Farewell Bloggers

This week in Morazán was another killer!  I love this place.  Some of the experiences are just not sharible in a public blog, but God is changing me, which is such a blessing.  These things are all just starting to become part of me.

We worked hard this week, but for some reason the goals didn´t seem attainable.  We tried to leave with members, and had success doing so, but a lot of appointments fell through.  I think that God showed His greatness on Sunday, because the change in these peoples´ hearts comes from Him, not us.  I couldn´t believe how many people came.  I really believe that the miracles here are going to continue.  God cannot deny blessings to the faithful, and the members in Morazán want this so badly.  They love their neighbors, and they love the kindgom of God.  They look to the future with a blazing faith in that they can make a difference.  I love them so much, and I´m so glad that I can have the time here as a missionary to lay foundations for future growth.

In church, the attendence was maintained at the same number!  I actually thought that after a spike, it would fall at least a little, but these changes are here to stay.  We almost broke the record actually, because a family of five that we´re teaching showed up durring Gospel Priciples... haha.  Late, but we´re happy for the faith that they excercized to get there.  We love that family to death, and they are super receptive to the Spirit.  Ever and Sindy are cool, and they are super excited about the gospel.  When she read the last two paragraphs of the introduction of the Book of Mormon, she looked up and whispered, "this is powerful."  That´s an appropriate response!  Finally!  haha.

Love you all, and I´ll take more time to communicate while in the states.  See you later!

Elder Thalman

Aud Lang Sign

I have no idea what that means, but it seems like an appropriate title for a blog written in between Christmas and New Year.  I love this time of year, and I wouldn't be anywhere else.  I am unrepentant for having extended the mission.

Elder Lopez and I found a man with his little girl walking as we were on the way to the house to end the day.  we just talked to him quick and put a return visit.  On Sunday he said that he read the whole pamphlet of the Gospel of Jesus Christ, and everything seemed really positive.  He doesn´t live with his wife, but with his mom, sister, and little girl.  We walked in and the first thing I saw was a giant Maria with a candle lit, with many other Catholic ornaments.  But we challenged him to be baptized anyway.  And he accepted.  and he accepted a date!  He seemed to really understand what we explained, and we´re excited to continue teaching him.

This week, we worked like normal on Christmas, and found a great bunch of investigators.  23 to be exact.  the spirit of the season is the Spirit of Salvation.  the Spirit of Christ.  I testify that He lives.  That means more to me than it sounds like, for we hear those words so often that at times they loose their meaning for us.  But in these last short weeks, I have tried to focus all of my study and attention to the direct teachings of Christ Himself.  I´m deeply impressed by my feelings as I contemplate His clear and simple declaration of divine Sonship.  So many accept that claim today, but so few are willing to follow His teachings, both modern and ancient.

I invite all to newly read, ponder and pray upon all of His teachings, determining to repent and live all of them.  That is the covenant that we make in baptism.  Many of us have made higher covenants.  Let us consecrate ourselves and our hearts and our whole will to Him.  I love Him, and I know that He is conscious of me, my actions, and my desires.  He is aware of my discipleship and is infinitely patient as I work my way closer to Him.

Please remember Him, His sacrifice, and His love this new year.  Forget all the extra stuff.

Love,

Elder Thalman

Just Beginning

This week I lost my son! Noooo!  But now he´s finishing the training of another elder.  He´s so great, and

 I´m going to miss Elder Limatu.   And... I´m finally a grandpa!!!  Elder Dean is training in the other mission.  so happy!

My new companion is my step son because I have to finish his training... and he has to finish mine.  get it?  He´s going to kill me.

The sister are in and settled.  I know that they´re going to do great.  One is a gringa who´s training he comp from the Dominican Republic.  They´re cool.

Our investigators are having plenty of problems, but We´ve got lots to do.  While we help the principle ones progress, we will be finding a lot of news this week.

I can´t go into too many details about the investigators, but hopefully there is good news next week...

I love the mission.  Things are hard, but I love the people here.  I love the members, and I truly just want to help these people.  My heart has never ached so much until now for someone else, but at least I know I´m not heartless.  Or maybe it´s the same heart.  God´s just changed it.  I testify that He can do just that.  Not just in me, but in every man and woman´s heart, He can change it.  We cannot afford to be so faithless in His ability to transform others.  If we don´t believe that someone can or will change, then we cannot say we have faith in Christ.  So let us love, and let us be kind.  Let us help someone, and may God help us do it.

Love,

Elder Thalman

Major Changes Ahead

This week we divide the area again to make room for the sister missionaries coming to Morazán.  My companion and I already set up a sweet set of investigators and families to teach when they get here on Wednesday.  So they basically aren't even opening area.  They're going to have progressing investigators and baptismal dates right off the bat, and the teaching records are all updated for them and everything.  Your welcome sisters.

 

Moraza'n

But this next one is ours!  haha.

Elmer is a young adult who has three girls with his girl friend, Mari. He was just a contact, but I consider investigators like this references of the Spirit. He met the missionaries in the states, but didn't seem to learn much. But he has good impression of the church. He missed to Sundays in church, but he's reading the Book of Mormon and seems really interested in progressing, so we didn't leave him. His wife is also really interested, but shy. She didn't come out to listen the first several visits, but later confessed that she's been listening from the widow to our conversations with her husband. Haha. She has a lot of Catholic family pressures, but doesn't attend a church herself. Elmer was dead asleep yesterday when we passed by, and we had to really push to get Mari to wake him up. Sleep is really sacred here... He said he would show up on his own, which is something I've heard a lot. But, this time it was true! He came with his two older daughters and stayed all three hours. Afterwards in his home he just kept saying how much he loves the church and how he's visited so many churches that he doesn't like. He apparently had already talked it up so much to his wife that she decided to come out and we had our first lesson with the both of them together. We already love them so much. I know that they're going to progress and get baptized. The Lord is merciful!

