Hermana Sherman in Honduras: His ways are not our ways...

Haaaalo!

Last week

Tuesday: We gave an orientation in our Zone meeting on 5 goals the whole mission is working at accomplishing:

1. Wake up at 6:30am every day

2. 1 hour of personal study EVERY DAY

3. 1 hour of companionship study every day

4. 1 hour of language study every day

5. Teach 35 lessons a week.

As we do these 5 things we will see miracles.

We taught A__ and E__about prayer and the spirit was so strong. During the lesson E__ grabbed her chest and we knew she had felt the spirit too.

Wednesday: Divisions in Olanchito! I was able to work with Hna V__ and it was such a good day! She is an amazing missionary and wants to become the best missionary she can be. Her parents were baptized when she was only 6 years old and they immediately became inactive so she started going to church by herself at age 6. She said her Dad started using as a punishment, her not being able to go to church. One Saturday morning, her Dad told her she had to clean out a huge closet by Sunday or she wouldnt be able to go to church. So there was this 6 year old working all day cleaning out her closet and didnt finish until 9pm Saturday night so she could go to church on Sunday. When she turned 8, she begged and begged her parents to let her be baptized and finally got their permission. She continued to go to church by herself until her teens when she started taking her 3 younger siblings. She had a lot of trials before her mission and the day her parents dropped her off at the airport was the same day they went to court to get divorced. She said both her parents have started attending church separately, and she is now seeing blessings from her mission flow onto her family. She is a true angel sent to her family.

Thursday: We left Olanchito pretty early to catch a bus to get to the Stake center in Ceiba for our presentation in the trainer meeting at 9am with all the missionaries training and all those about to train. All of the buses here are a little sketchy, but this one was especially sketchy. The bus was making weird noises the whole time and would die every time we went uphill until it broke down half way to Ceiba. We were stuck there for an hour with everyone freaking out about appointments until we said a pray in our hearts and they got the bus to work again. We made it to the Stake center at 9:05am and were able to give our presentation. We also got it out of President Klein if we have transfers this week. He said,"Do you really want to open your present before Christmas?" We eventually got it out that I have transfers :/ My last transfer in a new area with a new companion, but President confirmed that it is the Lords will and I trust in the Lord and in President Klein with these transfers. Right after the meeting we went over to the other side of Ceiba because a sister had been sick with a weird virus where you get these little boils on the bottom of your feet, palms of your hands, and back of your throat... I really am so blessed not to have had anything like that.

Friday: We left early again to travel to Trujillo!! I did divisions with Hermana G___, a mini missionary where she is a missionary only until her visa comes then she will be going to the MTC in Brazil. She was a little frustrated because she didnt have all of the principles of the lessons down. I helped remind her that shes only been out for 3 weeks and she hasnt even gone to the MTC yet.. She reminded me a lot of myself when I first came here and how frustrated i was from not knowing the language in a week. You really learn patience with yourself as you serve a mission. We heard that there was a hurricane coming in and we started getting kind of nervous because our 72 hour kits were in Ceiba. At night, the whole sky was a blood red and it POURED rain for hours with lightning and thunder literally so close to us. You could feel the thunder in your chest. The storm continued all night and we left early the next morning when it was calmer. As we rode the 4 hour bus ride back to Ceiba we just followed the storm here. It picked up quite a bit and there was water EVERYWHERE. It has been raining ever since then, but the good thing is that i dont have to sleep with a fan on anymore.

Sunday: Ward conference. We sang in the ward choir and it was pure comedy. Hermana Bennett played the keyboard for us and we sang our hearts out. Derian blessed the Sacrament and did awesome. That was a proud missionary moment to have worked so hard with him and be able to see the fruits of our labors. We eat lunch with our ward mission leader every Sunday and something they eat here in every single meal are "Gineos" They are boiled green bananas. They arent the best flavored and I havent met a single missionary who likes them. Here they put it with everything and especially in soup :P As Hermana Bennett was doing her personal prayer on her food, I tried sneaking my gineo on her plate, but the stinking gineo would come off my fork. At the exact same time, the sister who cooked walked into the room and i was caught right in the act. I quickly slid the gineo off of my fork and acted like nothing happened. The next week, everyone was served gineos except me.

This week was so crazy, but we tried to enjoy it at the same time. We are learning to do things for ourselves, so we dont get burnt out. Its crazy to think that I only have one more transfer left and it will be with a new companion and new area, but i would rather have it that way to keep me busy. The other day A__ and E__ were talking about how little time i have left and I literally felt a pit in my stomach. I already feel sad about leaving this area and cant even imagine what its going to be like leaving Honduras. Good thing i dont have to think about it yet. I love being a missionary and being set apart from the world. I have learned so much stuff not only for myself, but for future generations to come. I know that the Lord is the head of this great work and that His ways are not our ways.

Love,

Hermana Sherman