I have come to realize just how fast the time flies in the mission. It is already February! So, I have taken a new goal to take advantage of every moment of the mission! To take in the view, eat all the Mangoes possible, sleep in a Hammock as much as possible, make as many weird comments in Spanish as possible (because a lot of things work in Spanish and don’t get weird comments or offend people easily. It’s great!) I love being here, and don’t know what I will do when I have to go back!
But, hello once again to all my beloved friends and family! I hope that this past week has been ever so glorious for all of you! Here in Cofradia it has been business as usual, but that is business in the terms of us Missionaries...which is the best business there is! We taught a lot here, but the best news about teaching is that we found some new investigators! They shall be mentioned a little bit later.
First of all, the families that we have close to baptism are still there, close to baptism. With the problem that most of the couples here only live together and are not legitimately married, we have to get them married. And, to do that, you have to take out a paper saying they are single so that the lawyer can fill out the marriage certificate and say that they are now married. Well, you can only get that in the area that you were born, and Hno Tulio Martinez was born in an area very far away from the San Pedro Sula mission, somewhere in the Comayaguela mission! But, we have faith that they will come soon, and they are waiting patiently as well. So, as for that matter, we have only to wait. The other family, well, there was a problem for Hno. Santa Maria to take out his paper, so he will go personally over there this month to see what is up and why they are having problems. Hopefully they can be resolved soon!
Anyway, we have a ton of new investigators, and they look really good for progression and retention! One of them was a reference from other missionaries. They moved to an area called La Ceibita, and honestly I don’t know why this certain little town is still in our area. It is a good 30 minutes by bus, and then 7 minutes from the bus stop to their house. Well, they are a family of 8, the Portillo family, and the parents are already baptized (some 25 years ago but went inactive) and married! They have 6 kids, 5 of which are over the age of 8 and all want to get baptized! Their only problem is finding the money to bring the whole family over to church. The husband works pottery, so for him it is almost a system of luck to sell really well and make money. But, they always talk about how they have to put God first and are willing to sacrifice to come to church!
The other is a single mom who lives with her 3 kids. 2 girls, one is 15 the other 11, and her newborn son. They were a reference from a family in the ward, because our Elder’s Quorum President has been working really hard to get the members involved and working with us. So, the man in charge of the part called the San Juan Vozko has been working really hard with the Elders over there and has already given us two really great references, and their family comes to teach with us every time! It is amazing, and I love this new support system that we have from the members. It is the best, and it really helps our work flourish! But the 4 of them were in church with us yesterday, and the mom even brought her sister as well! So, hope is bright here in Cofradia!
And that is about it. I am pounding through the Book of Mormon and loving every moment of it. From starting the 1st of January, I am now in Alma 13 and going strong (I still have to read today!) But, now that I have grown such a strong testimony of this sacred book, and I want to challenge one and all to start reading (if you haven’t already) and read the Book of Mormon every day until you can finish it by the end of the year. Any problem or question we have is solved and answered through this inspired book and I love reading page by page. I pray that everyone can learn to love this book as much as I have.
And, that is about all for this week, folks! I love it here and don’t want to be anywhere else in the world at the moment!
Until next time!
¡Que les vaya bien!
All my love,
Elder Tinkham
