How great shall be your joy...

What a week! Not going to lie, it was a little more challenging with our investigators following through with appointments, but we're just focusing on doing our part. A few weeks back, I talked about a cute old man named Fausto and how he was an answer to our prayers. Well, this week he committed to baptism! He is already almost done reading the Book of Mormon! Oh the joys of being a missionary. This is pure happiness. 

    D&C 18

   15 And if it so be that you should labor all your days in crying repentance unto this people, and bring, save it be one soul unto me, how great shall be your joy with him in the kingdom of my Father!

  16 And now, if your joy will be great with one soul that you have brought unto me into the kingdom of my Father, how great will be your joy if you should bring many souls unto me!

We had an exterminator come to the house last week and spray down EVERYTHING. He was very liberal with his repellant. He also sprayed down the cracks to a dungeon of our next door neighbor, and immediately hundreds of cockroaches started crawling out! Some were 3 inches long! My companion and our neighbor started stomping on all of them... Ok ok ok my whole life Ive HATED the crunching sound when bugs are squashed. So I basically was in fetal position in the corner, while plugging my ears. I have never seen anything like it. It was the plague all over again. And yet I survived to see another day. 

We have goals every week of how many lessons we want, how many referrals, and how many new investigators throughout the week. Ive always been a little competitive and it was easy for me to get side tracked by our numbers. I finally realized that I need to focus on the people and their needs. After I truly focused on who needed our attention, other than if they were an investigator or an inactive, the numbers automatically came. Its amazing how the Lord fills in everything after we do our part. 

We had interviews with President Klein this week and it was perfect timing for me. I know that Heavenly Father is aware of me because whenever Im having a hard time he always sends someone to help pick me up, especially this week with conference or random phone calls from the sister zone leaders or an interview with President Klein. President Klein remembered when I told him Auntie Chip lives here in Honduras. He asked if I would like to see her. I started bawling. He said he will do everything in his power that I will have the opportunity to see her and if she lives outside of the mission, then we could maybe set up a time where we can meet somewhere and have lunch. What a tender mercy! Im praying that it will all work out because that would make my whole mission! 

Mom sent me a devotional by Elder Bednar about the Character of Christ. It really hit home for me and I am more aware about how many times I turn inward and have self pity, when in reality I need to always be looking outward and help others with their needs. We have the Savior, a perfect example of constantly reaching out towards others even if He was in agony or the one that needed the most attention. Without fail, not once did He have self pity and turn inwards. Im grateful for my Savior and Redeemer. I know He lives and through Him we may be made whole no matter how severe our spiritual or emotion wounds may be. He gave His life for us and lets not let it be in vain. The Church is true!

Ether 12:11-12
      11 Wherefore, by faith was the law of Moses given.  But in the gift of his Son hath God prepared a more excellent way; and it is by faith that it hath been fulfilled.
     12 For if there be no faith among the children of men God can do no miracle among them; wherefore, he showed not himself until after their faith.

Love,

Hermana Sherman

What I eat everyday

What a fantastic week!

What a FANTASTIC WEEK! Every morning I wake up with thanks and gratitude to my Father in Heaven for everything I have been blessed with. I cannot thank Him enough! Exactly a year ago during conference I had absolutely no intentions on serving a mission, and now I'm in Honduras! I'm grateful for the opportunity I have to better myself and bring others to Christ. There is no better feeling. I am so happy! Yes, this is the hardest thing I've ever done in my life, but I also don't think I've ever been so happy. Its weird how that works. This whole week I was so excited for conference and it didn't let me down. Conference was so fulfilling. My spiritual battery is full and I am so grateful to be a missionary at these exciting times! It feels great to be front and center of this marvelous work! I love how a lot of the talks were on acting. We don't gain a stronger testimony by just watching conference, but by applying what we learned to our lives and learning through our experiences. This is one of the reasons I love being a missionary. I have the opportunity to live and be everything I want to be. I have already learned so much about myself and how I can better help others. Elder Holland said in a devotional that every single blessing he's received has been through the portal of his mission and he will continue to receive blessings for the rest of the eternities. 

I have been teaching hair styling classes for the Relief Society here every week! I'm grateful for the opportunity to share my talents and the women here are so amazing and love to learn. They all work so hard for their families and the few members that are here are strong. Every week the "Rama" which is smaller than a ward, is getting stronger and stronger. We had a movie night and almost everyone came! It was so exciting and boosted our energy for the rest of the week. I've learned that every activity has to be a  well advertised activity. When we show our excitement, the members start getting excited.

Life is good in Honduras. It's nice and toasty! I get plenty of sun that's for sure! I always have my phases of obsessions. At first it was bananas, then I discovered platanos! They are like huge bananas, but fried. I have been eating platanos pretty much everyday and sometimes it's hard to tell what is a platanos or what is just a big banana, but they are the bomb! I'm kinda over my baleada obsession because we eat them everyday, but i found a pulperia that sells AIRHEADS! I have found the pot of gold. The past two weeks we have had our Pday with the zone. Last week, we went on a hike and this week we chilled at the beach. Today our district ate an American FEAST at a members house! I couldn't walk after, but I'm finally able to breathe now. 