So the mission is the best.  There's a lot of work to get done here, and many changes that I want to see here in Morazán before I go.  I pray that the Lord in His mercy grants me to stay and to see these things happen.  But if not, then He's in charge, and I'll do what He wants me to do.  He'll take care of the rest.

Love you all.

Elder Thalman

Fight the Good Fight

This week I got sick, but now I am better and ready to work harder.  We got our couple, Juan and Bessy, over their little speed bumps, and it would appear that God has provided us with their partidas miraculously.  If all goes well, we are getting them on Saturday!  Thats a huge relief.

Our two young people, Carlos and Neydi, were looking bad because their mom was interfering.  We started reading the Book of Mormon with her, and God did a miracle.  She fell in love with the book!  We started teaching her the restoration and now she is a progressing investigator.  She even went on her own to her neighbors house (a member) and asked to read with her and help her understand.

Elmer and his family are progressing too.  That is a family of five.  Their oldest is 12 and she is also reading and praying!  He is reading and praying as well, and is pretty convinced already that the Book of Mormon is true.  The wife had never prayed vocally before, and we helped her do so in the first visit.  They all seem very humble, and God was truly merciful by leading us to them.  I am excited for their progress.

Sunday was fun.  We got up early and took one of our recently ordained elders to take us up to nowhere.  Got out of the car and found the house of Santos.  She is invalid and cant walk.  We took her down and rainy and muddy hill in a wheel chair, and it took all three of us.  Then we went back up that hill.  Got her in the car, and got her to church.  Afterwards, Ana Rosa gave her lunch and talked with her for a while after church.  We took her back the four of us, and it was just one of things that you cant walk away from without feeling good inside.  We blessed her a few weeks ago, and i felt impressed that she has the faith sufficient to be healed.  I blessed her to fully recover.  I think that God is letting us serve her before He gives her what He has promised her.  She is awesome.

I love you all, and love Gods children here in Honduras.

Elder Thalman

Prison

Alright, so the reason I couldn't write Monday was because of election this weekend.  We weren't aloud to leave the house, but in the end it was a useless precaution because nothing happened at all.  But that's a relief.  We were in the house for three days!  ugh... almost went crazy.

I achieved some personal goals this week, finishing the New Testament and Doctrine and Covenants.  Now I'm sprinting the finish on the Old Testament so that I will have read all the canonized scripture in my mission.  I didn't think I was going to meet that goal, but things recently changed with three days of free time...

We found a new family whose head is named Elmer.  He met the missionaries in the states, and didn't remember much of the message.  But now he's very receptive and is progressing very well.  He read more than we assigned him, and he seems like a young father with an unusually high maturity level.  He seems very excited about the gospel, and is very easy to teach.  We contacted him while avoiding a drunk of the street (giving him time to pass by).  God works in mysterious ways!

Juan and Bessy are running into some serious Satan problems, because Satan knows that they're going to be killer members.  I expect that this is normal.  They'll beat it.  

Pedro and Guillermina are also having some issues (not with each other or anything).  It just looks like their progression toward baptism is going to take longer than we thought.

Carlos and Neydi are on the brink of baptism, but the problem was that the mom was being super attacked by a pastor (that happens to be a seek and destroy missile that attacks almost all of our investigators!).  He doesn't like us.  So we read the Book of Mormon with her one day then taught her the restoration yesterday.  She loves it!  haha.  She was constantly working in the school, so she never listened to us before.  Now she's on board and committed to go to church this week!  haha.  I love the gospel!  The Spirit changes hearts!!!

I also had time this week to write a great talk on the power of the Spirit in conversion, so I may send that to you all.  But I may just use it for my homecoming... haha.

Love,

Elder Thalman

People

I love these people!  This week was so full of cool stuff.

This week was full of miracles. Yesterday after church we, my comp. and I, were both just full of the Spirit. We found ten newbies and all of them accepted baptism in the first visit. I don´t know what the difference was, but for some reason just asking God for charity seems to be finally working. I felt a great love for these people yesterday, and they all seemed to understand the simple concept of pray to know, then act on the response. If the answer is yes, get baptized. It was awesome.

We found three jovenes a couple days ago. We explained to them the Book of Mormon and put an appointment. Yesterday we found the three in the same place, and then their friends all started showing up. Everyone seemed at least a little interested in the message. We started to get to know them, and soon we had ourselves a formidable crowd. I felt really impressed to take advantage of the fact that we had them all really focused and explain the Restoration. We started like normal, but they were all sitting on a wall, and we were standing, basically preaching to them. It was really cool, and the Spirit was strong. We challenged them to baptism and put return visits with them all.  I felt like Dan Jones!

Juan and Bessy are going to get there.  We´re just being patient, but they are so ready.  They both went to church, and loved it.  They are so cool.  Their little boy is the best too!  He´s so funny.

Pedro and Guillermina still don´t get the need to be baptized, but they´re going to church and asking if it´s all true.  But she can´t read and he´s just not doing it.  But we´re going to have the members assigned this week to do that with them.  It´s the really lack honestly. (?)

Our recent convert Iris got kicked out of her house for being baptized.  Tragic.  She lives with a totally bi-polar mom, so she´s going to live with her grandparents I think.  It´s a little in the air still, but she went to church and her little boy (2) was a stud in his shirt and tie.  haha.  He seemed better behaved dressed that way.  Note to self for when I have kids...

I really can´t write everything, but things are moving forward here, and the members feel it. I love and thank you all for letters and love.

Elder Thalman