof as a bitter day. 11 ¶Behold, the days come, saith the Lord God, that I will send a famine in the land, not a famine of bread, nor a thirst for water, but of hearing the words of the Lord:

I thought that was pretty funny!  We then gave him a book of mormon, and told him to read the title page, he can’t really read so he was struggling and really focusing on reading, so he didn't notice as we slipped out and ran away.  Haha the book of mormon saves lives, but seriously... Listen to the spirit!

I also dedicated/blessed the house of Hermana Osiris this week, she is super Pilas and always gives us referencias.  She is awesome.  Also gave her sobrinito (nephew) a blessing and was healed! #priesthood.

It rained a ton again, I'm either soaking wet from sweat, or soaking wet from rain.  Hondy.

One of the biggest blessings we had this week was that we finally got Hmna. Morlen to come to church.  She is the mother of the first councilor (Filepé), and she has been inactive for 6 years!  We have been going to her  house every week for 2 changes, and she finally committed to coming to church, so we went to her house every day this week, just to solidify her promise.  And when the moment came, she was ready to go, and we got her to church.  Filipé just about pooped his pants when he saw that we brought his mom to church.  He lives next door to her... Ya but they both were so happy!  All the little old catrachitas came up and kept telling her that they had missed her, and she was filled with joy!  That was awesome, everyone was giving her attention and it really was a blessing.  Also had Jerson our investigator come to church, and he was giving more input that the people in his classes!  he's awesome.

I also gave a talk this week on retention and compared it to a baleada, so that’s pretty awesome too.  Cook the Baleada of retention people and the kingdom of god will grow deliciously!

This weeks scriptures:

D&C 35:24

 24 Keep all the commandments and covenants by which ye are bound; and I will cause the heavens to shake for your good, and Satan shall tremble and Zion shall rejoice upon the hills and flourish;

2 Nefi 31:19-20

19 And now, my beloved brethren, after ye have gotten into this strait and narrow path, I would ask if all is done? Behold, I say unto you, Nay; for ye have not come thus far save it were by the word of Christ with unshaken faith in him, relying wholly upon the merits of him who is mighty to save. 20 Wherefore, ye must press forward with a steadfastness in Christ, having a perfect brightness of hope, and a love of God and of all men. Wherefore, if ye shall press forward, feasting upon the word of Christ, and endure to the end, behold, thus saith the Father: Ye shall have eternal life.

¡Cada pulgada! (every inch) 

Con Amor+

Elder Smart

9 Months in Hondy

So up next is double digits..... (10 months)

Ya but my week was pretty sweet, like always, but there was some really cool things that happened this week.

First off the boring stuff, always washing our clothes by hand in the pila, eating a ton of Baleadas and bananas, oh and we have an orange tree in our back yard (¨yard¨).  

Checking up on the dove family living in our window-frame, 

getting up in the middle of the night to throw rocks at the wild horses that always break the law of chastity behind our house at like 4:00 am. The usual, and of course preaching the gospel always.

Not in the middle of the night this time...

But this week was the semana por la familia, so there was a ton of activities in the ward every night this week! The missionaries just so happened to run the whole thing... Its not like we have a ton of lessons planned or anything (sarcastic)… No?  But it was super cool. One activity we explained everything about the armor of god, and then had everyone make cardboard armor, and label all the parts. We explained that you always have to andar (walk) with the armor to defend yourself, but you need to put it on your families, because satan always attacks the family. Everyone loved it and it was awesome.

The next activity was on family history, I lead that. It was cool, but no one really cares about family history here, so not a lot of people showed up.  But it was cool.

Practice for the semana por la familia 

This week I finished the Book of Mormon again. I know its true with all my heart, and it really is 100% perfect.

We also had interviews with Presidente Klein, Super awesome!!

Then we ended it off today with zone p-day on the beaches of Tela. Chilled, ate, played some football American and volleyball! 

Awesome to live on the hondy coast!

Put on the armor of God Efesios 6:10-18

 10 Finally, my brethren, be strong in the Lord, and in the power of his might.   

11 Put on the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil.  

12 For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places. 

13 Wherefore take unto you the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand.  

14 Stand therefore, having your loins girt about with truth, and having on the breastplate of righteousness;  

15 And your feet shod with the preparation of the gospel of peace;  

16 Above all, taking the shield of faith, wherewith ye shall be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked.  

17 And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God 

18 Praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit, and watching thereunto with all perseverance and supplication for all saints;

Roll on: Mormon 8:22

 22 For the eternal purposes of the Lord shall roll on, until all his promises shall be fulfilled 

no te rindas

Con Amor+

Elder Smart

What time is it? Sorry, can’t tell ya!

This is from last week (May 11th) 

Moms are the best.  Sorry for all you suckers who don't have Mamá Smart as your mom.

So now that's off my chest. I'll get to the awesome week I had.

This week has been killer.  Just work work, work, work is all I can say.  Every moment.

