Week 8

I got your package a couple days ago but no letters yet. So we didn't have any baptisms this past week because one person needs to attend church a few more times and the other decided he wants to wait longer. We pushed his date to the 12th and he chose me to baptize him!! So that's pretty sick. Also we had some miracles happen this week. We were contacting and just walking along with this one kid named Daniel and he said that he has heard every discussion but never went to church. We invited him to go and he said yes! Then right when we were done talking to him this guy said hey elders!! We turned around and were talking to him. I didn't understand much at all but Elder Reinoso said to me at the very end, that he has read the whole Book of Mormon but has never met with the missionaries.... so he's finna get dunked real nice! Then later that day we needed to contact like 3 more people and we were on our way to dinner and I knew that we were about to go right, so I said ¨someone is ready on this next road". We turned on that road and there was one lady in the street. We started to talk to her and she just loved it all. At the very end, she said that she has been praying for someone like us to come into her life!! This church is true. I know that Heavenly Father is preparing everyone for our message and is putting the people who are ready in our paths. We taught about 70 something lessons this week and only about 3 people said that they don't want us to come back. We have I think 15 solid people who we are pretty sure will be baptized just this week. The work here is great but only when we are obedient. When we are even a few minutes late to something, we know that we are being punished because no one wants to talk to us. I love it here! Even though I was like dying of dehydration and like heat stroke or something this week, I wouldn't leave for anything. Don't get me wrong, I miss you all but I love every person I see here. It's a good trait to have because it makes me really persistent. I will do anything to make sure that the people invite us back. One day, this lady so that she doesn't want us to come back so I called her out on her faith. She had claimed to have a ton of faith so I asked if she knew James 2:17 which said "Even so faith, if it hath not works, is dead, being alone." (Faith without works is dead) I then followed and said that if you really have faith, then you will pray. If Heavenly Father says that our message is false, then whatever but I promise He will tell you it is true. It was way sick! I love it so much. I suck at Spanish but its okay. Elder Reinoso compared me to Moses because he couldn't speak it very well and yet he was a great teacher. That's me! I am MOSES haha I love you so much and the whole family. Tell them i said sup!

Week 7

Let me start by saying how bad I am at Spanish hahaha I thought I was good until I got to Cantarranas which is this really small town slash village type of dealio. So basically everyone has like 4 teeth and I can't understand a single thing. Luckily I have a Latino companion named Elder Reinoso. He was a professional soccer player but came on a mission instead of continuing. He loves to talk so that's good because I literally have no idea what the heck these guys are saying. The first day was really tough and I was about to break down because I just had no idea what was going on. We would be teaching and then he would look at me to jump in but I didn't understand a single word that was said so I would just kind of panic and not say anything. After a week I still don't understand but but I understand my companion decently. He is so cool. And such a great missionary. All we do is work and work. Like we do not eat because we just work. I love it though. I literally love this mission thing I'm doing. I suck at it but I love it. I'm really good at asking questions and then having them not understand anything haha like yesterday this guy we were teaching named Ronald told me I spoke spanglish haha. I was offended and then I realized that I've been here for like 8 hours and I shouldn't care. At least he understood enough to know what I was trying to say. So the food here is hit or miss. One day I am eating the best tacos I've ever had prepared by a man who would like to be a lady with like four golden teeth and then the next day I'm eating crappy beans and eggs lol its all good though. Another weird thing is that there are just animals EVERYWHERE. Like I'm talking wild horses just galloping down the street and packs of wild dogs just chillin on the corner. I'm amazed how this doesn't strike anyone else as weird. So this work here is really good. We taught 79 lessons this week!! We've got like 20 investigators and they all have baptismal dates. This weekend we have two baptisms already!! They should call me Jon the baptist because all I get is dunks!!! haha the people here are so nice but kind of sketchy too haha check out this story. So we are going to teach this guy named Angel but he was kind of drunk so we decided to come back another time. We were at this dead end and then Reinoso goes, we need to keep going. I was like you mean into this jungle right here. And he goes, yeah, someone is ready for the gospel. So we did it and we are walking around for a while and find no one. He gets discouraged and starts to turn around and I did too then I just got this prompting to keep going. I told him and we turned around and kept going. We ended up finding this guy in the middle of a jungle!!! He's working in this field of something but there is this huge river in between us and him so we start leaping from these huge rocks and eventually cross it. We start to talk to him and he was 100 percent interested in the message. It was way sick!! We have a bunch of those experiences. It's amazing how the Lord will literally place people into our hands to teach. I love being a missionary. I want to go home like everyday but I love being here! It's freaking hot here but its all good. I really love it.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Alison asked if he had dirt floors and if he could catch a dog and keep it as a pet:
 lol we actually have really nice house. No dirt floors just dirt on the floor. This country is so gross. So dirty. And I would catch a dog but I would literally die from its crazy disease haha there are puppies everywhere because the dogs aren't neutered and they just go at it. I love the dogs so much but Reinoso says we aren't aloud to have pets. Something about being obedient. Not quite sure, Spanish is too tough!

