So I found out a little too late that they DO NOT celebrate Halloween here. In fact, they teach their children that it is devilish and sinful. So you can imagine how my English class went when I had ''Happy Halloween'' up on the whiteboard and my lesson plan was to practice Trick-or-Treating and to learn Thriller by Michael Jackson in English... Epic fail.
This week flew by. The highlights were teaching a new investigator an awesome lesson!! She is SO cute and is 18 with a 2 year old baby and a 32 year old boyfriend who she lives with! (yikes) She came to church this week with her sister and ''sister-in-law'' (boyfriend's sister.) Whooo!

We were fasting and saw the immediate blessings! We had SIX investigators in church! A family of three and three others plus a family of four that we're reactivating!

Plus yesterday was fast and testimony meeting and I feel so blessed becuase a woman who's dying of cancer bore her testimony on a scripture that I had shared with her 2 months ago and it was gratifying to know that the spirit had prompted me to do it. And also because another girl bore her testimony on the prayer experience we had a couple weeks ago with the lights in the church. I'm starting to feel like I can make a positive difference here with the Lord's help and guidence.
I'm trying to develop a multitude of Christlike attributes. One of which is PATIENCE. Living with a companion is hard at times, but it's refining me.

Mosiah 23:21 Nevertheless the Lord seeth fit to ^achasten his people; yea, he trieth their ^bpatience and their faith.

Mosiah 24:16  And it came to pass that so great was their faith and their patience that the voice of the Lord came unto them again, saying: Be of good comfort, for on the morrow I will deliver you out of bondage.

Bondage, or a bad companionship haha. But I believe that you can learn to love ANYONE!

Please enjoy beautiful Fall because it's over 90 degrees at noon everyday here.

Happy Halloween! I hope you all watched Haunted Honeymoon together.

love,

Hermana FlynnRider

P.S. There are absolutely no crosswalks here, so to cross the big, busy streets, we play a really high-speed,  high-risk version of Frogger.

One thing that I'm really learning here is what a covenant means and the importance of keeping it. It's fascinating to me. 

This week we baptized a 9 year old girl named Susana! (I included a picture.) She loves the gospel and especially primary! 

Her baptism was a miracle. We planned it really well and so there was a good turn out and a primary kid had a talk prepared and the children were going to sing and everything. But right before the baptism, Susana's mom told us out of no where that she wanted to reschedule. We were so confused and frustrated and my comp grabbed my arm and we went into an empty classroom in the church and knelt and prayed. We went back out and got her to tell us the real problem--someone had said something to her about how Susana doesn't know what choice she's making. We explained to her that 8 is the age of accountability and that her daughter is going to continue to learn, grow, and progress through the support of the church. It was honestly miraculous to see the change in her mom's heart. The baptism was beautiful and we're so happy! We're working with her mom towards a baptism date, but she has to get married or commit to separating from her boyfriend, who isn't currently living with her. She wants to be baptized. 

The work is amazing. Life in Honduras is beautiful. I love La Joya. I ate Chilaquiles today and they were delicious. (look it up.)

Oh, and by the way, I'm right on the border of the river that separates Teguc and Comayaguela. Our recent converts (the girls we baptized a couple weeks ago) live by the river and when it rains (which is often) the big frogs hop along the sidewalks with us and it totally freaks me out!

Here is the though of the week from Elder Uchtdorf: 

 ''Back in that first estate, you knew with absolute certainty that God existed because you saw and heard Him. You knew Jesus Christ, who would become the Lamb of God. You had faith in Him. And you knew that your destiny was not to stay in the security of your premortal home. As much as you loved that eternal sphere, you knew you wanted and needed to embark on a journey. You would depart from the arms of your Father, pass through a veil of forgetfulness, receive a mortal body, and learn and experience things that hopefully would help you grow to become more like Father in Heaven and return to His presence.

In that sacred place, surrounded by those you knew and loved, the great question on your lips and in your heart must have been “Will I return safely to my heavenly home?”

There were so many things that would be out of your control. Mortal life would be hard at times, filled with unexpected bends in the road: sickness, heartbreak, accidents, conflict.

Without a memory of your previous existence—without remembering that you once walked with your Father in Heaven—would you still recognize His voice amid all the noise and distractions of mortal life?

The journey ahead seemed so long and uncertain—so filled with risk.

It wouldn’t be easy, but you knew it was worth every effort.

So, there you stood on the edge of eternity, looking forward with unspeakable excitement and hope—and, I imagine, also with a degree of worry and fear.

In the end, you knew God would be just—that His goodness would triumph. You had participated in the great heavenly councils and knew that your Savior and Redeemer, Jesus Christ, would provide a way for you to be cleansed from sin and rescued from physical death. You had faith that, in the end, you would rejoice and join your voice with a heavenly chorus singing praises to His holy name.''

I love learning about premortal life because it speaks to my spirit. 

I am homesick for heaven.