I love you family! Also I am only mildly bitter that you are having a sweet vacation without me. I suppose better that you have fun than not. I do miss road trips.
So this week was actually insane and rather bad for the proseliting. We were able to be in our area working only 1 complete day.
Tuesday and Wendesday we went to the Registro National de Personas to get documents for our wedding this week (no, I have not accepted a marriage proposal)
Thursday - reunión de distrito and RNP again....(frustrating governments buildings. less efficient than our DMVs if that is possible
Friday - happy missionaries!
Saturday - some random service project mandated by the ZLs. We lost 6 hours
Sunday - church.....
But despite this plethora of distraction I feel that we did our best with the time that we had. The thing that currently worries me though is our investigators. Usually we maintain a certain number of investigators with fecha bautismal. Each week we drop some and add some but this week we just dropped people. Didn't have much success in finding positive people this week.
So Tuesday is where we begin! So it was an uneventful (not what we like) morning and then in the afternoon we blew a whole in our day by going to the RNP. To get married here what you need (among other things) is a Partida de Nacimiento con nota de soltería. Basically a paper that says you aren't married. So because both people are from Choluteca we thought, great! Same day papers! In other places you have to wait like 3 weeks sometimes. So we went, got the receipt, paid at a local bank, brought the receipt back expecting to pick up the documents, but no. They said come back tomorrow! How lazy!
We returned and continued working for what remained of the day. The good news is that I saw someone with a "Vote for Pedro" shirt.
I think that I told you about Anita, our lawyer friend/investigator who was postiive in the beginning. But on Tuesday and really for a while her positivity has plummeted. She hid from us on Tuesday. It is so difficult at times to spend so much time trying to help people who don't want or don't understand the importance of the help that we give.
More good news! Hermana Suyapa (baptized about a year ago and getting married) told us that she would like to cover some of the wedding costs! So we're paying up front and she'll give us money as she gets some. Even if she never gives us anything the thought that she wants to have responsibility helps.
Also something that you need to understand about Honduras is the use of cable. Cable of all kinds is everywhere. It must be cheaper than rope because it is used as clothes lines, to hang curtains, to repair things and on many light poles there are many dozens of yards of cable hung up ready for use. We have decided that cable is essential. I will send you next week our Hondurasisms list. Please understand the importance of cable. It is Television cable that we use to hook the satelite to our TV. That kind. EVERYWHERE.
Wednesday was the same as Tuesday except when we got to the RNP they told us to come back tomorrow! FRUSTRATING: So again we burned much time in our precious day. Nothing too eventful in the proseliting.
Thursday again the same except with the meeting. But we did finally get our papers so I was very happy! Some kid had on a Nederland high school shirt. Is there any other Nederland in the world?
Friday was finally a day in the area. We were happy. But then there was some trauma. Our investigator that had been dominating the Book of Mormon finished it. Friday night he dropped us and said that he didn't want to come to church or be baptized unless the Lord gave him the desire. He said that the book was true. We were devistated. We come to promise people that if they pray God will tell them that the book and the church is true. He must not have been praying sincerly enough. He basifcally told us that he wasn't going to progress more. I actually think that he read the book for intellectual purposes. We thought he would be so positive because he would tell us all of the good things that happened with his family since we started coming over.
Well after that horror we found a hubsand to complete a family that we'd found last week. Alex told us that he doesn't really have the desire to go to any church, but he wants to feel closer to God. He seems to have understood our lesson and seems sincere. We'll see what happens as always. It was funnyish though. His wife has commented to us that she wants her hubsand going to church and the disgust on her face as he said certain things to us was funny to watch.
Saturday we lost the day to the service project the ZLs told us about Friday night. We had a little bit of work time at the end of the day. Good things about the project. We found, a tarantula, snake, scorpion, lizards, etc cleaning up. Here comes the part that makes me a man. At the end of the project the Americans, latins were too scared, made a fire, cooked and ate many parts of the tarantula. I am still alive and in good health, just with more testosterone. Be proud male readers. I am sure Uncles Mark, Todd, and Jeff have done it.
Sunday was a great day for church! We had a stifiling 58 in attendance! Things are looking up! Also we got new sacrament trays. We did have a scare though, Angel, marrying Suyapa, didn't come until late. That scared us. After the sacrament was given we even left to go to his house but he wasn't there! But he did arrive saving my heart from exploding from nervousness.
One quality about people here, which I fear is just human nature, is beginning to disturb me. Elder Tarver and I are discovering that there is a serious plague of apathetic complacency. There are people who don't care to listen to us or don't care to find out more about their families, who don't care about their families, who don't try to learn or better their qualitiy of life, just complain. It is so difficult for me because I am here at my own expense, using my precious time trying so hard to help these people better their lives and help their families more. I try so hard to help them acercarse más a Jesus and Heavenly Father. But when they don't care to listen or don't care to do what it takes to find out if what we teach it true, which is only to pray with faith, it hurts me. Why would I be here if what I teach wasn't true? What would I ask people to read scriptures, pray, and come to church when none of those things help me?
One sad thing that I think is specific to this area is the family. People just don't seem to care too much about their families. No one knows where anyone is during the day or sometimes even at nights and no one seems to care to learn more about how families can be together forever! If anything this apathetic complacensy (sp?) scared me into wanting to work harder in my own life. There are really no excuses for not praying, reading, or going to church for one hour weekly. I am tired of accepting excuses.
This all goes back to our calling. We are here to find people that receive us. I feel that I will begin to drop investigators much quicker. If they cannot committ to a specific time for a visit of committ to one hour weekly of church how are they ready for the covenant of baptism?
I keep working hard. I love you family so much!
GOT THE PACKAGE FROM MOMMY!!!!!
Letters from Mom (2), Dad, Dannee, Katri (3), Nannie (2), Schmutz, Britta, Mary. This was the record for letters today!
I love you lots family.
Thanks for your love and support.
Photos next week for sure.
Saturday night I made the best. S'more with a cookie, reese's pumpkin and peeps marshmellow. Rocked my world.
Have fun this week in FL. Pray for my wedding and baptism of Angel and Suyapa. We need all to go well!
Thank you for preparing me to be a good missionary.
Your missionary,
Elder Clay
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