Also got robbed again... that really sucked, because first of all, it was in front of the church.  Second... It was Omar (I know this guy) who robbed me.  Third... he took my freakin' calculator watch!!!!!!!! I loved that watch... But Omar was drunk, and he came over to us, and told me that he was going to "break" us... So ya, a gun + drunk Omar = just give him your watch and wallet.  So that was sad.  We're going to go and talk to him about that.  Pobrecito este tipo (Poor guy?)

There was also a gang fight behind our house. There's like a little forest behind our house, so the crazy folk always go over there to do illegal stuff, so ya we woke up to gunfire again. Ehh.

Mother's day shenanigans were the best thing in the world!!!  Talking to the fam was super cool.  I'm so glad that we live in a day and age were I can talk to my family all in Utah, from the jungle. I don't know how they do it, maybe the palm trees are used as satellite dishes, no se (I don’t know).  You tell me.  Bottom line... Beyond Awesome.

Also a huge blessing we had this week were Investigators in the sacrament reunion (Sacrament meeting).  We have been waiting and praying super hard for this particular Hermana to come to church, for like 2 changes!  And she finally came!!! I was so happy! I know that prayers are answered, but the thing we forget is that they will come in the lords time.  That means we have to be patient.  I'm not a patient person.  So that's what I'm working on as of now.

Helping Anna with a Yoga assignment for school... and maybe working on patience 

Hope you all thought of all of your mommas in your lives this week. They carried us around for 9 months, and put up with our trash every single day because they know what is like to have Christ-like-love.  They're the best examples we have, so make them proud!

Alma 26:22 

22 Yea, he that repenteth and exerciseth faith, and bringeth forth good works, and prayeth continually without ceasing—unto such it is given to know the mysteries of God; yea, unto such it shall be given to reveal things which never have been revealed; yea, and it shall be given unto such to bring thousands of souls to repentance, even as it has been given unto us to bring these our brethren to repentance.

no te rindas

Con amor+

Elder Smart

Notes from Mother’s Day conversation with Elder Smart

• The people are really poor but try to give the missionaries food and drinks like Coke and Pepsi. Andy said he intends to never drink Coke or Pepsi again when he gets home because he drinks it so much and is sick of it.
• He is often offered water that isn’t bottled and sometimes he drinks it, but hasn’t been sick.  It is so humid that they have to drink a lot and something and it’s all the people have to offer.
• Despite sending him with a large selection of handkerchiefs, Elder Smart uses his tie to wipe sweat from his face, which is often. While we talked to him he was really sweaty and did it frequently. He is hot and sweaty all the time and has learned that some ties are washable and some are not:)
• The ward leadership are not terribly committed and the bishop really leans on the missionaries to provide what is needed. Andy and his companion were in charge of a family ward activity because they were the only ones to show up to ward council. He was frustrated that his teaching and contacting time is often spent doing the ward business but it’s hard to get people to commit to their callings.
• He has played the piano a few times (insert a cheer from mom)! Most of the places either don’t have a piano or just have an electronic one so he doesn’t get a lot of opportunities. He said if he started playing, it would be expected that he do it all the time and he only knows 5 songs well enough.
• His Spanish is coming along really well. He had a hard time coming up with english words like “sacrament meeting” and did it again in the email.  He can’t remember what things are called in english and struggled to explain what he meant.  Several times he started a sentence in English and finished the sentence in Spanish.
• His clothes are getting tight around the waist and chest. He eats pretty well but can’t figure out why the Hondurans eat mangoes when they are still unripe and green. He likes them ripe and orange, and they are huge!
• A lady makes them lunch everyday and they pay her for that and also to use her washing machine. But, the washer broke so they are hand washing again like in La Masica. His clothes take a beating because they use a washboard on the collars to get the stains out. 
• Getting mugged: most of the time the mugger has a weapon but doesn’t use it unless you resist or argue, then they show you that they have a gun or whatever. Usually they don’t even have bullets in them because they are all so poor, but you never know. The sisters were held up and it was so upsetting that one of them fainted when they told Andy and Elder Martinez. Andy used hand sanitizer under her nose to revive her. (Special thanks to the Scouting leaders in Andy’s life).
• What he misses: my family and friends, lacrosse, my music, regular food, girls, ice, grass (lawns) and the temperature/humidity in Utah. 

Mrs Dove's nest in our window

Laundry

Cambios (Changes)

So changes were the other day, and yes, Elder Vasquez got changed. He's doing ok though. He is in Lempira, La Ceiba, so he is doing just fine.

However, my new companion is Elder Martinez from El Salvador! (no picture yet) He is a convert of 5 years, and has 22 months in the mission, so I will be killing him here in Berlin!  He is also like the coolest dude ever to teach with.  It is super fun teaching and working with this guy, I can’t even explain it. It just clicks with us.  We’ve have also been working like horses.  We teach everyone in sight. We go to a pulperia (grocery store) and buy a topogigo (stuffed mouse?), we teach a lesson. We see a guy selling coconuts, we stop and teach him. Its actually super fun to just slide Jesus into every conversation that we have.