We were bringing our investigator Vanessa to English class we have every week. We had about an hour to kill and I was praying for a miracle that we would be able to use our time wisely. I asked Vanessa, who her best friend was. She pointed at a house we were passing at that exact moment. We knocked on the door to invite Vanessa's friend to English class. There are 3 different families that live in the house and we ended up receiving 16 new investigators! We've been teaching them all at the same time the past two weeks and it has been awesome. I have learned the importance of relying on my Savior. I need to do all that I can and He will fill in what I lack. Through Him and His atonement, I am able to turn my weaknesses into strengths. The Church is True! I love you all!

Love,

Hermana Sherman

I love being a missionary!!!

 ALLLLLOOOOO!!

Ok, I don't have very much time at all today, this week was full of its ups and downs, but right now I couldn't be happier. Hermana T was sick this past week and I think it was also a sign for me that I need to have more patience. I had to sit back for a while and put my companion first, which I made me feel closer to her and because we have a stronger relationship, we are able to teach stronger. 

I have never been more excited for conference! We get to watch it in English too!! I have been praying so hard to be able to watch it in English and after exchanges we inherited 3 new gringos. so we are now able to watch in English! I cant wait to hear the words of our Prophet Thomas S Monson and His worthy Seers and Revelators. We are so blessed to have this technology at our fingertips!

We have been working with a girl named Vanessa, she is 12 years old and she is the best. We committed her to baptism a couple weeks ago and she has so much determination and faith. We are also slowly but surely reactivating a couple  less actives and it has been so fulfilling as we are starting to see the fruits of our labors. I love being a missionary!!! I am so happy and have really built a testimony towards service. I am grateful for the opportunity to serve the people here in Tela and already have started to call them family. The church is true!

Love,

Hermana Sherman

For Pday we went on a hike in Progresso and found the Goblet of Fire in the middle of the Jungle.

When we put limits on ourselves, we put limits on God...

What a week! In the beginning of the week, we were wrapping everything up for Hermana Barrios to take off and made sure I knew how to do everything in order to train my new companion. Hermana Barrios and I were clinging onto each other for the past week because we knew cambios were coming up. I am so grateful for Hermana Barrios and her example of service and compassion. I couldn't have asked for a better trainer. We took off at 6am Wednesday morning and arrived in Progresso for cambios! That's where I said goodbye to Hermana Barrios and said hello to Hermana TAMANI, fresh off the plane! I could easily relate to her emotions because that was me only 6 weeks ago. Hermana Tamani is 20 and is from Lima, Peru! She has known her whole life that she wanted to serve a mission and the age changes in general conference was an answer to her prayers. She is strong. I found out that this whole time she hasn't been able to talk to her family because only her sister has email and she doesn't have it. It took us two days but we finally figured it all out for her. It made me so grateful for the technology we have now and I have been so blessed my whole life with this technology at my fingertips. I love her energy because we have been able to pick up the pace a little bit this past week and further this marvelous work! I've already seen miracles!

I have felt the strength from everyone's prayers and have never relied on my Savior more. I am not alone. I am now starting to understand the true meaning of faith. I know that I cannot do this alone so as I have handed everything over to the Lord, He has filled what I lack. I am being stretched and molded into the person my Heavenly Father wants me to be. I am a daughter of God. When we put limits on ourselves, we put limits on God. 

Thank you for your support! The Church is true!!

Love,

Hermana Sherman

Saying goodbye to Hermana Barrios (trainer)

Last district photo

New companion from Lima, Peru!

Teaching the RS sisters how to braid their hair and learning how to make Baleudas

 

Leches, a weird fuzzy fruit that is so good!

The worth of souls is great in the sight of God.

Last week with Hermana Barrios :(

 Hola!

This week has been pretty excellent! It was Independence Day yesterday, so all week there has been parades in central. Every school participates and it's pretty crazy. We got a lot of contacting done :) On Saturday was National kid day and everyone makes piñatas! We worked pretty hard this week trying to get everything prepared for campios Wednesday. We found a 12 year old girl named Vanessa and she is the sweetest! She gives me hope that there is goodness in the world!

This week I have been trying to focus on loving the people here. They always seem to amaze me. Some of their trials are incredible, but they always are so strong. One the Abuelas, Margarita we teach is 82 and she's disabled. She struggles in feeding her family and raised her grandaughter at age 60+ and now is raising her great grandaughter. She made us tortillas yesterday and it may seem small, but I know it was a great sacrifice for her. I almost started crying when she handed them to us. She is a great example to me. I am starting to understand and feel a small portion of how much love Heavenly Father has for His children. 

"Remember the worth of souls is GREAT in the sight of God." -D&C 18:10

Love,

Hermana Sherman

Making friends

Reunion with the Hermanas from the Guatemala CCM

Before

After

First bout with the "Dragon"

Ready and willing...

