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Tuesday, May 20, 2014

Turn To Him

     Well, since we talked there hasn't been anything super grande to share with you.... so.... I was reading the Book of Mormon in my personal study and I got to one of my favorite parts in Mosiah. Here it tells the story of the group that went off to try to take back the Land of Nephi. I love the contrast of the two groups, the people of king Limhi and the people of Alma, for what it teaches about the mercy and love of Heavenly Father and the consequences of being slow to seek Him.

     Both groups suffered much and were in bondage that was greater than they thought they were able to bear. In the end both groups are delivered by the mercy and grace of God. He loves them and helps them through their suffering, but according to their obedience and quickness to turn to Him.

     I realized that it is probable that their bondage was just about equal in severity. The key was in how they reacted. Limhi and his people were slow to turn to God to deliver them and suffered more. Alma and his people from the beginning ''hushed their fears and began to cry unto the Lord.'' They are strengthened and able to ''submit cheerfully and with patience to all the will of the Lord.'' They turned their lives over to Him and allowed Him to work in their lives. They were changed by grace.

      Frequently I get caught in the ''Why do I have to deal with this weakness!? Why do I have to experience this?!'' And life remains just as hard as I think it is. I am like the people of Limhi and try to resolve it all on my own and I suffer for it. Reading here in Mosiah I am reminded to hush my fears and cry unto God. When I turn everything over to Him and let Him work in my life, I can be changed by grace. My ''weak things become strong unto [me]''.  Heavenly Father can make a whole lot more of us than we can even imagine and He is waiting for us to turn to Him. It is so neat what you can learn reading the Book of Mormon!

Hna. Thacker

Learn Catracho:

Macizo-- literally means ''solid'' Here it means ''super cool'', ''really awesome'', etc. It's become part of my new favorite phrase ''¡Qué Macizo!

Pilas-- I am not sure what it literally translates to because it has a lot of possible meanings. Most common slang form means ''really smart.'' Can also mean batteries, be a plural number of wash basins, and many more...

Saturday, May 10, 2014

"My Trip to the Murder Capital of the World," "Lesson 2: Be Responsible," or "Winter Has Arrived."

     Well, usually I don't fill the subject line on these things, but if I had to pick one it would be either "My Trip to the Murder Capital of the World," "Lesson 2: Be Responsible," or "Winter Has Arrived." I couldn't decide so I left it blank again...

     Early in the week we went to San Pedro with another companionship of hermanas from our district. It was crazy. We found out Sunday morning that we needed to leave that afternoon. Without a chance to eat we took off on a 4 hour bus ride as soon as church was over to avoid traveling after dark. Monday was wild with appointments, and by the time appointments were over it was too late to return to La Ceiba that night. We took advantage of the last hour of sunlight to visit the Catholic Cathederal in the other mission and it was pretty cool. We got to climb to the very top towers. There I learned that the majority of the northern coast of Honduras was not settled by the Spanish, but rather Americans in search of cheeper fruit. But to make a long story short, by the time we left San Pedro and La Lima we were ready to be back in our own apartment.

      Here the plot thickens and we get to "Lesson 2: Be Responsible." Remember this summer when the cornfield ate my glasses? That was Lesson 1: Be Obedient. Here is Lesson 2...


     Be responsible and pay the electic bill because they are serious when they say they will cut it. We returned from San Pedro to find that they had cut our power because we had forgotten to pay. We had barely enough time to make it to the bank to get it paid, but still had to go to the electric company to ask them very nicely if they would come and reconnect it again. It was too late tuesday, so we spent the night without fans and writing in journals by candle light. Wednesday we set out early to figure out how to fix our predicament, and had to bring an hermana from the ward with us just in case they asked for identification (you see, we don't exactly have residency in Honduras yet). She was very helpful and managed to talk them into reconnecting the power lines that very afternoon instead of the usual three days later. She litterally saved us. Though once we got home the power went out for our sector of La Ceiba... It was a really crazy day. Crazier than San Pedro...

     But hey, on the bright side, from Hna. Paola on this little trip, we learned that the tap water in La Ceiba has been drinkable since 1912. The Standard Fruit Company (now Dole) donated a potable water system to the city of La Ceiba many many years ago. Who knew!

     Last but not least, they tell me that winter has arrived here. That means that it rains a lot.



     One family gave us these trash bags to walk home with. They thoroughly enjoyed seeing all four missionaries from the ward looking like penguins, but it kept our stuff dry!

     It has been the craziest week, but every part came with a lesson to learn! Well, that's all for this week....

Hasta la próxima!
Hna. Thacker

Learn Catracho:

Catracho--loving term referring to all Hondurans and everything Honduran. It is more likely that you will see 100% Catracho instead of Made in Honduras...

moy--literally means cow, but here they use it to say mi amor, as in love, dear, etc.

Sunday, May 4, 2014

Unexpected Trip

    This will be a quick short one... I will probably write more tomorrow... because you see.... we happen to be chillin' in the other mission... San Pedro Sula West...
     For the last 4 months of her mission, my companion has been dealing with feet that are super swollen and pain that started in her feet and has worked its way up to her back, too. Finally last week she included in her weekly letter to Pres. Klein that all of this was going on, and Sunday morning at 6:35 am the mission nurse called to say that we should leave here at 1:00 with another companionship from our district, stay the night with some hermanas, and report for doctors appointments the next morning in San Pedro. So here we are... The mission office and the specialists really are within the boundaries of the West mission (as far as I understand). It's been an adventure! The good news is that the doctor prescribed some medicine and some arch-insert things that should fix the problem. Tonight or tomorrow we return to our areas.
     Other great news that I am so very excited to share is that Anita got baptized! (the picture is coming later) She has a lot more support than I imagined. Turns out it was only the one sister that she didn't want to know that she was getting baptized. The brother and sister-in-law that she lives with know and support her and her daughter was happy for her, too. The hermano who baptized her turns out to be a childhood friend of Anita's brother and was very excited to learn that she was going to get baptized. ¡Super Masizo! Well, I'll probably write more tomorrow... And the next time I write I have a few pictures to send. So... hasta la proxima!

Love,
Hna. Thacker