We did service for 3 sisters this week. They died over my companion. They want him to come back and get married to one of them. They gave us baleadas after, so it was worth the pain of trying to pry them off my comp. It was way funny though.

Last P-day (before this transfer)

So I was thinking the other day, and School is almost over in the 801... what the heck!

Oh ya. The whole world here has this mosquito born virus called Chikungunya. Everyone. We’re good though (priesthood). No but its cool. But our investigator, Lewin, had it. But this is the story. We went by on Saturday for our lesson with him, but he was feeling super sick. So what we decided to do is give him a blessing for the sick. So we did that, and then left. He looked like a dead man.

We passed by his house on Sunday morning to see if he could come with us to church. He greeted us at the door, and smiled bigger than I have ever seen him smile. He said he felt better than ever before. He told us that after we left, he felt like he was going to die, but then he remembered that we gave him a blessing, and he said he prayed that he would be ok. He then fell asleep. When he woke up, he felt really hot, so he got up, and BOOM. He felt 100% again! Priesthood works.

That night we made french toast. It was delicious. And I taught my comp how to say french toast in English, and its his favorite phrase now. He says it all the time now. 

Hey compa! ¡Que French Toast!

Sea así

3 Nephi 12:16

 16 Therefore let your light so shine before this people, that they may see your good works and glorify your Father who is in heaven.

and also

3 Nephi 25:2-3

 2 But unto you that fear my name, shall the Son of Righteousness arise with healing in his wings; and ye shall go forth and grow up as calves in the stall. 3 And ye shall tread down the wicked; for they shall be ashes under the soles of your feet in the day that I shall do this, saith the Lord of Hosts.

no te rindas (Don’t give up!)

Con Amor+

Elder Smart

Rapido

Since My last p-day was Wednesday, nothing much has happened since. However, I’ll give you the rundown.

We had some baptisms int our district this week!

The first is Kevin. He is 15 and is super cool. He wasn’t sure about getting baptized at first, but then he decided to make the decision in the way of the lord.

The next is Hma MaryCruz. She is 72..... Ya isn't that awesome!!! She has been waiting 7 years to get baptized!! All those years, her ¨husband¨ wouldn't allow her to, but he left to the states, and she was baptized 6 days later. You could literally feel her joy, as she came out of the water. She had been waiting so patiently, and so faithfully. She is awesome.

We also went to the stake center to help with Family Search. Its awesome, and part of the work. Everyone was super impressed with my family tree... I was a little embarrassed, because I didn't do any of it really. All you guys...Smarts are bomb.

Another thing, Lewin,  Our investigator.  He is a stud and a half. He told us this story after one of our lessons:

“Me and my family were making our way back from Guatemala, traveling through the jungle on foot, heading back to Honduras. We were in the jungles somewhere in Honduras, and we had nothing. It came to be nighttime. I took off my clothes to give my kids and wife blankets for the night, and then made some mats out of palm leaves to sleep on. All of a sudden, big black rain clouds rolled. We knew we were going to die. So what did we do? We prayed to God. We prayed hard. All of a sudden, a huge gust of freezing cold air came and blew the clouds away in an instant. We were then able to sleep for 4 hours. We got up and started on our way again. It was so dark. As we were walking, we could hear the monkeys coming. We knew we were going to die. So what did we do? We prayed to God. We prayed hard. All of a sudden, a light came on. There was a hut!  We were saved by God and prayer.”   So thats awesome.

I have never had headaches in my life. However I had the worst headache I've ever had in my life. Every beat of my heart sent a pulse of pain through my head. My body started aching because of it. I could hardly stand it. A pulse would come, which would hurt, but then it would make me start to breathe harder, but the harder I would breathe, the faster my heart would beat, and the more pain it would bring. There were seriously times where I was doubled over in pain, not being able to move. I even took 4 of the big 800 Ibuprofen Rich gave me throughout the day, did absolutely nothing. However, it came to be Sunday morning, and I made myself go to sacrament meeting. It was hurting more than ever. But the second I took the sacrament, everything left. My head was still achy from all that had happened, but the pain was absolutely gone. There is a reason we go to church. Jesus and the sacrament.

Oh ya. 

The spring break movie by dad is awesome by the way!!

I am so sorry mom. Headaches are the devil.

Anna is going to the Big Apple to dance! Whoooo!

We found a hunk of flint, and I tried to make arrowheads. Its freaking sharp, tengo cicatrizes (I have scars).

3 Nephi 13:3-4

3 But when thou doest alms let not thy left hand know what thy right hand doeth;4 That thine alms may be in secret; and thy Father who seeth in secret, himself shall reward thee openly.

Service. All about the hands.

no te rindas

Con Amor+

Elder Smart