I don't even know how to begin about this week! We went up to Ceiba for a conference with all of the newbies. (All of the companionships with someone training) Ceiba is about an hour and a half away from Tela. I got to see all of the lovely Hermanas from the CCM and we had a grand reunion! President Klein asked Hermana Barrios and I to do a little presentation on how to have companionship study. The spirit helped me A LOT. Normally I don't speak as well in Spanish as I did. It's amazing how that works. Right when we got to the chapel President Klein pulled Hermana Barrios and I aside for interviews and Hermana Barrios went first. Then it was my turn. President Klein is always awesome and energized for this great work. He asked me to train next exchange! When he asked me, I felt a peace and calmness that everything was going to be ok. I trust in President Klein that he hears and follows the promptings of the Spirit and I trust the Lord that If this is what He needs me to do, then he`ll provide a way to accomplish it. We are called to succeed. Normally the training program is 12 weeks. but since I only have been here 5 weeks, we have 1 more week before exchanges to crank it out. If we weren't motivated before, we are motivated now and I can learn so much from Hermana Barrios so I'm going to try and pick her brain as much as i can this next week. 

After hearing the news in Ceiba, I have really felt Satan flip the switch. I've learned that before and after an amazing spiritual experience without a doubt, Satan is going to try and tear you down. I have once again been reminded of why I am here. I am here to further the work and bring others to Christ. Ready and willing to serve Him. Only after the trial of our Faith, can the blessings of the heavens be poured onto us.

This last week we had an activity with the ward called "Combate Mormón" We all first went to a members house to prepare the food, once again I felt ridiculous crying when the Hermana next to me was chopping onions. It's pretty intimidating chopping veggies next to all the Hermanas in the ward. They are pros! I love learning from them! We then all walked to a little field right on the beach. It was GORGEOUS! We played a bunch of games and I forgot what its like to be competitive. I don't remember the last time I laughed so hard. And I'm pretty sure I threw out my arm chucking a ball at a niño during dodgeball. 

Life is GOOOOOD. I feel like I am being shaped and molded into someone the Lord wants me to be. We all need to start somewhere, sometime. The Church is True! And oooohhhhhh how I LOVE IT!

Cuídense,

Hermana Sherman

...it's all on His timing, not ours.

This week has pretty much flown by! I have no idea where the time has gone! We have learned to have patience that the Lord will direct us to those that are prepared and it's all on His timing, not ours. 

We had a Leadership meeting with the Area leaders and it was awesome. Hopefully, it got everyone pumped so we can all work together. I've learned that missionary work is a team effort. You can't bring new investigators in if they don't feel welcomed or there's a lack of ward unity. So hopefully, everyone can act upon what we discussed and start getting the ball rolling!

I had my first division! We had the sister zone leaders spend a couple nights at our house and I went on splits with Hermana Blanco. I LOVED it! It was fun learning that everyone has different styles of teaching, which can pinpoint certain people.We have a neighbor who is a cute old lady that broke her arm and has been in a huge cast for a lonnnng time. She can't really brush or wash her hair, so I've been brushing and braiding her hair every other day for the past couple of weeks. I felt sorry for her cause I don't know when the last time she brushed her hair or had it washed so I'm going to set up a little washing station for her so I can wash her hair for her. I'm also going to teach a braiding and styling class this week for the relief society to have a nice activity where we can start building unity in the ward!

We were walking to an appointment and suddenly there were thousands of butterflies in the sky and I was all.. "Oh how pretty!" Then my companion started yelling, "BATMAN!!" They were bats...  everyone was making gestures with two fingers that they bite your neck! Holy cow! I'm still not sure if they bite or not, but I had a minor freakout. 

It poured this week and there was water up to our knees on some trails. After it rains all the crabs come out. We do our laundry in a little space and there were 6 giant crabs chilling there and would creep up at my feet every 3 minutes, so I had to sit on the counter to do my laundry. I have a picture and if you zoom in under the door you can see one of the crabs, they're also on the pipes. 

 We live right next to a fútbol stadium and the other day was a game. The whole town shut down and you could hear yelling and horns being blown from miles away. I guess we have to stay away from the stadium when there's a game cause people go pretty nuts. It was crazy! 

This week we have a conference in Ceiba, and Hermana Barrios and I were asked to teach/act out how to study and plan for a lesson for all the missionaries! I'm excited! I have already learned so much while being here and can only imagine the person I can become after 18 months. The blessings promised are infinite!

Yesterday was my first fast Sunday in the field!! This opportunity I had to fast really built my testimony. I immediately felt stronger spiritually, mentally and physically. We have so many opportunities to strengthen ourselves and if we actually take them up, the blessings are incredible. I couldn't be more grateful that I'm here, serving a mission. My eyes are slowly being opened to how marvelous this Gospel truly is. The Church is true!

"Draw near unto me and I will draw near unto you; seek me diligently and ye shall find me; ask and ye shall receive, knock and it shall be opened unto you." -D&C 88:63

"...Be faithful and diligent in keeping my commandments of God and I will encircle thee in the arms of my love." D&C 6:20

Love,

Hermana Sherman