Hello once again to all of my family and friends out there! It’s definitely beginning to look a lot like Christmas now a days. Even the Hondurans are getting up on the spirit this year with a couple of houses I’ve seen that have lights and everything! No one can escape the incredibly contagious Christmas fever...even the missionaries!
This week has been a spiritual banquet for me. I absolutely love being a missionary! If anyone would ever pass up this opportunity for anything else, they are really missing out on the thrill of a lifetime. I feel like I have been prepared physically, emotionally, and spiritually more than I would have ever been at home, and I definitely would never have arrived at such a spiritual high like I am right now. If I was spiritually dead before, I am as close to alive that I could ever be right now. Hoorah for Israel!
We didn’t have a whole lot of time to work this week, because we had another one of those new Fundamentals of Preach My Gospel training conventions again. This time it was only 2 days (well 3 for us) instead of 5 like the first one I went to, so we didn’t get bored at all. This time, every single one of my friends and companions from the MTC were in attendance! We took a few EPIC pictures of all of us...exactly 18 months later, in front of the Honduran flag at the chapel. I’m going to try and send a few of the pictures today. Which reminds me, mom the reason that I haven’t been sending pictures lately is just that I don’t have a way to send them due to the dirty rats that ate my camera cord, but today I’m going to do what I can to try and send them another way.
Now that I have been in the mission for 18 months, I definitely feel old. Ever since I entered the field of Honduras, I have always felt like a newbie and that I was just barely getting started in the mission, but ever since President made the declaration about us now passing into the “old stage,” it definitely feels uncomfortable haha. Anyways, the 2 days of training was really a spiritual uplift for me. We learned a whole lot of new things, and were also able to hear from 2 different ex-mission presidents on subjects like “The role of the Holy Ghost in the Conversion” and “Revelation through Prayer.” All in all we touched quite a few themes, but the ones that I especially enjoyed were how to ask inspired questions. We had a whole day and a half to listen to the lecture, practice, evaluate, re-practice, eat, and go through the process again! The practices really help because it lets me know what my weaknesses are, something that is really important to know.
The 3rd day we had Zone Leader Council, and that’s where we hear the “strong side” of President Flores haha, but I’m used to it by now. I have decided to change my goals as a Zone Leader, and from now on I will be focusing my efforts on the spiritual progression of all the Elders and Sisters. Now that I have thought about it, it’s so much more important than the numbers that I have to ask for every day. I never wanted to be a number hungry type of hungry, and I never really was, but I realized that I tried really hard to gain the respect and confidence from the zone, but now what I need to do is elevate, edify, and animate.
I received the Thanksgiving package this week, thanks so much! I don’t know where in the world you guys got that Miskito dictionary but thanks! And also the Italian dictionary came just in time, because I was able to get my hands on an Italian Book of Mormon on Friday! So now I have all the materials I need (for now) to be able to at least read and pronounce Italian, I’m very excited! I also decorated my tree last night and it looks very elegant.
To give an update on the new family we found with Ana Maria, things are still doing alright. We were nervous to go back that second time, because she told us that her husband was a “priest” of a Pentecostal church and that he doesn’t like Mormons very well. So what we decided to do is go in there with a spirit of love and not of contention. We shared the Restoration with them, and explained the story of Joseph Smith and the Book of Mormon. Afterwards I asked them, “After hearing the story of what happened to this young man, how do you feel?” They told us that they had never heard the real version of the story, and that they felt bad for ever judging the church based on the skewed principles that they had heard from other people. We invited them to read the Book of Mormon, and Ana Maria was especially excited to investigate what the Book contains. The husband is still a little bit rough to break, but at the least he heard us out, and is willing to learn more. The less active member Fernando that introduced us to them came to church with us on Sunday and got to know the leaders of the Elders Quorum.
This week, one of our “eternal investigators” named Sindy FINALLY came to church for the first time. It was a miraculous experience and I think it went well with her. With what I was able to observe, she was reading the Book of Mormon throughout most of the meetings, and also the Articles of Faith. She also had a couple of really good questions in the Gospel Principles class. We have been being really frank with her lately, asking her inspired questions and really trying to help her understand the commitments she needs to make. I think we might have made a breakthrough, and the next time we go we are going to teach the doctrine of Christ, I’m very excited.
That’s about all I’ve got for you this week everybody. I know that the Book of Mormon is the word of God, for I have read it. I have examined its pages, and I know that no mortal man could be able to write such a powerful book. Its words are the words of God, and we must feast upon them. I love the words of Moroni 10:6. I love you all, and I hope that you have a lovely week. Take Care!
Vaya Pues!
Elder Tinkham
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