Things which cannot be taught, but can be learned

So this week was my companion´s birthday! We went and ate Chinese food as a district, and I had it all planned that we were going to a members house for cake. However, Honduras happened to be playing in the World Cup the same day as her birthday (thanks a lot Honduras!) So we were sent to our apartments. We bought two slices of cake and celebrated missionary style. On Sunday I had it all set up with our member to go over, and then surprise two friends of my companion came into Santa Rosa! So we had pizza with them, then after we went to the members to the biggest plate of noodles I have seen in my life. I did not know if they had the cake or not, and I assumed no since they did not say anything. Then after, when I thought I was going to die, in came the cake. Ahhhhhhh. We left walking like rolly polly s. Then, in our next appointment, it was the birthday of the mom, and so they gave us more cake. I tried to tell them we had an appointment and had to go super quick, so they just decided they needed to feed us faster. My companion and I looked at each other, convinced that we were going to die! 5,000 calories later, we decided that it was the prime opportunity to fast, because there was not going to be any eating after the massive feast we had just had. 

We also had a miracle yesterday. One day about two weeks ago we were walking in a road (it is not quite a road, more like a dirt path) and there was this lady with a daughter with blonde hair. Every once in a while craziness happens in Honduras and they have a child with light hair, who has light hair until they turn 12 or so. Anyways it is always the joke that they are my lost children. So we went to go and talk to her and ask her why she had my child. Come to find out, it wasn{t my lost child (crazy, right?) but she did tell us we could come and visit her. We found her house about a week later, and she was not there but three of her sister in laws were there. We shared a small message with them. They did not seem too interested, but we set another appointment. They also were so sweet and fed us lunch, which always makes me so humbled when I see people who have almost nothing sharing with us. It makes me realize how much more I need to share, and how selfish I have been my whole life. 

More craziness happened, a trip to San Pedro for immigration, and Honduras playing in the World Cup, so we did not make it back to visit them until last Friday. We met the dad and the mom. The dad is super crazy and funny. He used to be a drunk, but he has cleaned up his act! He works chopping grass with a machete in the mountains (cool, right?). He was super excited for us to be there, and they told us they would come to church. So we went and passed by to walk with them to the church, and the mom and dad and one of the daughter in laws came to church with us this Sunday. That morning I had prayed to help the Lord help me see his miracles. As were were walking to church they found a bag in the middle of the street full of food. It had lettuce, cilantro, and some other things in it. It was a pure miracle! Elsa (the mom) said it probably had around 100 limperas worth of food inside. For a lot of people, 100 limperas is a significant amount of money (and especially for them). Actually, for me too 100 limperas is a lot. It is funny how your perspective totally changes. But it was such a sign to me that God truly is a God of miracles, and he truly blesses us immediately when we obey him and his commandments!
And this Sunday, we had a breaking six investigators at church! I was way excited. Yes, I know six is not amazing (nothing like my old area in Campana) but it is amazing for here. We also had 120 people in Sacrament meeting! Wahoo. Last week we were so happy with 106, and this week totally beat everything. When I was here in Santa Rosa in November we usually had around 70 or 80. Such a change! The goal is for Copan to become a Stake, and to be a stake we need 120 people in church every week to be able to become wards and stakes. So we are working hard to make it happen! 

We also had God leading us this week. Our lesson fell through, so we went to go and visit a different investigator. We rang the doorbell, and no one answered, and we saw a woman carrying a bunch of bags. So we ran to go and help her. She told us that she lived far away, and we were like, hey, we have got time right now. So we walked with her and her bags to her house. After we shared a small message with her and left. When we left, we realized we were two doors away from a less active hermano. We had never actually met him, but a member had shown us where he lived. We had passed by another time, and we had had him in our agendas to visit him almost every day, and it just never happened. Well, God definately wanted us to visit him because there we were two doors from his house. And miracles of miracles, he was there! We found him and his family. They did not quite make it to church this Sunday, but we are definately going to work on it.

Also today for my personal study I was reading in the general conference Ensign (because we finally got it! Wahooo). And I got to read the talk The Witness by Elder Packer. I watched all of conference in Spanish, so it is nice getting to read in English and understanding some of the things I totally missed the first time. This talk is so powerful! The last two paragraphes are absolutely stunning as he witness that he truly knows the Savior. I love it though because before in the talk Elder Packer gives us the formula of how we can know the Savior too. He tells us that these are things ¨...which cannot be taught but can be learned¨ He explains that we need personal prayer and pondering joined with fasting amd scripture study. After the Holy Ghost will teach us precept upon precept and help us learn more and more about the Savior, until we too can come to know the Savior. So powerful! So my new goal is to do more prayer and pondering, and scripture study with fasting. (Maybe not as much fasting, a lot of times when it is fast sunday I feel like I am going to die here on the mission), but I am definately going to try.

Well I love you all! I hope you are all doing your best to help one another and be kind. I also love the talk by President Monson where he tells us that we will never regret being kind!

Have a great week! 

Love,

 

Hermana Harmon