First day in Honduras

Jonothon didn't a chance to email this week since he got transferred to Honduras. This is the email that he sent the day he got in: So im in Honduras now. A day earlier than I thought I would be. Anyways, I love it here already. I do not understand a single word the people say but I can say some stuff. I've been here for about 4 hours and I already committed a guy to baptism. It was sick. Being a missionary will be a fun thing for sure. Especially when I can understand it all haha. I only am allotted about three minutes so I gotta go. P days are now on Mondays so expect me on that day now. And I don't think I will get to call so just put it on the calendar for Christmas. I love you bunches. Your baby is a real missionary now. PS I am using an Ipad to do this and I am so excited. I am not aloud to email others right now so just make sure they all know I don't hate them haha love you and I will talk to you later. Oh and the plane ride was ridiculous!

New Group Photo

Jon is in the front row!

Week 5

Alright so this week was not really any different. We had classes and did some learning. I came to the conclusion that when I can feel the spirit in a lesson, I am completely fluent and can say everything I want to say. Then when I'm just conversating, I don't know any Spanish lol It's kind of frustrating but cool at the same time. We had a member of the Seventy come and speak to us yesterday. It's the third one we've had in like three weeks so that's pretty sick. One thing that was really cool is that an Hermana asked me to give her a blessing of comfort!! It was seriously the coolest and just most nerve wracking thing I've ever done. Ii didn't know why she needed one but I didn't hesitate to say yes. She asked the AP if someone could give her a blessing and he said yeah, who do you want to give it to you? Then she asked if she could choose anyone and she chose me! Why me!! I was gonna puke I was so scared. I didn't even know what to say but I just had another Elder give me the paper that says exactly what to say and then I just dove right in. They say that you will know exactly what to say and I can honestly say that that is probably the most right and wrong thing I've ever heard. It wasn't like a voice in my head saying what to say but it was like being pushed toward a thought and then I just said it. In all honesty, that was life changing. I feel like a real man now. A real missionary now. Before I was just learning and then I had to exercise Priesthood! It was super awesome. I just want to go on a blessing spree because of how good you feel afterwards because of the spirit. Once again I love this church and this gospel. I literally crave this gospel and im so excited for next week to be able to actually go and teach people. I suck at spanish but it doesnt matter because when the spriti is there, I'm fluent. Also, I'm not really sure but there may be a chance that I dont get to email next week becuase I leave in one week but p days are on Monday so expect like next next monday to hear from me. I love you so very much and I miss you like cray cray. Hasta Luego

Week 4

So this week has been absolutely insane. Since last Tuesday, everyone in the entire MTC has been really sick. I missed 2 full days of class by just laying in bed because I was dying. We all had the two headed dragon. which basically means that I was erupting on both ends. It was absolutely horrible. I'm still suffering but I'm not throwing up anymore so that's good. My stomach hurts so much all of the time. The Hermana next to me had to go to doctor to get tested for like a crazy bacteria. It was just 50 shades of crazy down here. Anywho, there really wasn't much that happened other than everyone sick and dying. Oh this was wild. I made friends with this one latino from Quetzaltenango which is believed to have the waters of Mormon there. Like he is a Lamanite. his name was Elder Poroj and he was just a stud. On Sunday he came up to me and goes estoy triste which means I'm sad. So I struggled to get a conversation going and ask why he was sad and if I could help at all. It turns out that his older brother died that day at 4 o'clock from a heart disease. He had talked to me about his brother before and how he loves him so much. It's just him and his brother who are members and his older brother served a mission in Tegucigalpa. He wears his mission plaque everywhere to remember him. Anyways, his mom called and was basically demanding him to come home to be with the family to mourn. He told her no way because the second he is no longer a missionary, he can no longer be with his brother because he is wearing his plaque. He was crying but just stopped and was like thunder and goes I have a mission to do for him. He would want me to stay. Why cant I be like Elder Poroj. lets be real, if Xena died i would be losing my mind. He set an incredible example for me and so many other people on the floor. I love that kid and because of him, I am so much more dedicated to this mission. I'm so jacked to get out to Tegucigalpa and tell people like I told Elder Poroj that families are together forever. And even when you lose someone now, they aren't gone. But they are just watching you and rooting for you every step of the way. In that moment, my testimony of the plan de salvacion was real. I didn't just believe it but I knew it. I could feel his brother when I was hugging Elder Poroj. He was there because he isn't gone. I love this church so much. I'm so excited to be a missionary mom. I know that technically I am right now but lets be real, it doesn't fully start until the plane lands in Teguci. Then its game on.