HOWDI FROM HONDO!

Dear Fam,

Thank you all for the letters this past week. Another week just flew by here in the mission. There are so many things to do these days I feel a little bit of stress. I am trying to work hard each and every day and enjoy each one. The time is going by way too fast. That is so weird that Ben is going home this weekend. It was just yesterday that he left. I still don't want to get baggie because I have so much more time left. There are so many more people I have to find before my mark to go home. These past weeks the Lord has really been blessing us. My companion and I have been fasting once a week to find people to teach and baptize. We have had a little trouble lately here in the area with finding people. But it really has been amazing to see what the Lord is doing for us in this area. One of the blessings that we have received from fasting once a week is all the baptisms we have had lately.  A week ago, after the baptism of Melvin and Marisela, we almost had no more investigators. The Sunday after the baptisms (8th of July),  a family of 7 fell from Heaven and just showed up to church on their own, and told us that the father/husband is a member, and that they want to change their lives. They told us that they wanted to get married and have the rest of the family baptized. Out of the seven, the dad is a member, but the kids and the wife no. So the wife and three of the kids will be getting baptized. We visited them all through this last week. We took down their information for their birth certificates, so that they can get married. They also went to church yesterday and are really excited for their marriage.  They will be getting married and baptized this Saturday. This family really was a blessing from heaven. They are a true "Golden Family"!  Sacrifices really do bring down blessings from heaven. I know that if we keep working our tails off and sacrificing ourselves, the Lord will prepare the way to find his prepared and chosen children. This last Tuesday, I had a really spiritual experience. It kind of has a sad ending, but I know everything will go through in the end. On Tuesday I went on a division in the zone with a greenie named Elder Contreras to his area in Montefresco. They had a family who I had met about three weeks ago who is really special. They weren't married or baptized, but had been receiving the missionaries for a little while. The wife of the family named Melissa was a member of another church, but had gone to our church about three times. She had received an answer to her prayers that this is the true church, but had a little bit of fear to leave her old ways behind. Her husband Juan Carlos is an absolute stud. He has only gone to church about two times and had all the desire in the world to get married and baptized in our church. So when I went on Tuesday to their house we visited for about ten minutes and then started with a prayer. I started off asking them questions about how they have felt going to church and reading the Book of Mormon. They both said really good, and shared their feelings about both. The spirit was really strong and I felt something inside that was telling me to pull out my pictures of temples. I took out a picture of the Guatemalan Temple, the Salt Lake Temple, and pictures I had of the Provo Temple when I was there at the MTC. As I showed them the pictures I shared my testimony on how families can be eternal, and told them in places like these families can get married for all time and eternity. Melissa's eyes lit up as she looked at the pictures. Juan Carlos looked at me and said "Elder Lee, we will send you a picture when we are there one day" I smiled and told them they had to get married according to the law first and baptized, and after their baptism, they would have to prepare themselves for one year before entering the temple. Juan Carlos said, "Well, we better get started now". I looked at Melissa and invited her to get married and baptized. She just smiled and said YES. It was such a great experience. We then invited them to do it on the 14 of July. They accepted. We prepared everything. This last Saturday was their wedding. My companion and I went because we had to interview them for their baptism after their wedding.  You cannot do baptismal interviews before the wedding. The bad ending of the story is in the baptismal interview Juan Carlos confessed something he did about 10 years ago. He did not get baptized this Saturday. He needs an interview with President Cruz before. His wife wanted to get baptized on Saturday, so she was baptized by herself. Juan Carlos had tears in his eyes all night. It was so hard to tell him that he wasn't going to be able to get baptized on Saturday. We are doing everything possible so that he can get baptized this upcoming Saturday. Well in the zone we have been doing really well and have been finding a lot of new people. Right now in the Zone every companionship is doing really awesome. Everyone has the possibility of completing their goal except for the AP's. The AP's are part of our zone also. They always make a huge baptismal goal and never get even close to reaching it. But anyways, life is awesome right now in La Aurora (my area here in San Pedro).  I love the people here. It is a whole different kind of mission, but we have seen that through our sacrifices that it is possible to have success in this area. My area is really developed compared to all the other areas in the mission. There is a lot of pride here in the people. But the members here are the best you can find. I am really starting to love this area. I wouldn't mind being here a little bit more time. Oh, and now I will answer Dad's questions because I always seem to forget. Wait, let me go look at the letter to remember the questions. 1.Yes We got to meet President Cruz. He is an amazing man. Not exactly like my favorite President, President Ochoa, but almost. This Wednesday, I will have my first interview with him. I am really excited to talk and to get to know him a little bit more. 2. Its possible that I could end my mission here in San Pedro. But I could get transferred this change. 3. About hotels and car rentals, here is the number for the secretary of the mission, Elder Holaday from Arizona and a wrestler. He said he would help you guys out with that kind of stuff if you call him. His number is 9978. 6276    #4. I think we will be staying in other towns when you come down, if you want to see other places and my areas. 5. Yes I am wanting still to go to BYU Idaho. I think I want to go and stay down in Utah for a month before starting school. But I am not 100 percent sure yet, and almost not thinking anything about that. Anyways, I hope that answered some of your questions. Now some of my questions that I have for you: Are you guys going to send me another white shirt 15 1/2?That would be really nice. Oh, and another thing...My cook, and one of the most special families here in Honduras (also the Stake Prez. wife)... her 11-year-old daughter is running for "queen" at her school. They have to go around collecting money, asking for donations. And whoever raises the most money becomes queen. Our cook "Sister Lara" is crazy for her to become queen. I told her that you guys are going to send a donation to help her. So if you could put a generous amount in my account, their family would really love you. She is so good to us with cooking food. She gives us so much more food than what we pay for here. She also makes us"all you can eat" baleadas every Sunday. So I thought a nice little donation from my family, so her daughter can be queen, would be nice. Also for my birthday this year, I don't want presents or money. But if you want, you can put my birthday money in my account to support the future queen!  This family is super special and are pretty much my family here in Honduras. When you come down, you will be able to meet them. So yea, if you can tell me how much you are going to put in, that would be nice, so I can take it out next Monday, because "the queen run" is coming down to a finish. Tell me in my email next Monday and don't forget.  Anyways, enough about all that. We have to go help the Bishop with something outside of his house today. So I got to get running. The work is real, and I love it. I wish you could all come to Honduras one day. It truly is the best place and has the best people in the world. Hope you all have a great week. Keep preachin' the gospel. Love you much. Love, Elder Lee